Section: The Conversation (USA)
How solar power can protect the US military from threats to the electric grid
Using solar power could give the U.S. military some advantages – and more security. Diane Durden/U.S. Marine CorpsAs the U.S. military increases its use of drones in surveillance and combat overseas, the danger posed by a threat back at home grows. Many drone flights are piloted by soldiers located in the U.S., even when the drones are flying...
Little prospect of regime change in Russia short of a popular uprising – and that’s unlikely
Niocr25/ShutterstockVladimir Putin’s power in Russia can often look unassailable. However much Western media might champion potential opponents, the president maintains a tight grip, and it’s easy to see why. Any successor to Putin who was not a puppet would very likely seek to establish their anti-corruption credentials and...
Tracing the sources of today’s Russian cyberthreat
Who’s inside the hoodie? BeeBright/Shutterstock.comBeyond carrying all of our phone, text and internet communications, cyberspace is an active battleground, with cybercriminals, government agents and even military personnel probing weaknesses in corporate, national and even personal online defenses. Some of the most talented and dangerous...
Imagining Russia post-Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the students on July 21, 2017. Alexei Nikolsky/via APOn July 21, Vladimir Putin was asked at an audience with schoolchildren what he will do when he retires. He replied, “I haven’t decided yet if I will leave the presidency.” While everyone is obsessed with following the twists and turns of the...
Sex work and the law – it’s complicated
Although sex workers around the world lobby for decriminalisation, sex work law remains controversial. This article is the first in a series exploring sex work and regulatory reform. The question of whether female sex work (performed by both trans and cisgender women) is legal or illegal in any country cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or...
Why Russia needs troops from the Caucasus in Syria – and how they bolster Moscow’s ‘eastern’ image
During the early years of the Cold War, the Soviet Union made a great push to reach out to the developing world, and particularly to the Middle East and Asia. It established particularly close ties with Nasser’s Egypt and later with Syria, but didn’t do so well with others; the Chinese leadership in particular doubted whether the USSR...
Why Trump must stop being Trump to survive
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 Summit in July in Germany. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)Donald Trump’s supporters have a new rallying cry in defence of the American president: “Let Trump be Trump!” I am a U.S.-born linguist, an expert in Caucasian languages and also politics, and someone who...
ICC ruling on South Africa and al-Bashir: pragmatism wins the day
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir returned to Khartoum, after evading possible arrest in South Africa in 2015. EPA/Marwan AliThe International Criminal Court (ICC) has finally handed down it’s highly anticipated judgment on South Africa’s failure to arrest Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir. In a somewhat surprising decision, the...
How Putin used propaganda to deftly turn Russians against Ukrainians
A flag with a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin waves over the Moscow crowd during the Vesna (Spring) festival in March commemorating the Crimean annexation. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)Vladimir Putin’s decade-long media campaign turned Russians against Ukrainians and Ukraine itself before he annexed Crimea in 2014. In my book...
The big business revolution: why the future is blockchain
ShutterstockThe value of one bitcoin recently hit a record high of US$3,025, a staggering rise of over 200% in value this year alone. Aswath Damodaran, professor of finance at the New York University, known as Wall Street’s “dean of valuation”, has said that among the younger generation, digital currencies have replaced gold as a choice of...
