Political Geography: Global Focus

301. Informe sobre Sostenibilidad en España 2025: Competitividad y Justicia Ambiental

Author:: José Luis de la Cruz Leiva
Publication Date:: 11-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Fundación Alternativas
Abstract:: La transición ecológica representa el mayor desafío de nuestro tiempo, una encrucijada donde convergen la urgencia climática, la necesidad de competitividad y un clamor por la justicia social y territorial. Este informe analiza en profundidad esta compleja interacción en España y Europa, cuestionando si el actual modelo de transición está logrando ser verdaderamente justo e inclusivo. A través de sus páginas, se revela una realidad paradójica: mientras avanzan los objetivos de descarbonización, crecen también las desigualdades y los conflictos. Desde la brecha entre la retórica y la realidad en los Convenios de Transición Justa, hasta el sentimiento de agravio en los territorios rurales por el despliegue de renovables, pasando por la insostenible huella de consumo de las grandes economías, las desigualdades en la gestión de residuos o el impacto de la pobreza energética en los hogares más vulnerables , el estudio documenta cómo las cargas de la transición recaen de forma desproporcionada sobre las comunidades y territorios con menos recursos. Frente a este diagnóstico, el informe sostiene que la justicia ambiental no puede ser un mero apéndice de las políticas de competitividad, sino su eje vertebrador. Propone un cambio de paradigma basado en la planificación anticipada, una gobernanza que garantice la participación ciudadana y la obtención de una «licencia social» para los proyectos. Solo así, integrando la equidad como pilar fundamental, la transición ecológica dejará de ser una fuente de conflicto para convertirse en un verdadero motor de cohesión, prosperidad compartida y resiliencia para el futuro.
Topic:: Climate Change, Human Rights, Economy, Political Science, Global Warming, Sustainability, Industry, and Green Transition
Political Geography:: Europe, Spain, and Global Focus

302. La regulación de los productos relacionados con el tabaco

Author:: María Mercedes Serrano Pérez and Yolanda López Nieto
Publication Date:: 09-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Fundación Alternativas
Abstract:: La protección de la salud constituye una exigencia de la persona y de la sociedad y a la vez una obligación a satisfacer por los poderes públicos. El vapeo representa un elemento que incide directamente en el campo de la salud, por lo que su fabricación, comercialización y uso ha de ser objeto de regulación. Del estudio efectuado en el presente informe se desprende la existencia de políticas públicas proclives a adoptar el vapeo como medida alternativa pero transitoria para abandonar el cigarrillo tradicional y por ello tendentes a liberalizar su comercialización, junto a políticas que continúan apostando por medidas más tradicionales para ello y que inciden en la falta de evidencias sólidas que avalen la ausencia de perjuicios del vapeo para la salud. Los marcos regulatorios analizados en el estudio han sido seleccionados atendiendo a las diferentes perspectivas con las que afrontan la adopción de acciones públicas dirigidas a conseguir como objetivo la reducción del consumo de tabaco. Los países estudiados constituyen un buen laboratorio de pruebas que muestran la pluralidad de criterios existentes en torno a esta materia. Todos aportan valiosas conclusiones en el contexto de la elaboración del PRD.
Topic:: European Union, Economy, Public Policy, Tobacco, Public Health, and Industry
Political Geography:: Global Focus

303. Emprendimiento Digital Femenino: Motivaciones, desafíos e impacto

Author:: Beatriz Arias, Carolina Quintero, Celia Fernández, and Isaac Pozo
Publication Date:: 03-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Fundación Alternativas
Abstract:: La cuarta revolución industrial afecta de manera diferente a hombres y a mujeres y se corre el riesgo de que las desigualdades existentes se agranden y perpetúen. Estudios recientes (2023) revelan que la participación de la mujer en el ecosistema digital es minoritaria y su representatividad parece empeorar año tras año. Corremos el peligro de que el nuevo rumbo que está tomando nuestra sociedad deje al margen a una mitad de la población, la femenina. Según el Informe 2022/2023 sobre emprendimiento femenino del Monitor Global de Emprendimiento (GEM, por sus siglas en inglés), las mujeres juegan un rol fundamental a la hora de impulsar el crecimiento económico y la promoción del desarrollo social en sus países y comunidades. Sin embargo, las mujeres también enfrentan desigualdad en el hogar, ya que soportan una carga más pesada de responsabilidades familiares, lo que contribuye a una mayor dependencia económica y una disminución del poder y privilegios personales. Con base en todo ello, y sin pretender abordar la magnitud del reto que la desigualdad hombre-mujer supone, este estudio se centra en el posible papel multiplicador de la digitalización en el emprendimiento femenino, el impacto personal y profesional de la emprendedora y todos los elementos que pueden responder a la pregunta de si está siendo la digitalización la solución completa para la conciliación familia-trabajo. Y ¿debe serlo?
Topic:: Entrepreneurship, Digital Policy, Fourth Industrial Revolution, Labor Market, Women, and Inequality
Political Geography:: Global Focus

304. Crowdsourcing for security in the age of hybrid threats

Author:: Imre Dobák
Publication Date:: 03-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: The study explores emerging forms of crowdsourcing solutions in cyberspace for security and national security purposes. It aims to systematise the main types of crowdsourcing solutions that involve civilian participation and contribute to the overall security of society in an increasingly broader context. The study begins with international examples of crowdsourcing, which can be visible in various areas of security. Identifying their specific features as they appear on open platforms helps to frame and examine the issue. Nowadays, the multitude of international security conflicts and processes indicate that the use of information and communications technology tools available at the individual level can effectively support the (national) security use of knowledge and expertise available in a distributed manner as a concentrated resource. The examples examined in this study indicate that the crowdsourcing approach can play a significant role in security and national security strategies across various areas. However, the adoption and effectiveness of crowdsourcing solutions in the voluntary contribution of individuals to security will undoubtedly be influenced by the nature of security events and the open involvement of members of society.
Topic:: Intelligence, National Security, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Hybrid Threats, and Crowdsourcing
Political Geography:: Global Focus

305. Artificial intelligence as a moral agent: regulatory implications and a relational–contextual extension of Moor’s classification

Author:: Maciej Czyszczoń
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: This paper reassesses the regulatory value of James Moor’s four-level typology of machine morality, considering the European Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) and the forthcoming European Union (EU) liability directives. It asks whether Moors categories—ethical impact, implicit, explicit, and full moral agents—still capture the morally relevant properties of today’s generative, adaptive AI, and, if not, whether adding a relational−contextual dimension can better anticipate responsibility gaps. To address this gap, we introduce a novel relational–contextual dimension and a three-factor Responsibility Index (RI₃) that refines Moor’s typology by cross-classifying AI systems according to complexity, autonomy, and behavioural predictability for regulatory use. Adopting a strictly conceptual design, the study combines analytic philosophy with illustrative comparisons drawn from recent EU policy debates and high-profile incidents. It refines key terms, tests their coherence against statutory risk tiers, and distils the analysis into a three-factor matrix—complexity, autonomy, and predictability—that can be operationalised by lawmakers. The evaluation confirms that Moor’s typology remains a valuable baseline for distinguishing between passive and decision-making artefacts. Nevertheless, it also highlights how moral accountability is distributed within socio-technical networks. The proposed relational−contextual dimension, in conjunction with the regulatory matrix, aligns more closely with the AI Act’s risk logic and highlights scenarios in which moral agency is effectively delegated to the system. Moor’s framework should be retained but augmented: only by integrating relational criteria can legislators close emerging accountability gaps surrounding large-scale, autonomous AI. The matrix offers a pragmatic tool for aligning philosophical insight with concrete legal duties.
Topic:: Security, Regulation, Artificial Intelligence, Moor's Typology, Relational Agency, and European Union
Political Geography:: Global Focus and Europe

