2013 Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, launched a bold mission. His vision is to provide connection to the internet to the five billion people all over the world, who do not have connection to the internet yet. The aim is to provide basic useful internet services for free in regions where internet connectivity is not existent or very expensive, like in ... Read More »
The autobiography of Malcom X, first Malcolm Little and later El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, can best be described as a tale of a life completely turned around. A Negro which was deemed to live a life in the shadows of white society in America during the early 20th century. Malcom X managed to escape the prospects of a live of poverty, ... Read More »
Hillary Clinton’s autobiography on her experiences as American Secretary of State under President Obama can primarily be characterized as patriotic and a political work in preparation for Clinton’s second run for the U.S. presidency. Without neglecting mistakes made in the past by US officials, Clinton observes the world she lives and operates in. She does so as is requested ... Read More »
For years, the detention of immigrants in the European Union has been delegated to private security contractors by some member states. Usually governments choose this option because it brings instant expertise to the detention centers at a lower cost. However, delegating practicalities in a sensitive field such as immigration to the business agenda can lead to a poignant situation where ... Read More »
As the main character in third most watched show in US cable history, most people will know Breaking Bad’s Walter White. But instead of finding out on who this tv series is based, it might be interesting to note that there was once another man called Walter White. And he deserves all the attention a man can get. In 1893, ... Read More »
As we can see now with the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, mass coverage can bring social tragedies to the public eye. With regards to China, this happened with the Olympic Games of 2008. After that, however, media coverage of social atrocities has dwindled to a painstaking low level. Some positivism seemed therefore appropriate when the Tiananmen Protest Anniversary was widely covered ... Read More »
On March seventeenth, the Guangzhou Orphanage in China announced the shocking amount of disabled children dropped off at the baby drop-off hatch that had opened no more than two months earlier. Many babies had died due to a lack of care or too severe diseases and the world was shocked. How did it get to this, and is the Chinese ... Read More »
Men, women and children, working extensive days of hard labour in bad conditions without or little pay and no possibility to leave. Impossible as it might be for us to imagine the complete absence of freedom, these practices are not just taking place in distant, shady sweatshops or backstreet brothels in developing countries –human trafficking is very real and happening ... Read More »
Four months ago, a 20-metre long fishing boat carrying more than 500 migrants from Libya sank near Lampedusa, an island of the coast of Italy. More than 360 people died before the rescue services could reach them. Although many were shocked that such a tragedy could occur at the frontiers of Europe, at least the incident sparked a hope that ... Read More »
Dubai. The name stands for wealth, opportunities and shiny facades. But how does the oil-rich gulf country actually run and think? Eight young men just got jailed for up to one year for posting a parody internet in the internet. The sharia law and strict judges have no sense of humour when it comes to issues of “national security”. The ... Read More »
Checks&Balances Checks and Balances is the magazine of the Study Association Clio from the program "International Relations and International Organization" at the University of Groningen. Topics include international politics, ethics, conflict and development