Dawud Ansari
De-orientalising the scholarship on the Arab Gulf states is crucial, argues Dawud Ansari. Commentaries and datasets generalise them as ‘monarchies’, erasing vital differences between these countries. New terms are a starting point for transforming research on the wider region – an urgent objective given new crises and freshened global interest Read more
Eri Mountbatten-O'Malley
Ethical democratic practices are informed by understanding what it means to be human and how we may flourish as a species alongside non-humans. This is, Eri Mountbatten-O’Malley argues, a useful way to orient ourselves in a dark time for democracy Read more
Stephen Bagwell
The case of Hong Kong shows that Chinese Communist Party dominance has a negative impact on empowerment rights. For Taiwan, though, it could end up much worse. Stephen Bagwell and Meridith LaVelle explore the potential outcomes of this scenario, using evidence from Hong Kong and data from the Human Rights Measurement Initiative Read more
Gabriella Gricius
In a globalised world with complex governing problems, experts are understudied but essential players. Examining their role in security helps us understand how issues are designated important, and why only certain kinds of knowledge are perceived as expertise. Such study, writes Gabriella Gricius, also helps us challenge the notion of expertise as neutral truth-telling Read more
Luca Manucci
We have, in the intellectual world, spent much time trying to understand populism, fascism, illiberalism and the processes of autocratisation. Now, argues Luca Manucci, it is time to debate and establish the best strategies to fight against these tendencies and establish democratic resilience Read more
Marco Giani
Studying long-run patterns of public opinion in Europe shows that reintroducing compulsory national service would not counter the worrisome trend of declining trust in institutions among young generations. In fact, warns Marco Giani, the effect could be quite the opposite Read more
Kees Terlouw
Global relations are increasingly regulated by states which strengthen control over their national territory. But delegitimation of neoliberalism does not signal the end of the global order or capitalism, says Kees Terlouw. It simply marks another shift between ‘relational’ and ‘territorial’ perspectives on legitimacy Read more
Daniel Casey
Writing to our political leaders is a core part of our democratic rights and traditions, but we know almost nothing about the contents of a leader’s mailbag. Daniel Casey opens the mailbag for one Australian Prime Minister to discover a very different measure of public opinion Read more