306. The hero in military education and media narrative: Possibilities of development of values by media education

Author:: Pedro C. Magalhães
Publication Date:: 09-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: From the perspective of imaginary studies, as manifested in diverse mythologies, the hero is the one who seeks to prove personal value in the face of hostile conditions, confronting apparently invincible opponents to defend people and/or communities. In this regard, we investigated whether the construction of the hero figure in media narratives is congruent with the archetype of the hero as manifested in the military model of professional training, which is based on tradition and the ethics of sacrifice, from the point of view of military ethos. The research method involves bibliographical research and an analysis of media narratives, which led to an elaborate set of guidelines for carrying out media education in the armed forces (in military training courses) to foster the military ethos. This research concludes that the concept of the hero was transformed after the Cold War, giving rise to the anti-hero, who does not defend collective values but contrasts with the figure of the hero typical of military culture. Considering the characteristics of new generations and the current challenges of media culture, this work proposes some guidelines for developing military values through media culture: role-playing exercises, production of media on historical figures, and analysis of moral dilemmas based on historical and fictional narratives. The use of narratives includes, but goes beyond, educational approaches focusing on media skills, since, in addition to promoting skills aimed at understanding and producing media messages, such narratives also emphasise the methodologies and techniques aimed at developing students’ ethics and vision of the world with regard to military training courses.
Topic:: Education, Media, Narrative, Heroism, and Military
Political Geography:: Global Focus

307. Theoretical foundation of a proposed methodology and analysis framework for political instability risk assessment

Author:: Zisis Kyrgos and Ippokratis Daskalakis
Publication Date:: 09-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:: War Studies University
Abstract:: The last decade has seen the most cases of political instability and internal security incidents among all the decades of the 20th and 21st centuries so far. This fact alone indicates a necessity to address the factors contributing to the phenomenon in a way prospectively usable in decision and policy-making procedures. An analysis methodology taking into consideration the factors contributing to such cases would be a valuable tool to achieve the above necessity. Consequently, the objective of this research is to specify these factors. The methodology used to determine these factors involves a case study of historical cases of internal state unrest and instability. Fifteen cases were selected for analysis at random, based on the data obtained from the Uppsala Conflict Data Programme. The cases selected were analysed based on the parties involved in the conflict, the conflict’s historical and political contexts, factors contributing to its occurrence according to relevant bibliography, actions taken by the rival groups, potential external involvement in the conflict, and other points of interest relevant to the study. The factors determined include the social entity’s relative size, denial of rights, information flow, geography, leadership, means of projecting power, environmental conditions, repression/freedom of action, and triggering event. The above factors were cross-referenced with different theories relevant to the subject under examination.
Topic:: Security, National Security, Instability, and Risk Assessment
Political Geography:: Global Focus

308. Basic Needs and the American Paycheck: New Indicators of Pay Quality and Group Disparities, 1979-2019

Author:: David R. Howell
Publication Date:: 06-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:: A defining feature of the post-1979 American economy has been increasing pay inequality, but for many working families, far worse than falling further behind those at the top has been the growing threat to living standards made possible by a full-time job: falling pay quality. There are many good inequality metrics but no intuitively transparent indicators of the pay quality distribution. This paper constructs these by anchoring different points in the wage distribution to the living standards each wage makes possible with a single regular full-time job using evidence from basic-needs family budget calculators. This approach is illustrated with three anchored thresholds for the lowest-cost household type—a single-adult household without dependents: a decent-pay (living-wage) threshold that distinguishes low-pay from decent-pay jobs supplemented by poverty-pay and good-pay thresholds that define the bottom tier of low-pay jobs and the upper tier of decent-pay jobs. Pay quality (PQ) indicators measure the distribution of employment across these tiers of the PQ hierarchy for workers stratified by age, education, gender, race, and nativity between 1979 and 2019 using CPS-ORG data. Main findings include 1) substantial decoupling of decent-pay jobs (number and incidence) and GDP growth; 2) a striking narrowing of gender PQ gaps—whether measured by decent-, poverty-, or good-pay incidence—that reflect large absolute declines in PQ for men, particularly young (18-34) men without a college degree; 3) a modest rise in the overall racial poverty-pay gap between 1979 and 2019, driven by an increasing gap between white and nonwhite women that has dominated a declining gap between white and nonwhite men; and 4) the disappearance by 2019 of the large poverty-pay gap favoring native- over foreign-born young less-educated workers, both men and women. These findings document profound long-term shifts in paycheck-based living standards across American demographic groups with important political and social implications.
Topic:: Economy, Economic Inequality, Labor Market, and Wages
Political Geography:: Global Focus

309. In Defence of Social Security Against National Security: A Lotka-Volterra Model of Military Expenditures and Civilian Expenditures

Author:: Benjamin Levy and Adem Yavuz Elveren
Publication Date:: 08-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:: This paper introduces a novel application of the Lotka-Volterra model to analyze the dynamic interplay between military and civilian government spending in the United States from 1960 to 2019. Drawing on the classical ‘guns versus butter’ framework, we conceptualize military spending as a predator and civilian spending as prey, both constrained by GDP as a shared resource. By constructing a system of nonlinear differential equations, we model inter-sectoral competition, long-term memory effects, and time-varying growth and carrying capacities. The model reveals strong asymmetries in budgetary interaction: military expenditures exert a disproportionately negative impact on civilian spending, while being more sensitive to shared constraints, suggesting a prey-like vulnerability. Using a genetic algorithm for parameter estimation, we demonstrate that shifts in growth rates and sectoral capacities correspond closely with historical inflection points, such as the Cold War and the War on Terror. Our findings offer compelling evidence of Lotka-Volterra-like oscillatory behavior in public budget allocation, underscoring the strategic dominance of military priorities over social investments. This dynamic modeling approach provides new insights into the systemic trade-offs embedded in fiscal policy and raises critical questions about the sustainability of militarized economic strategies.
Topic:: National Security, Military Spending, Social Security, Social Spending, and Modeling
Political Geography:: Global Focus

310. Financialization: New Palgrave Dictionary

Author:: Gerald Epstein
Publication Date:: 06-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:: “Financialization” is the latest, and probably most widely used term by analysts trying to “name” and understand the contemporary rise of finance and its powerful role in our economy, politics and society. The term had been developed long before the crisis of 2008 but, since the crisis hit, it has become even more popular. This vast and rapidly expanding literature on financialization has a number of important strands. Some of the literature focuses on clarifying the definition of financialization, and assessing whether it is a dominant cause of the ills confronting capitalism or is just a symptom of other, deeper causes; some asks whether financialization is a new “phase” of capitalist development, perhaps a new “mode of accumulation”, or considers whether it is just one among a number of important developments along with “neo-liberalism”, “digitization” and “globalization”; other literature tries to measure the nature and extent of financialization; and still other work attempts to analyze the impact of financialization on important phenomena such as financial crises, productive investment, productivity growth, wages and income distribution; and finally, other literature focuses on policies that can improve finance’s role in the economy. In recent years, the term “financialization” has become popularized and has currency far outside of academia; it has also become less specific and less well defined and, for that reason, may have outlived its usefulness as an academically informative category.
Topic:: Economy, Macroeconomics, and Financialized Capitalism
Political Geography:: Global Focus

