Jannick Scheepstra is a fourth-year IRIO student and C&B Multimedia Editor. He is interested in identity politics and minority rights, as well as environmental policy. He aims to cover subjects that often fall by the wayside in mainstream western media and offer fresh perspectives on IR.

The Curious Tale of the Houbara: Birds and Middle Eastern power politics

The Houbara is a species of endangered ground bird the size of a turkey that lives in the deserts of Central Asia and the Arabian Peninsula. At first glance, it’s

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Death of a Dynasty: Change vs. continuity in Cuba

For the first time in almost six decades, Cuba is headed by a man whose last name isn’t Castro: former vice-president Miguel Díaz-Canel succeeded 86-year-old Raúl Castro on Thursday as

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Ethiopia at crossroads after Prime minister’s surprise resignation

According to analysts, Ethiopia might be at a critical juncture in its political history as key events have followed each other in rapid succession over the past few weeks. Amidst

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Rodrigo and the Rainbow: Same-sex marriage in the Philippines

Rodrigo Duterte, the President of the Philippines, has become notorious for his rowdy rhetoric and supercharged war on drugs. Last month, however, he struck a remarkably progressive tone on a

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Greatest Nation on Earth?: the Downside to Patriotism

Despite the dramatic partisan polarisation the United States has seen over the past two decades, there is one thing on which all US politicians seem to agree: America is the

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