With all the global upheaval that 2020 has brought with it, it is interesting to take a look east-ward, where right between Poland and Russia, the state of Belarus has now been in turmoil for more than 4 months. On the 9th of August 2020, President Alexander  Lukashenko declared that he had once again won the election for president by a landslide victory, with state TV exit polls claiming that he had gained 79.7% of the vote.[1] This announcement was met with mass protests in the streets of Minsk and other areas of the country, with hundreds of thousands of protestors denouncing the election as being neither free nor fair…

Amidst a global pandemic, where every world nation is struggling with ensuring the health and safety of all its citizens and is plagued by multitude of deaths, the world is in dire need for all its nations to come together and help each other survive. It would be handy to have an international institution that facilitates that, oh wait, we already do! The United Nations has now been established for just over 75 years, and one of the frequently asked questions is whether it is still relevant in this day and age. The United Nations Charter was signed back on the 26th June 1945 and it came into force on…

Over the past few years, much has been said, argued, litigated and broadcasted about the security of democratic choice, ranging from the effects of big data companies on people’s free will to vote and on the integrity of ballots. But what do we actually know about these issues? Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, election security in the USA has reached unprecedented levels – indeed, Chris Krebs, the former head of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who was recently dismissed went as far as claiming that the 2020 US Election was the most secure in history. Defence protocols for such elections include vast guidelines on technological security, including cyber defence mechanisms,…

We’re used to hearing about the Cold War as something of pivotal importance, whether it’s in the history books, or a storyline for a 1980’s James Bond film. Much like the way with how historians like to analyse the French Revolution, the Cold War is an event with a determined beginning, and a definite end, but we’re always left wondering if it ever really came to an end, or if it’s just been renewed in different forms. Whilst tensions between the United States and Russia have most certainly been eased, they have not completely evaporated, but have instead been overshadowed by what some have considered to be a new Cold…

2020 has seen its fair share of hardships due to COVID-19’s negative effects. The pandemic has had a direct effect on the life, health and economy of people and countries around the world. It comes as no surprise that COVID-19 has inhibited the development of many prosperity-related SDGs. Nevertheless, the pandemic has had positive effects on planet-related SDGs. Due to travel bans and economic slowdowns, the UN reports a 4-7% decrease in carbon-monoxide emissions for the year 2020, air and water have become cleaner and there were places where nature began to restore itself after years of human-induced degradation. The main concern is whether COVID-19 will allow countries to achieve…

Divided by a little less than 15km at their closest tip, Europe and Africa have ties that extend beyond just their physical proximity – the history of the two continents has been linked for centuries; a joint past consisting of colonial violence, uprooted communities, the senseless plundering of natural resources, and other instances of exploitation and abuse of the African continent. Today, the disastrous effects of Europe’s colonisation of Africa have been acknowledged (at least, to a certain degree). The destruction and loss of lives that was caused by Europe’s brutal actions on the continent have left scars that are still plainly visible to this day. Those at the head…

Last month the United Kingdom and the United States of America accused the Russian Federation of firing a satellite weapon into outer space. At first glance, reading this headline on a news portal would cause you to raise an eyebrow, shrug and eventually sigh at the never-ending political bickering between these three states. Yet in actual fact, a deeper issue lies at stake here which few people are aware of. The Outer Space Treaty Primarily, it must be set out that outer space remains a domain which is prohibited from state appropriation of any kind. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967, to which all three States are parties to and…

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the world, all sectors of society have had to deal and adapt with the drastic changes this pandemic imposed on humankind. The maritime industry is no exception as it found itself at the very centre of this international crisis, directly dealing with the impact of border controls and restrictions, effects on trade and tourism, unemployment and health and safety issues on board vessels. Seafarers all around the world are facing difficulties in relation to their repatriation, as many have ended up stranded at their place of work. With the current border controls and restrictions imposed by each and every country, changing almost on a…