311. The Risks of Unregulated “Private” Credit Funds

Author:: Lenore Palladino and Harrison Karlewicz
Publication Date:: 06-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:: The “private” financial industry—which contains financial instruments not traded on open exchanges and financial institutions that are underregulated—is no longer an ‘alternative’ to open financial markets. Between 2020 and 2023, assets in private funds grew by 34 percent, from $20.8 trillion to nearly $28 trillion. While private equity funds have been subject to attention from academics and policymakers, another institutional formation is growing rapidly and has received far less scrutiny: private credit funds. The private credit market has drawn borrowers who cannot secure credit from regulated banks—raising questions about their suitability for such unregulated market transactions. While borrowers benefit from flexible lending terms, these terms come at a higher cost. The private nature of these loans offers another key advantage: unlike corporate bonds, the loan terms remain confidential. The global industry of private credit has $1.8 trillion in assets under management, up from $500 billion in 2015. This article examines the history of this evolution in credit provision and the risks to limited partners and the broader financial system posed by unregulated private credit funds.
Topic:: Governance, Regulation, Finance, Industry, and Financial Institutions
Political Geography:: Global Focus

312. Stabilizing Cobalt Markets: A Price Floor for U.S. Minerals Security

Author:: Gracelin Baskaran and Meredith Schwartz
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: Achieving economic viability for minerals security is one of the most pressing hurdles facing U.S. minerals security objectives. While this challenge spans the entire critical minerals landscape, it is particularly acute for cobalt. Despite cobalt’s central role in both energy security and the defense industrial base, its market remains highly distorted in the critical minerals ecosystem. Prices have swung wildly over the past decade, driven less by supply-and-demand fundamentals than by strategic behavior, particularly persistent oversupply from People’s Republic of China (PRC) producers that dominate global mining, refining, and processing. Between May 2022 and May 2025, cobalt prices plunged 59.5 percent, falling from $41 to $16.62 per pound. This sharp decline coincided with China Molybdenum Company Limited (CMOC) nearly doubling its annual cobalt production in 2024, reaching record output levels despite market prices falling more than 60 percent. The surge in PRC output has pushed several Western operations out of the market. In 2022, Jervois opened the United States’ only cobalt mine in Idaho, only to shutter it that the following year as prices cratered. While cobalt prices have begun to show upward momentum after a long period of weakness, the benchmark price for refined cobalt remains around $22.30 per pound as of late November 2025. But this relief is fleeting. The DRC has already signaled that it will move away from an export ban—an action that will flood the market once again and put renewed downward pressure on cobalt prices. To avoid another collapse that forces non-PRC producers offline, the United States and its allies must move quickly to deploy price support mechanisms that keep Western mines operating and prevent the market from reverting to PRC dominance.
Topic:: Security, Markets, Supply Chains, Cobalt, and Critical Minerals
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

313. The Depleting Missile Defense Interceptor Inventory

Author:: Wes Rumbaugh
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: The prolific use of missiles and drones in the June 2025 war between Israel and Iran illustrated the growing role of these weapons in modern conflict. The significant expenditure of air and missile defense interceptors, especially by the United States, over the course of the 12-day conflict highlighted both the scarcity and importance of these critical military capabilities. Estimating interceptor inventories presents certain challenges, but examining the available budget data allows for a better contextualization around reported expenditure numbers. This data raises concerns about the inventory of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, in particular, suggesting the need to invest in additional capacity. Nevertheless, these investments must be coupled with measures to provide a more sustainable demand signal to industry if the goal is to build a more resilient and responsive industrial base for air and missile defense interceptors.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Drones, Missile Defense, Defense Spending, and Interceptors
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

314. A New Era in Health Security: A Call to Action from the CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security

Author:: J. Stephen Morrison, Michaela Simoneau, Katherine E. Bliss, Enoh T. Ebong, Elizabeth Cameron, and Paul Friedrichs
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: The CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security has evaluated the policy changes unfolding in the past several months as a new era in national, economic, and health security begins. This call to action is an appeal to the administration and Congress to protect and strengthen investments in health security programs, which make Americans safer, stronger, and more prosperous. The first order of business is to restore confidence and trust in health security policies and their execution. To that end, the alliance calls on the administration and Congress to (1) stabilize and modernize core health security capabilities; (2) secure and sustain U.S. leadership in science and biomedical research; and (3) accelerate innovations in financing that enable efficient, effective, and accountable health security investments. Together, these actions will ensure Americans remain protected, U.S. innovation remains competitive, and U.S. government programming is more efficient and sustainable going forward, assured of strong support among Americans.
Topic:: Infectious Diseases, Global Health, and Health Security
Political Geography:: North America, Global Focus, and United States of America

315. High-Altitude Nuclear Explosions: Myths and Reality

Author:: Scott Pence and Adam F. Reynolds
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: Thankfully, no party has used nuclear weapons in war since 1945. Treaties limiting nuclear tests and weapon inventories during the Cold War highlighted the pragmatism of world leaders. As memories fade, and nascent nuclear states mature, the potential for their use (or misuse) rises. In a strategic environment with multiple nuclear-armed states of various sizes and incentives, it is important to understand the science underlying the use of nuclear weapons in novel and unexpected ways. As opposed to the ground bursts of World War II, their use in the sky has potential to achieve certain objectives without catastrophic loss of life. Due partly to the lack of testing and partly to a somber reluctance to consider this potentiality, many misunderstandings persist. There is a need to address prevailing myths about the use of high-altitude nuclear explosions and provide realities rooted in the existing research on the subject.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Nuclear Weapons, and Missile Defense
Political Geography:: Global Focus

316. Assessing the Policy Ecosystems and Scaling Pathways of Direct Lithium Extraction

Author:: Milo McBride, Tom Moerenhout, and Diego Rivera Rivota
Publication Date:: 05-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:: Lithium plays a critical role in the global energy transition. It is the core ingredient of lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs) and are used in stationary energy storage systems. Due to its unique properties, lithium cannot be easily substituted when high performance is required—and that is unlikely to change with technological developments in the foreseeable future. For these reasons, forecasters expect lithium demand to rise precipitously through 2030 and then remain on an upward trajectory. Meeting this fast-growing demand will require the development of many new lithium extraction projects. Developing any type of mine is a complex endeavor that often requires considerable time. But the lithium industry faces a set of structural, economic, and environmental challenges that compounds the difficulty of scaling production. Specifically, the lithium sector is small relative to many other mining industries, and fluctuating lithium prices are making it hard to attract investment. This in combination with long lead times can make it complicated to respond to short-term demand fluctuations. This report, part of the Critical Materials program at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA, explores the policy ecosystems supporting the development of a newer set of lithium production technologies based on direct lithium extraction (DLE), which involves the selective extraction of lithium ions from subsurface brines. If DLE technologies are scalable and mature, they could help meet lithium demand in the medium and especially the long term. In theory, DLE can be more efficient, effective, and sustainable than conventional lithium mining technologies, though more research is needed to demonstrate when and how. The report focuses on the fiscal and regulatory mechanisms in place in the countries or regions that are developing DLE technologies, including the US, Canada, Chile, Bolivia, China, and Europe. These mechanisms have been effective in driving DLE development and deployment to date, but higher levels of support and novel policy maneuvers will be needed if governments want to continue to support efforts to scale DLE and potentially make it competitive with legacy forms of lithium production.
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, Mining, Lithium, Electric Vehicles, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:: Global Focus

