Meindert Boersma is an undergraduate International Relations student, with the privilege to share his enthusiasm about a wide range of topics in international politics. He has a specific interest in Chinese foreign policy in Eurasia and Africa and the relationship between domestic politics and international relations in East Asia, with an occasional sidetrack to topics such as international geopolitics, European integration and environmental politics.

Bastion of Meritocracy or Symbol of Elitism – The Issue of France’s ‘Grandes Écoles’

On 25 April, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a series of reforms as the product of national debates held with French citizens. In a response to the yellow vest movement,

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Africa – The Most Powerful Player in a New Scramble

In December 2018, US national security advisor John Bolton unveiled the United States’ new Africa policy: the “Prosper Africa” strategy. Although vague in means, its goal was all too clear.

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Netanyahu’s Year: Navigating a Political Minefield

During the hectic period between Christmas and New Year’s, not able to tell which day of the week it is, we somehow do find ourselves able to look back on

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Constructing National Unity: rooting side by side?

At Evergrande Football School’s campus, only the big football on the main square would prevent a stroller from thinking he or she would be in a university campus of Oxford

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Extraordinary Times: A New Era for Ethiopia

On February 16, 2018, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn stepped down from office. Desalegn will go down into history as the first Ethiopian Prime Minister to voluntarily resign. The resignation

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Conditions, Challenges and Consequences of Korean Unification

Last week has witnessed a dramatic shift in the relationship between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea: after years of increasing tensions North Korean dictator

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A Link between Worlds: The History and Future of the Silk Road

When taking a look at the countries that once constituted the Soviet Union, one notices either violent internal unrest and bloody civil wars, or ongoing stagnation and economic crisis. Even

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An Economic War: Sino-Japanese rivalry in Southeast Asia

While the international community has been focusing on the possibility of an armed conflict on the Korean peninsula, a war – even though not mentioned in the headlines – is

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Bloody Interventions and Opportunistic Alliances – How Putin is Challenging the Unilateral World Order

In the abundant chaos in the streets of Homs, the unprecedented destruction of the sites of Palmyra and the stains of blood on the walls of Aleppo, Russia, Iran and

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Abe’s Gamble – A Report of Japan’s Snap Elections

Back in the beginning of 2017, the popularity of prime minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was at an all-time low. Many Japanese had grown tired of

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