Opinion

It has been over two weeks since Easter has finished. Normally, Easter greetings are coming from the conventional authorities, like the Pope (in 65 languages) or country leaders of the Western world. North Korea can be listed on the bottom in terms of likelihood to receive Easter greetings from, somewhere in between Syria and Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it seemed to ... Read More »

Humanitarian intervention has been a controversy in the field of international relations since the end of Cold War.  The controversy mainly emerges because the principle of humanitarian intervention clashes with the principles of non-intervention and sovereignty which emerged with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Even the definition of humanitarian intervention is up for debate by scholars but the lack ... Read More »

War, as said by Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831), a Prussian general and military theorist, is ‘the continuation of politics by other means.’ This is just one of the many definitions for war. Defining a person’s definition of war often expresses the person’s broader political philosophy. This position is also important for one’s view on the origins of war. Building a ... Read More »

With a series of essential national elections that will, without any doubt,  determine the path to follow for European integration in the near future, 2017 is shaping up to be a decisive year for the Union. The rise of EU-sceptic, populist parties all across the continent seems to approach its tipping point in the coming months. In a worst case ... Read More »

The referendum process has started in Turkey with the approval of the President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The referendum is focused on the reform of the executive branch into a stronger, presidential style. Turkey is witnessing a historical scene in Turkish politics. Since the foundation of the modern republic in 1923, Turkey has  followed the parliamentary system. After the coup attempt, ... Read More »

After failing to fulfill membership requirements such as respect for human rights, economic agreements, migration and freedom of the press, Venezuela has officially been suspended from the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). This has had an explosive effect on the already hostile rhetoric of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has rejected the decision and claimed that Venezuela will not be suspended ... Read More »

Hans Rosling died at the age of 68 on 7 January 2017. As a person striving for a better educated population, more optimism and a more accurate understanding of our world, he left a hole in the global community. As an homage to his work, we wrote an article on the value of his optimism… He waves with great enthusiasm ... Read More »

Less than half a month into Donald Trump’s presidency, and the discussion whether he should be taken seriously, but not literally, can be ended. President Trump, contrary to many expectations, has been carrying out many of his campaign promises that nobody expected to take literally. With the signing of several executive orders on different political aspects, Trump left no doubts ... Read More »

Back in 2010, Twitter’s total network encompassed over nearly 30 million monthly active users. Nowadays, that number has increased to over 317 million. Little doubt exists, Twitter is booming. But since recently, the platform seems to have developed itself on yet unexplored grounds. Politicians, president-elect Donald Trump leading the dance, seem to have grown fond of the platform and its ... Read More »

International adoption seems like a win-win phenomenon; an orphan is offered a chance at a better life while the adoptive parents can fulfil their wish to have a child. This romantic image is, however, problematic. Taking a human-rights-prone perspective, questions need to be asked regarding the salience of the international adoption system and the international agreements guarding it. Over the last decades, ... Read More »