317. Maternal and Child Mortality: How Do U.S. States Compare Internationally?

Author:: Evan D. Gumas, Munira Z. Gunja, and Irene Papanicolas
Publication Date:: 10-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Commonwealth Fund
Abstract:: In the United States, the risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes is more than four times higher for someone giving birth in Louisiana than in California, and a child born in Mississippi is nearly three times more likely to die before age 5 than a child in Massachusetts. National averages can obscure this dramatic variation, much of which stems from state-level policy choices around Medicaid, reproductive health, hospital regulation, and social welfare, among others. To examine variations within the U.S., this brief compares maternal and child mortality rates at the national, state, and racial and ethnic level to 200 countries. Comparing disaggregated U.S. rates to nations with similar population sizes and economies can illuminate how different policy environments shape health outcomes. Historically, states that invest more in health coverage, reproductive care, and social protections tend to have better health outcomes, in some cases on par with high-income countries, while states that invest less and pass more restrictive policies have outcomes similar to low- and middle-income or politically unstable countries.1 Disaggregating by race and ethnicity is critical for a full picture of maternal and child mortality in the U.S. as state and national mortality rates often mask worse outcomes for Black, American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN), and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities. This brief draws on data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), national registries, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) (see “How We Conducted This Study” for more details).
Topic:: Race, Public Health, Child Mortality, Disparity, and Maternal Mortality
Political Geography:: North America, Global Focus, and United States of America

318. A Roadmap to Catalyze Methane Abatement in the Oil and Gas Sector Using Debt Financing

Author:: Luisa Palacios, Gautam Jain, and Preetha Jemarthan
Publication Date:: 06-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:: Human-caused methane emissions have contributed to at least one quarter of global warming since the preindustrial era.[1] Since methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2) in trapping heat over the first two decades after its release, abating methane is considered a critical near-term strategy for reducing emissions.[2] Even with the urgent need for action, methane emissions from the energy sector reached a near-record high in 2023, largely driven by the oil and gas industry.[3] To limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, methane emissions from the oil and gas sector must fall by at least 75 percent by 2030. This is a pivotal condition for the global energy sector to reach net zero by 2050, as outlined in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario (NZE Scenario).[4] The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has identified methane abatement from the oil and gas sector as one of the most cost-effective strategies to rapidly reduce the rate of warming and contribute substantially to global efforts to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.[5] However, capital deployment for methane abatement is falling short of the pace needed to meet the 2030 reduction conditions despite favorable economics and recent policy support. In response to the growing urgency to address methane emissions, a strong consensus emerged at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai regarding the critical need to increase investments in methane abatement efforts within the oil and gas sector.
Topic:: Climate Change, Debt, Oil, Gas, Methane, and Debt Financing
Political Geography:: Global Focus

319. Planetary Health and the Perils of Progress: A Framework for Governing the Global Commons

Author:: Pey Peili
Publication Date:: 08-2025
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: As the Planetary Health movement marks its tenth anniversary, the global community faces a critical dilemma, exemplified by the debate over deep-sea mining for the green transition. This NTS Insight argues that this is not a new challenge but a recurring historical pattern of progress-driven environmental degradation, with a clear precedent in the 19th-century annihilation of the American bison. This analysis demonstrates how the Planetary Health framework, by integrating principles of systems thinking, precaution, and justice, provides the essential governance lens needed to diagnose and break this destructive cycle. The piece concludes with policy pathways for embedding a Planetary Health approach into the governance of the global commons, including navigating regional norms like ASEAN’s non-interference principle, to ensure that the pursuit of sustainability does not create new zones of ecological sacrifice and geopolitical inequity.
Topic:: Environment, Governance, Mining, Sustainability, ASEAN, and Green Transition
Political Geography:: Asia and Global Focus

320. Strengthening Transparency at the AI-Biotech Nexus

Author:: Julius Caesar Trajano, Jeselyn, and Mely Caballero-Anthony
Publication Date:: 08-2025
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence increasingly shape rising biosecurity concerns. To prevent the misuse of emerging biotechnologies and AI for hostile purposes, greater transparency in both life sciences and AI development is essential. At the same time, when applied responsibly, AI-driven tools and biotechnologies have significant potential for detecting and responding to emerging biological threats, thereby reinforcing international peace and security.
Topic:: Transparency, Artificial Intelligence, and Biotechnology
Political Geography:: Global Focus

321. A Decade of Planetary Health: Learning from the Past and Securing Earth’s Future

Author:: Pey Peili
Publication Date:: 08-2025
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: A decade after its conception, Planetary Health remains a vital framework linking human and planetary well-being. It challenges a dangerous historical pattern where progress was accompanied by wanton environmental destruction, from the 19th-century bison slaughter to increased production of palm oil and modern deep-sea mining. To secure a resilient future, a shift towards integrated and systemic governance is required.
Topic:: Environment, Governance, Mining, Global Health, and Extinction
Political Geography:: Global Focus

322. In Remembrance of Dr Jane Goodall: Systematising Empathy for a Planet in Crisis

Author:: Pey Peili
Publication Date:: 10-2025
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: Dr Jane Goodall’s passing is a reminder that the era of relying on singular charismatic “giants” to lead the environmental movement has passed. Confronting today’s planetary health crisis now demands collective, systemic action. As this necessary transition unfolds, her legacy of uniting scientific rigour and empathy must be integrated into institutions and policies for enduring and collective change.
Topic:: Environment, Global Health, Empathy, and Jane Goodall
Political Geography:: Global Focus

323. Food Systems Transformation in ASEAN: Debates and Way Forward

Author:: Jose M. L. Montesclaros and Kayven Tan
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: There has been a rising chorus of organisations calling for the need for food systems transformation (FST) globally in furthering the sustainable development goals. Yet, FST remains a much-debated issue, given differences in beliefs on the types of transformations needed, and how these are to be achieved. These include debates over government support to agriculture as going against free trade norms; disagreements surrounding the prioritisation of environmental concerns amidst climate change’s negative impacts on food supplies; and issues over the benefits and challenges in implementing environmental social governance (ESG) frameworks. Such global debates, however, are better addressed when contextualised at the lower geographic levels, considering the unique circumstances of regions and countries. We highlight their relevance in Southeast Asia, and argue for the need for a pragmatic approach to FST.
Topic:: Agriculture, Free Trade, ASEAN, Sustainable Development, and Food Systems
Political Geography:: Global Focus

324. Bridging the Disconnect: COP30 and the Way Forward in Climate Governance

Author:: Adam Hansen
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: Despite its emphasis on collective action, civil society and Indigenous-led backlash at COP30 highlight a persistent gap in climate governance. Addressing state-centrism and COP lobbyism while adopting a human security approach is essential to reclaiming global climate action’s original ambition of responding to a crisis facing all.
Topic:: Climate Change, Governance, Human Security, and Conference of the Parties (COP)
Political Geography:: Global Focus

325. Pandemic Agreement: A Valuable Compromise Comes at a Difficult Time for WHO

Author:: Szymon Zaręba
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM)
Abstract:: Although the Pandemic Agreement (PA) negotiated under the aegis of the World Health Organization (WHO) may improve countries’ collective resilience to health threats and their access to medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic materials, its key provisions have yet to be clarified in a separate annex. Poland would benefit from stronger involvement in the agreement’s negotiations. At the same time, the financial situation of WHO will require countries to spend more on its support in the future.
Topic:: Treaties and Agreements, Vaccine, Pandemic, Resilience, COVID-19, and WHO
Political Geography:: Global Focus

