Peace in El Pacifico? Colombia’s Chocó region has its own agenda
On 17 June, Colombia votes in the second round of its presidential election: the first since an historic peace agreement was signed in 2016 and the country emerged from almost half a century of...
What Is Trump’s Foreign Policy?
Image credit: Marco Verch
Following the 2016 Presidential election many were concerned that Donald Trump's victory would herald a spectacular shift in US foreign policy. At his inauguration, Trump first touted his ‘America First’ slogan,...
Could March’s election see Italy leave the euro?
A 19 year old Italian would have been the same age as the euro when Sergio Mattarella, Italy’s president dissolved parliament to call an election on the 28 December. As the upcoming general election...
“History will be kind to Theresa May” says former aide Katie Perrior
Theresa May's former Director of Communications, Katie Perrior, described the media as “eating out of the palm of hand” even before she became the leader of the Conservative Party. How has she gone...
Could a 1p NHS tax save the health service?
With the National Health Service reportedly the number one priority for Conservative Party voters, ahead of Brexit and immigration, Jeremy Hunt – now the longest-serving Health Secretary in history – has again floated the...
University strikes are over, for now
14 days of strikes at universities across the UK came to an end on Friday, with no deal reached between the University and College Union (UCU) and Universities UK (UUK).
Over the past month, lecturers...
The Benalla scandal that could undo President Macron
Just a month ago, French President Emmanuel Macron was enjoying his country’s World Cup triumph in Russia. A week later, French newspaper Le Monde alleged that his bodyguard and personal aide, Alexandre Benalla, 26,...
South Africa’s relationship with big business
Delivering his Christmas message, South Africa's newly elected African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed to build an inclusive South African economy - unwittingly admitting the failure of his own party.
Despite having been in...
Is Mahatma Gandhi still relevant in India today?
His face is on every bank note; politicians mark each anniversary of his birth and his passing, but in modern India, does anyone pay anything more than lip-service to the life and deeds of...
Spaghetti roads and bullet trains: A history of Zimbabwean elections
In a prescient 2012 paper, Martin Dawson and Tim Kelsall suggested that hopes for better governance in Zimbabwe were nothing short of naïve.
Rather, the authors proposed that “the most powerful elite groups will realise...