326. Beyond aid: a new vision for the UN development function

Author:: Stephen Browne, Frederik Matthys, Detlef Palm, and Max Otto Baumann
Publication Date:: 01-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: This discussion paper advances a new vision for the United Nations (UN)'s development function at a moment when the organization is facing profound pressures and persistent skepticism about its relevance. Although a consensus exists that reform is overdue, past initiatives have been too incremental, focusing on coordination and efficiency without addressing deeper institutional and political pathologies. The result is a UN development system that has grown financially large but is losing political significance. It is increasingly shaped by donor earmarking, entrenched patronage and a project delivery model that bears little resemblance to how national development actually occurs. Our vision marks a significant departure from the UN's historical role as an aid channel predicted on the North-South divide. Instead, the UN's future relevance lies in leveraging its universal legitimacy, normative authority and convening power. We argue for a UN development system that: 1. Acts as a trusted knowledge facilitator: providing high-level and technical advice, supporting peer exchange and helping governments navigate complex policy trade-offs in ways that are independent, politically informed and normatively grounded. 2. Engages in public advocacy that matters: elevating norms, correcting misinformation and shaping national debates in line with globally agreed standards, with sensitivity to national contexts. 3. Applies universality in practice: moving beyond the outdated distinction between donor and recipient to engage with all member states – including middle- and high-income countries – through global monitoring and peer accountability. 4. Serves as an actor of last resort in fragile settings: providing operational support only where national governments cannot or will not act, with strict sunset clauses and safeguards against unintentional harm. This reconceptualization is not primarily about money. It implies a financially smaller but politically stronger UN development system that is less dependent on donors and more relevant to today's multipolar world. The real benchmark for success is not the volume of aid provided but the quality of advice, advocacy and resulting cooperation. Reaching this vision will be difficult. The UN's development apparatus is shaped by vested interests, path dependency and political inertia. Yet, opportunities for change exist. The collapse of traditional aid financing, the insistence of middle-income countries on equitable partnerships and fatigue with the current project-heavy model all point towards the need for a new approach. The Secretary-General's UN80 Initiative offers a platform for bold ideas, but only if the debate moves beyond technical fixes and acknowledges the political trade-offs inherent in transformation.
Topic:: Development, United Nations, Reform, and Donors
Political Geography:: Global Focus

327. The impact of global governance networks on social innovation for sustainable development: linking setup, enablers and cooperation results of the Managing Global Governance (MGG) Network

Author:: Johanna Vogel and Wulf Reiners
Publication Date:: 01-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: Networks as relational infrastructure play an important role in strengthening cooperative efforts toward sustainable development. This paper analyzes the Managing Global Governance (MGG) Network – a transnational, multi-stakeholder network that employs collaborative training, knowledge cooperation and policy dialogue instruments. The network includes members from Brazil, China, the EU, India, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa. To understand how the implementation of Agenda 2030 through cooperation in networks can be fostered, this paper examines the conditions under which global governance networks create impact. Using a literature review, external evaluation studies and 27 qualitative interviews, the paper categorises impact across four levels: individual, organizational, network and systemic–institutional. Additionally, it analyzes the impact on the network itself – not only as an enabler of impact but also as a subject affected by cooperation within the network. In this context, several types of impact can be distinguished, ranging from improved international cooperation structures to behavior change and the reorientation of organizational policies. We conclude that three dimensions of a network's setup are key to enabling social innovation for sustainable development: 1. the composition of network members 2. the cooperation infrastructure 3. the cooperation culture. These insights contribute to the ongoing debate on how to link change at the individual level with transformation in more institutionalized structures – particularly in organizations and broader systemic contexts. The paper is especially relevant for scholars engaged in network analysis and development, decision-makers involved in transnational multi-stakeholder networks, and international cooperation actors aiming for sustainable development impact.
Topic:: Development, Governance, Social Innovation, and Sustainable Development
Political Geography:: Global Focus

328. Development cooperation at a tipping point: how, why and through what mechanisms do policy norms break?

Author:: Andy Sumner and Stephan Klingebiel
Publication Date:: 01-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: This paper applies the concepts and theories of “policy norms” to the disruptive effects of the second Trump administration on global development cooperation. We argue that recent US actions represent more than a domestic political shift. They signal a tipping point to longstanding norms of the development cooperation system and specifically multilateralism as well as notions of global solidarity. This paper's objective is to explain how, why and through which political and institutional mechanisms policy norms break down or are reconstituted in global development cooperation. It uses the current moment as a case study of “norm antipreneurship”, potentially even “norm imperialism” illustrating the political and institutional strategies through which policy norms are currently being contested, dismantled or displaced. This paper addresses a set of questions: (i) What are the core mechanisms through which development cooperation norms are formed, contested and fragmented? (ii) How is the second Trump administration seeking to reshape normative regimes in development cooperation? (iii) What research agenda is needed to understand norm change in a multipolar and contested development cooperation landscape?
Topic:: Development, International Cooperation, Multilateralism, Donald Trump, and Multipolarity
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

329. The Economic Impacts of Supply Chain Fragmentation in Critical Minerals

Author:: Young Gui Kim
Publication Date:: 05-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:: Recent developments in geopolitical tensions have heightened concerns about strategic decoupling in global supply chains. Prior research has predominantly focused on macroeconomic impacts of comprehensive supply chain fragmentation, yet such extreme scenarios lack operational relevance. A more feasible scenario involves targeted decoupling in strategic sectors, such as the US restricting Chinese access to advanced technology industries, potentially triggering retaliatory measures in critical mineral supply chains. Even if supply chain fragmentation is limited to a few advanced industries and the critical minerals used in them, its economic impact is expected to be significant. Therefore, to accurately estimate the effects of recent global supply chain fragmentation, it is necessary to consider both a micro-economic approach at the item level and a macro-economic approach across the broader economy. In this study, we review previous literature using various methodologies and propose a method that integrates micro-economic and macro-economic approaches. Using the proposed methodology, we quantitatively estimate the economic impact under a scenario of fragmentation in critical minerals and draw policy implications. Fragmentation of critical mineral supply chains can disrupt the production of high-tech goods such as semiconductors and secondary batteries, thereby affecting the overall economy. These sectors rely on highly complex supply chains that span multiple countries and involve numerous components. The high degree of interdependence among items within these supply chains makes it particularly challenging to analyze the impact of critical mineral fragmentation on high-tech manufacturing output. To address this challenge, we employed a Dual-stage Attention-based Recurrent Neural Network (DA-RNN), which accounts for both inter-item correlations and temporal dynamics. Using time-series data on imports of various critical minerals, we constructed a DA-RNN model to predict the monthly exports of high-tech products, including secondary batteries, metal oxide salts, automobiles and automobile parts, semiconductors, and ships. Using the DA-RNN analysis results as inputs, we assessed the macroeconomic impacts of critical mineral fragmentation with the OECD METRO model. The OECD METRO model is a global computable general equilibrium (CGE) model designed to capture international trade linkages and policy impacts. A key feature is its detailed breakdown of final demand into intermediate goods, private consumption, government consumption, and capital goods. Two analytical approaches were applied to the three previously described scenarios. Approach 1 directly examines the macroeconomic effects in the METRO model by simulating delays in critical mineral imports from China. Approach 2 first assesses the impact of delayed imports on Korea’s high-tech industries using machine learning techniques, and then uses these results as inputs to estimate the macroeconomic effects in the METRO model.
Topic:: Economics, Geopolitics, Supply Chains, and Critical Minerals
Political Geography:: Global Focus

330. Domestic Spillover Effects of Global Inflation

Author:: Hongseok Choi
Publication Date:: 05-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:: The global economy experienced disinflation from 1980 up until the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. However, the pandemic disrupted global supply chains, which led to sharp inflation in the global economy between 2021 and 2022. In view of this significant shift in the global economy, Choi et al. (2024) analyzed how global inflation affects domestic prices and other macroeconomic variables in Korea, and the purpose of this report is to present their key findings. To estimate the domestic spillover effects of global inflation, in Choi et al. (2024) we regress the domestic inflation rate in Korea (as measured using the producer price index or the consumer price index) on the global (foreign) inflation rate, controlling for changes in the FX rate. The time-series regression analysis shows that global inflation has statistically and economically significant spillover effects on Korea's domestic inflation: A 1 percentage point rise in global inflation increases Korea's domestic inflation by 0.23 percentage points in the short term (within three months) and 0.32 percentage points in the long term (two-year cumulative). However, the effect must be interpreted with caution for two reasons. First, the magnitude of the effect in Korea is relatively moderate compared to that in other advanced economies. Second, when other exogenous shocks are simultaneously considered, global inflation turns out to play a less prominent role than other factors such as wage and cost shocks. As persistent increases in living costs could erode private consumption and, in time, slow down growth, policymakers must continuously pursue structural reforms from a medium- to long-term perspective, while backing them with short-term response measures, thereby optimizing the overall policy mix amid heightened uncertainty.
Topic:: Economy, Inflation, Macroeconomics, COVID-19, Supply Chains, and Cost of Living
Political Geography:: Global Focus

331. How Intangible Investments Drive Economic Growth in Major Countries

Author:: Sang-Ha Yoon
Publication Date:: 05-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:: In today’s digital economy, intangible assets—such as software, R&D, branding, and organizational capital—have emerged as powerful drivers of productivity and long-term economic growth. This report investigates the growing importance of intangible investments across major economies, drawing on data from the EU KLEMS and INTANProd (EKIP) databases. It reveals that intangible capital, particularly in manufacturing, ICT, and financial services sectors, now often exceeds tangible capital in its contribution to value-added, especially in countries like the U.S., U.K., and France. A detailed growth accounting analysis shows that intangible capital has become a dominant contributor to GDP growth in advanced economies, with innovation-related assets like software and R&D playing a pivotal role in boosting total factor productivity. While returns on intangible investments vary by country and sector, efficient resource allocation and policy alignment are shown to significantly enhance their impact. The U.K. and France demonstrate particularly strong outcomes in organizational capital and software-driven productivity, respectively. The study emphasizes the need for better measurement and capitalization of intangible assets in national accounts. It calls for targeted policies to improve investment efficiency, especially in sectors like financial services where returns are less predictable. To sustain growth in the digital age, countries must strengthen innovation ecosystems, improve data infrastructure, and promote organizational learning and human capital development through smart, adaptive policy frameworks.
Topic:: Digital Economy, Economic Growth, Investment, and Research and Development
Political Geography:: Global Focus

332. Supply Chain Stability and Strategic Investment Subsidies

Author:: Sangjun Yea
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, industrial policies adopted by major advanced economies, including the United States, the European Union, and Japan, have brought about significant changes in the global trade environment. Guided by policy objectives such as digital and green transitions, the acquisition of advanced industrial technologies, economic security, and supply chain resilience, these economies have expanded support measures to promote domestic investment in selected industries. These measures include R&D subsidies, production subsidies, and tax incentives, and they apply not only to domestic firms but also to foreign investors. As a result, such policies exert a direct influence on multinational corporations’ overseas investment decisions by altering firms’ cost structures and locational incentives. This has encouraged the geographic reallocation of R&D activities and production facilities, particularly in advanced technology-intensive and strategically important sectors such as semiconductors and batteries. These developments have emerged as a key structural driver reshaping global supply chains around newly favored investment locations. Against this background, this article draws on Yea et al. (2024) to briefly examine how subsidies for investment in so-called strategic industries, which governments deploy to achieve industrial policy objectives, affect multinational enterprises’ foreign direct investment decisions. Yea et al. (2024) theoretically investigate how supply chain stability and uncertainty surrounding the technological capabilities of investing firms interact with the design of government subsidies aimed at attracting multinational investment, using a stylized model of firm decision-making. The following section provides a concise overview of the theoretical framework developed by Yea et al. (2024) and the key implications derived from the model.
Topic:: Industrial Policy, Investment, Supply Chains, and Subsidies
Political Geography:: Global Focus

333. Women’s Rights in Islam: The Responsibility for Women’s Education

Author:: Norany Sman, Ke Sambo, and Harth Bunhe
Publication Date:: 02-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Review of Human Rights
Institution:: Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:: Generalizations about Islam and human rights in Islam are seen replete in today's media, especially the misconceptions on Muslim women's rights. With an emphasis on the historical, theological, and social aspects of women's access to knowledge in Islamic tradition, this paper aims to explore the rights and obligations of women in Islam regarding education. It also discusses the harmony between women's rights to education and the value of the obligation of being nurturers and caretakers within the family. The paper highlights the continued necessity for efforts toward gender equality in education from an Islamic perspective while also taking into account the difficulties and advancements in women's education in nations with a majority of Muslims.
Topic:: Education, Islam, Religion, Women, and Muslims
Political Geography:: Global Focus

334. How to think clearly about what matters most: Prioritising humanitarian resources

Author:: Sophia Swithern and Alice Obrecht
Publication Date:: 11-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:: This paper sets out a clear model to understand decision-making spaces and influences, and proposed constructive approaches to the inevitable dilemmas and trade-offs involved. These approaches are applicable to all those across the sector – from global to grass-roots, from donor to do-er – who are seeking to negotiate wise choices in difficult times. The paper is in three parts. The first sets out the types of prioritisation decisions that humanitarians face; the second examines the pragmatic and ideological challenges to making these decisions; the third exposes the trade-offs at play as humanitarians set out their high-level priorities in response to aid cuts, with guiding principles to navigate these constructively.
Topic:: Ideology, Decision-Making, Pragmatism, and Humanitarian Assistance
Political Geography:: Global Focus

335. Explain: The Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus

Author:: Jennifer Doherty and Mae Albiento
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:: The humanitarian–development–peace (HDP) nexus has gained renewed momentum as a system-wide response to protracted crises, fragility, and climate threats. While policy reforms, new guidance, and institutional shifts have emerged, progress remains limited by persistent silos, unclear objectives, and weak engagement with local actors. This Explain briefing explores why turning coordination efforts into tangible outcomes remains a challenge - and why stronger political leadership, joined-up financing, and locally-led approaches are key to moving forward.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Reform, Localization, and Humanitarian Assistance
Political Geography:: Global Focus

336. Humanitarian year in review: shocks and reverberations

Author:: ALNAP
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:: The paper reflects on how the severe the 2025 funding cuts - including the abrupt US “Stop Work” order - shocked the humanitarian system, forcing it into hyper-prioritisation and resulting in widespread job losses, a rapid contraction of operational presence, and a dramatic narrowing of humanitarian scope. It highlights the emerging ‘evidence crisis’ and warns that without a more considered attempt to learn from 2025, particularly from those affected most by the choices that have been made, the humanitarian system risks “moving forward blindly.”
Topic:: Development, Foreign Aid, Humanitarian Assistance, and Aid Cuts
Political Geography:: Global Focus

337. Explain: Accountability to affected populations - Putting people at the centre

Author:: Jennifer Doherty
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:: Despite years of commitments, progress on accountability to crisis-affected people remains slow and fragmented. Formal frameworks and feedback mechanisms exist, yet meaningful change on the ground is limited. This briefing explores why technical fixes fall short, and why greater flexibility, local leadership, and a shift in power are essential to making humanitarian responses more accountable, relevant, and dignified for affected communities.
Topic:: Crisis Management, Accountability, and Humanitarian Assistance
Political Geography:: Global Focus

338. Explain: Localisation and locally-led action

Author:: Alejandro Posada Bermudez
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: ALNAP: Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance
Abstract:: Despite years of high-level commitments, meaningful progress on localisation and locally led action has been slow. This briefing explains the difference between localisation and locally-led action - and why both require different strategies to shift power and practice. It explores the political, financial, and structural barriers that have stalled reform, the growing calls to rethink risk and redefine “local,” and the emerging models that point to real possibility—if the sector is willing to change.
Topic:: Reform, Localization, and Humanitarian Assistance
Political Geography:: Global Focus

339. R2P at 20: Quo Vadis? A discussion connected to the English School perspective on international relations (IR)

Author:: Tor Dahl-Eriksen
Publication Date:: 02-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Review of Human Rights
Institution:: Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:: In September 2005 the UN General Assembly adopted R2P, the universal principle to protect all populations from mass atrocities specified as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing. Now, more than 20 years later, the vision from 2005 is far from realized. Towards a rather depressive background dominated by violent conflicts where mass atrocities still frequently occur, this article discusses what went wrong and why, and it tries to use accumulated insights to search for signs that may lead to a better future. By connecting the discussion to the English School theoretical perspective on international relations (IR), the article tries to explain why different challenges often are difficult to deal with, but not by definition impossible to overcome.
Topic:: International Relations, Sovereignty, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), UN Security Council, Atrocities, and Early Warning
Political Geography:: Global Focus

340. Communication Strategies and Online Political Attack: TikTok as a Global Electoral Battleground

Author:: Daniele Battista and Alessandra Petrone
Publication Date:: 02-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Review of Human Rights
Institution:: Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:: This research examines the strategies and tactics of political campaigns on TikTok, a rapidly growing platform, highlighting both successful methods and the ethical challenges tied to violent and polarizing content. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study identifies key strategies in successful political campaigns, such as hashtags, challenges, influencer collaborations, targeted messaging, and content adaptation. Dominant themes include "issue awareness" and "policy explanation." The study links specific TikTok strategies to campaign success while noting the negative impact of unregulated content on political discourse. The research offers practical recommendations for campaign strategists to adopt responsible strategies and calls for continued research in this evolving area of digital political campaigns.
Topic:: Communications, Elections, Social Media, Polarization, and TikTok
Political Geography:: Global Focus

341. When the Facts Change: The Future of the Global Monetary System

Author:: Barry Eichengreen
Publication Date:: 06-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: This paper considers possible futures for the international monetary system in light of recent economic and political events in the United States and globally. It contrasts scenarios pre- and post-inauguration of the second Trump administration. Earlier scenarios foresaw very gradual rebalancing of the international monetary system away from post-Bretton Woods dollar-centric international financial architecture. Recent developments have pointed toward the possibility of a more abrupt shift away from a system centred on the dollar and the US correspondent banking system. The paper considers economic, financial, geopolitical and technological considerations bearing on possible futures.
Topic:: Economics, Monetary Policy, Geopolitics, and Dollar
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

342. ‘King Makers And The King Breakers’ Perspectives On The Role Of Intelligence Services In Shaping Geo-Politics And Power Dynamics At Global Level.

Author:: Matthew Mare
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:: Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:: The goal of the research was to demonstrate the role of the intelligence service as king makers and king breakers shape geo-politics and power dynamics at global level. The theory by Kent was the fulcrum of this research and the CIA-BRICS power dynamics were cited to bring the nexus between intelligence service and the geo-politics are at play in shaping world events. The background to the interaction between intelligence service and geo-politics was well articulated. The study relied on secondary data sources and the research went on to formulate applied theory of intelligence in global power dynamics. The study noted that, world over and western world in particular the intelligence service is the fulcrum of making and breaking kings. The major findings of the study were that countries which politicize intelligence for personal glory suffers from external interference and political convulsions than those that differentiate the two. It was also noted that, the CIA play an important role in the American foreign policy by shaping and creating the future the country, for the USA to remain a unipolar giant. The study observed that the intelligence is objective in a stable and mature democracy than in autocratic political environment. It was noted that, most countries think of security interms of military hardware and overlook intelligence. In mature democracies intelligence conduct covert and overt operations to safeguard national interests over interests and vice versa in non-democratic states. In nondemocratic states the diplomatic missions are packed with political opponents, it is a political way of dealing with perceived political opponents to the leader. Whereas in mature democracy, diplomatic missions are packed with declared and undeclared intelligence officers to push the national agenda. The study created applied Kentism in foreign policy. The study made several permutations in the global arena on how the intelligence will make and make kings through direct interference, regime change, assassinations, destabilizing weaker states, induced coups, discrediting states through NGOs and CSOs and hybrid warfare to achieve the Western interests.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Geopolitics, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Strategic Interests, and Power Dynamics
Political Geography:: North America, Global Focus, and United States of America

343. Between Sun Tzu, Clausewitz, and Stalin: A Synthetic character of Mao Zedong’s Military Thought

Author:: Damian Winczewski
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:: Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:: In modern literature on military thought of Mao Zedong, authors puts a lot of emphasis on its relationship with classical Chinese thought. Many focus on the influence of Sun Tzu, or Clausewitz. In this article I would like to focus mainly on influences of the Marxist thought, through which as I think the Chinese strategist interpreted the art of war. I will compare Mao Zedong's views on the nature and ethics of war with the statements of Marxist classics on these issues. In this way, his theses, allegedly derived from classical Chinese philosophy, gain a wider context in which the influence of Stalinist vulgarization of Marxism on Mao's philosophical reflections in relation to war is quite visible.
Topic:: War, Military Affairs, Philosophy, Mao Zedong, Carl von Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, Josef Stalin, and Ethics
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Global Focus

344. Structural Barriers and Power Dynamics in UNCITRAL WGIII: Upholding the Status Quo?

Author:: Ladan Mehranvar and Lea Di Salvatore
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:: This paper critically examines whether the UNCITRAL Working Group III reform process in investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) is procedurally inclusive and meaningfully accessible to developing countries, which are disproportionately subject to ISDS claims. Drawing on attendance and participation patterns across five negotiating sessions between September 2022 and January 2024, the analysis reveals persistent disparities in engagement among States. While high-income countries continue to dominate the process, developing countries have nonetheless made strategic interventions and secured limited gains, despite facing significant obstacles. Their ability to participate meaningfully, however, is constrained by deeper systemic disadvantages – including resource disparities, language and expertise gaps, delegation instability, and limited access to regional preparatory processes. Rather than establishing causality, the paper traces how these conditions shape the terrain of participation, offering insight into the broader dynamics and limitations of multilateral investment treaty reform.
Topic:: Reform, Multilateralism, Dispute Resolution, Power Dynamics, and International Investment Law
Political Geography:: Global Focus

345. Linked but Distinct: Understanding Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Arab, and Anti-Muslim Racism (Part I)

Author:: Esaa Mohammad Sabti Samarah, Siham Elkassem, and Nuha Dwaikat-Shaer
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:: In this first episode of a two-part series, guest host Esaa Mohammad Sabti Samarah, PhD, LMSW (https://csrr.rutgers.edu/about/facult...) leads a powerful conversation examining how anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim racisms function as distinct yet interconnected systems of harm. Together with scholars and practitioners Dr. Siham Elkassem (https://www.uwindsor.ca/socialwork/60...) , Dr. Bryn King (https://socialwork.utoronto.ca/profil...) , Dr. Nuha Dwaikat-Shaer (https://www.wlu.ca/academics/facultie...) , and Doctoral Candidate Amilah Baksh (https://www.wlu.ca/academics/facultie...) , the discussion examines how these forms of racism operate across structural, institutional, and interpersonal levels, and how they are sustained through histories of colonialism, racialization, and political violence. The episode critically interrogates the social work profession’s response to these realities, confronting the gap between professed values and practiced silence. The panel names this silence as more than inaction: it is complicity reinforced by selective empathy, professional caution, and institutional pressures that limit meaningful engagement with Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim suffering. Listeners are invited to reflect on how racism is produced and maintained within professional spaces, and how social work education and practice can either reproduce harm or become a site of resistance and transformation. Part I lays the foundation by naming the problem clearly and setting the stage for a deeper examination in Part II, Beyond Neutrality: Confronting Silence, Resistance, and a Call to Action. The second episode deepens the conversation by examining neutrality, dissent, and professional responsibility, with particular attention to the impact on youth and affected communities. This episode is essential listening for anyone committed to racial justice, human rights, and accountability within social work and allied professions.
Topic:: Political Violence, Colonialism, Racism, Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, and Racialization
Political Geography:: Palestine and Global Focus

346. Beyond Neutrality: Confronting Silence on anti-Palestinian Racism and a Call to Action (Part II)

Author:: Esaa Mohammad Sabti Samarah, Siham Elkassem, Bryn King, and Nuha Dwaikat-Shaer
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:: In Part II of this two-part series, guest host Esaa Mohammad Sabti Samarah, PhD, LMSW (https://csrr.rutgers.edu/about/facult...) reunites with Dr. Siham Elkassem (https://www.uwindsor.ca/socialwork/60...) , Dr. Bryn King (https://socialwork.utoronto.ca/profil...) , Dr. Nuha Dwaikat-Shaer (https://www.wlu.ca/academics/facultie...) , and doctoral candidate Amilah Baksh (https://www.wlu.ca/academics/facultie...) to move beyond naming harm and toward a deeper examination of responsibility. This episode turns a critical lens on how the social work profession responds, or fails to respond, to anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim racisms, with particular attention to the ways calls for “neutrality” shape research, teaching, and professional practice. The conversation interrogates neutrality as it appears in social work academia, especially in relation to empiricism and claims of objectivity. The panel introduces and critically examines the concept of “weepy universalism,” a term they coin for social workers in their forthcoming work to describe how generalized expressions of sympathy can obscure power, flatten difference, and ultimately reproduce harm rather than challenge it. The episode also brings these debates down from theory to practice, exploring what they mean for social workers on the ground, particularly those working with youth and communities most directly impacted by these forms of racism. The series closes with a collective call to action, challenging the profession to move beyond symbolic gestures and toward principled, sustained solidarity with Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims, as part of broader struggles for justice and liberation. This episode invites listeners to reckon with complicity, resist comfort, and reimagine what ethical practice demands in moments of profound injustice.
Topic:: Solidarity, Neutrality, Racism, Injustice, Palestinians, and Social Work
Political Geography:: Global Focus

347. Punishing Atrocities and Fair Trials: From Nuremberg to Global Terrorism (Episode 46)

Author:: Jonathan Hafetz
Publication Date:: 11-2025
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:: In this episode, we welcome Professor Jonathan Hafetz for an insightful discussion on the complex legal challenges involved in prosecuting individuals accused of mass crimes. Our conversation traces the development of international justice mechanisms from the foundational Nuremberg trials through to contemporary approaches in the age of global terrorism. Professor Hafetz examines how nations have attempted to hold perpetrators accountable while maintaining commitment to fair trial principles - a tension that continues to define international criminal law. The discussion explores the significant impact of the U.S. War on Terrorism on legal frameworks and its disproportionate effects on Arab and Muslim communities. Throughout the episode, we consider how these legal precedents influence current justice systems and what lessons can be drawn from past successes and failures. This thoughtful analysis offers listeners a clearer understanding of the delicate balance between pursuing accountability for grave crimes and preserving fundamental rights protections, even for those accused of the most serious offenses. This episode provides valuable context for anyone interested in international law, human rights, and the ongoing evolution of justice mechanisms in response to atrocities and terrorism.
Topic:: International Law, Terrorism, Atrocity Prevention, and Nuremberg
Political Geography:: Global Focus

348. Politicized Scientists: Credibility cost of political expression on Twitter

Author:: Eleonora Alabrese, Francesco Capozza, and Prashant Garg
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP)
Abstract:: As social media is increasingly popular, we examine the reputational costs of its increased centrality among academics. Analyzing posts of 98,000 scientists on Twitter (2016–2022) reveals substantial and varied political discourse. We assess the impact of such online political expression with online experiments on a representative sample of 3,700 U.S. respondents and 135 journalists who rate vignettes of synthetic academic profiles with varied political affiliations. Politically neutral scientists are viewed as the most credible. Strikingly, on both the ’left’ and ’right’ sides of politically neutral, there is a monotonic penalty for scientists displaying political affiliations: the stronger their posts, the less credible their profile and research are perceived, and the lower the public’s will¬ingness to read their content, especially among oppositely aligned respondents. A survey of 128 scientists shows awareness of this penalty and a consensus on avoiding political expression outside their expertise.
Topic:: Politics, Social Media, Twitter, Speech, and Scientists
Political Geography:: Global Focus

349. State capacity, informality and clientelism

Author:: Giuliana Pardelli and Julieta Peveri
Publication Date:: 07-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP)
Abstract:: Understanding how to tackle clientelism is crucial for enhancing political accountability. While its negative impacts on governance are well-documented, less is known about strategies to disrupt these networks. This paper argues that stricter enforcement of labor regulations can weaken clientelistic practices. Using an instrumental variable approach based on within-municipality changes in proximity to labor offices and state-level variations in labor inspectors in Brazil, we find that enhanced enforcement significantly reduces the electoral success of clientelistic parties and curtails patronage and vote-buying. These outcomes are largely driven by a decline in informal workers, who are more likely to support clientelistic parties.
Topic:: Accountability, Labor Market, Clientelism, Informality, and State Capacity
Political Geography:: Global Focus

350. Starr Forum: Rethinking Globalization: America First, The World Last?

Author:: Suzanne Berger, Simon Johnson, and Richard Locke
Publication Date:: 11-2025
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:: Starr Forum: Rethinking Globalization: America First, The World Last?: Thursday, November 20, 2025 The Trump administration has reversed decades of US support for globalization by pulling out of multilateral trade deals, imposing tariffs, restricting immigration, and sidelining global institutions. MIT experts analyzed the impact and potential outcomes of such policies for our nation and the world. Speakers: Suzanne Berger is an Institute Professor at MIT. She serves on faculty at the Department of Political Science and is affiliated with the Center for International Studies. Her research focus is on politics and globalization. Additionally, she co-directs the newly launched Initiative for New Manufacturing (INM) which brings engineers, social scientists, and economists together to work on how to transform manufacturing. She also led the MIT Production in the Innovation Economy project (Making in America: From Innovation to Market, 2013). She founded the MIT International Science and Technology Initiative (MISTI) program, which sends hundreds of MIT students abroad each year for internships in labs and companies. Simon Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz (1954) Professor of Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he is head of the Global Economics and Management group. At MIT, he is also co-director of the Stone Center Initiative and a research affiliate at Blueprint Labs. In 2024, he received the Sveriges Rsbank Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel, joint with Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity.” Moderator: Richard Locke is the John C Head III Dean at the MIT Sloan School of Management. A scholar of international labor standards and comparative political economy, Locke began his appointment as dean in July 2025. Prior to this, Locke served as the dean of Apple University, which focuses on internal leadership and management education for Apple, Inc. and was Brown University’s provost, a position he held for nearly eight years. Earlier at MIT, he served as the Class of 1922 Professor of Political Science and Management and the Alvin J. Siteman Professor of Entrepreneurship, as well as the head of the political science department and MIT Sloan’s deputy dean.
Topic:: Globalization, Immigration, Multilateralism, Trade, Donald Trump, and America First
Political Geography:: North America, Global Focus, and United States of America

Search

Search Constraints

Search Results

Refine your search

Topic

Political Geography

Content Type

Journal

Publishing Institution

Author

Publication Year

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS