Written by Nikhil Nalam On the 13th of January, Taiwan’s 8th presidential election concluded with Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) coming out on top with 40 per cent of the vote following a three-way race. The victory represents the DPP’s third term in office – extraordinary for any party – with the ex-president, Tsai Ing-wen, having exhausted her maximum of two terms in power. The election received worldwide coverage, attracting significant attention mainly because of its precarious implications for Taiwan’s relationship with its neighbour across the Strait – China. While most headlines focused on the mainland’s response, they missed something equally crucial to the island’s sovereignty: the future of the various domestic issues Taiwan suffers from. One of Taiwan’s primary problems is sluggish economic growth. It was one of the few countries in the world whose economy actually flourished throughout the pandemic due to robust exports, but this success was short-lived. An epidemic accompanied the island’s abandonment of its ‘zero-COVID’ policy in spring 2022, leading to a drop in retail sales. Other events compounding with this, like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and worsened cross-strait tensions, debilitated the economy so severely that Taiwan entered 2023 in a technical recession. While they are no longer experiencing contraction, the island still struggles due to a downturn in the semiconductor market they are so heavily dependent on. Another issue plaguing Taiwan is economic inequality and low wages. As of 2021, the pre-tax income share of the richest 1% (a measure used to determine how much of a country’s income is held by the wealthiest 1% of its citizens) is a staggering 19.3% – the 16th highest in the world. Though, as a country, Taiwan did experience GDP growth during the pandemic, it was the salaries of the ultra-wealthy bringing up the average. Real wages, a measure of income that considers inflation, have been shrinking since 2021. This disastrous inequality has a crushing effect on the island’s working class – as of 2023, over 50% of employees in Taiwan receive a monthly wage of less than NT$42,000 (1,339 USD). The average household could easily be defined as impoverished, especially with how expensive Taipei is. So what does the new president-elect plan to do about these troubles? Apparently, not much. According to Goohoon Kwon, a senior Asia economist at Goldman Sachs, no significant economic and cross-strait policy changes are expected under the Lai administration. The DPP will likely maintain its previous approach of “innovative economic models, a shift from the traditional original equipment manufacturing model to developing cutting-edge industries and an ambitious transition to fully replace nuclear power with renewable energy by 2026”. While this could be a short-term solution to bolstering economic growth, it doesn’t really change the fact that the country is much too reliant on a singular export, leaving it vulnerable to the volatility of world prices, and it definitely doesn’t address the glaring inequalities afflicting the nation. A reassessment of government investments is necessary, and policymaking focused on wealth redistribution is required to bring prosperity to more than just the one per cent. Without reform, Taiwan may put up stellar growth rates, but its people will still face hardship. Change is imperative. Sources: https://economic-research.bnpparibas.com/html/en-US/Taiwan-Economic-strategic-strength-7/11/2023,48780#:~:text=Taiwan%20even%20recently%20entered%20a,Q1%202023%20(%2D0.6%25).&text=Industrial%20production%2C%20after%20having%20risen,fell%20steadily%20until%20April%202023. https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/taiwan-election-dpp-china/ https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/resource/semiconductor-downturn-may-be-near-a-trough-but-the-near-term-recovery-is-far-from-robust/ https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/OXAN-DB283878/full/html#:~:text=Inequality%20rising,2022%2C%20according%20to%20official%20data. https://www.thinkchina.sg/tackling-growing-income-gap-taiwan https://www.straitstimes.com/business/taiwan-s-presidential-choice-suggests-economic-policies-to-continue-good-for-tech-stocks#:~:text=These%20focus%20on%20innovative%20economic,with%20renewable%20energy%20by%202026.

By Nikhil Nalam On the 23rd of November, Dublin experienced the worst unrest the city had seen in decades following the stabbing of three children and an adult woman outside a school by an immigrant. Police cars were set alight, shops were looted, and violent rioters chanting anti-immigration slogans flooded the streets as the hold that far-right politics had taken on long-peaceful Ireland revealed itself. So what exactly sparked such a fiery movement in a country where such beliefs had been dormant for so long? To some extent, the emergence of extremism in Ireland mirrors the development of similar ideas across the rest of Europe. The continent’s far-right parties, initially united by their opposition to Islam and the EU, have gained new causes to fuel their agenda. Minority rights and the ‘unfair’ sacrifices that governments demand to solve the climate crisis have fueled a culture war that creates evident political polarisation, showcased by the graphs below comparing the votes European centre-left and radical-right parties receive. In Ireland specifically, the recent appeal of far-right ideology mainly stems from one central issue: immigration and the impact it has on the country’s ongoing housing crisis. Earlier this year, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar estimated that there was a shortage of 250,000 rental properties, with a November report showing that average rent rates had risen by 18% since the last quarter. The government’s setup of transitional shelters for refugees last year created significant hatred towards immigrants. In 2022 alone, Ireland saw 307 anti-immigration protests as the slogan “Ireland is full” – purporting that immigrants were responsible for the country’s housing gap – trended on all social media platforms. In an interview with Euronews, Nial McConnel, leader of the Irish Nationalist Catholic Party, claimed that “no restrictions on immigration” resulted in the “indigenous Irish being racially discriminated against, alleging that migrants receive ‘preferential treatment for social housing’. The baseless nature of such accusations – considering the fact that these temporary accommodation centres were never going to become private housing – doesn’t seem to matter to the country’s far-right demographic. To them, immigrants provide a scapegoat for the cost-of-living crisis, exacerbated by factors like Russia’s war on Ukraine and post-pandemic recovery, that is currently rocking the entirety of Europe. Furthermore, the current administration’s alleged inefficacy when it comes to managing this crisis is only fueling dissatisfaction. Among the bigoted chants at the unrest a few weeks ago, one was directed at Varadkar, as protestors repeated, “Leo, Leo, Leo, out, out, out”. While Ireland has long been acclaimed as a country without a major far-right party, unlike many other European states such as Italy, Switzerland, and Hungary, the growing dissatisfaction among these extremists is a harrowing indication that without a proper addressal, this could change. Such narratives need to be countered before they evolve into something even more dangerous. Sources: https://www.euronews.com/2023/12/01/what-is-fueling-the-spread-of-far-right-politics-in-ireland https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2021/0708/1204047-ireland-europe-far-right-politics/ https://www.euronews.com/2023/03/13/keep-ireland-irish-say-hello-to-irelands-growing-far-right https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_Irish_anti-immigration_protests#Background https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/22/anti-immigration-protesters-march-dublin-ireland-refugees https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/11/ireland-housing-crisis-far-right-europe-refugees https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/housing-planning/2023/11/30/new-tenancies-face-18-higher-rents-than-existing-ones-in-second-quarter/ https://www.npr.org/2023/11/26/1215227762/how-the-rise-of-the-far-right-in-ireland-provoked-the-dublin-riots

By Tara Joshi In 2023 alone, the Sahel is responsible for 43% of global terrorism-related deaths. The Sahel is a vast region that stretches across the Sahara. The Sahel has emerged into a region filled with a variety of powers. They include foreign, extremist, terrorist groups, French troops, and a sprinkle of their own. Initially known for its wealth of natural resources like uranium and oil, the region more recently gained infamous attention for its continuous coup d’états, slowly causing the region to dissolve into uncertainty. Mali’s government was first to fall, with its military taking over in August 2020. They were followed by Chad in April 2021, and just 5 months later Guinea. Shortly after, counties around the region fell to their respective powers with Sudan in October 2021, Burkina Faso in January 2022 and the most recent being Niger in July 2023. The rapid and harsh political changes cause us to question the motives and powers in place. The region’s economic growth is projected to fall from 3.6% in 2022 to 2.5% in 2023, the result of continuous political instability and conflict. The region consists of countries that have deposits of the most expensive natural resources and are amongst the poorest in the world. What causes the people of the Sahel to feel discontent with their political representatives and where is the money going? Money allocated for health, roads and general infrastructure does not reach the working population. Conflict and corruption are interconnected, with corruption feeding the amount of violence. Due to corruption, defence and security actors are not seen as credible providers of security but rather as contributors to the dynamics of the conflict. Along with this, a vast and complex security struggle can be seen. These security issues are most prominently seen in Mali, Burkina Faso and Mali, though present all across the Sahel region. The region serves as a base for several regional terrorist groups, due to the lack of governance in each country. Armed fighters, separatist and extremist groups linked to the Jihadists, Al-Qadea, and ISIL are most present and turn the region into a war zone, with the death of innocent every day. In 2022, the Sahel region counted for ½ of the terrorist deaths seen worldwide. The population grows increasingly impatient with the lack of action taken by their local government to combat these terrorist groups. Especially seen in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, the coup tends to use the lack of actions by the previous government as justification for their seizure and place in power. A previous colonial power in the region, France established itself as a key player in the development of the Sahel. Though the Sahel has been independent since the 1960s, France’s continued presence in the region makes people think that their exploitation of available natural resources and “neo-colonial” influence hasn’t ended. In 2019, France kept an estimated 9,000 troops in all of their ex-colonies, emphasising their power and ability to influence political events. While proving the exact link between the French and countries is difficult, France’s military continues to remain present in many African, ex-colonial states. They are able to exert military influence towards policies and claim the related benefits. Dispopularity was also seen amongst politicians in the region, when Mali’s prime minister accused France of “neo-colonial, condescending, and revanchist practices” in the September 2022 UN General Assembly. After the Russian military adviser’s arrival in Mali, in late  2021, Moscow repeatedly proved its ability to take advantage of Western governance shortfalls, instability and growing anti-french sentiment. This is not to no surprise, with the public outraged with the French’s actions in the Sahel- good or bad, seen recently after Niger’s military coup, kicking out 1,500 French troops. The growing pro-Russian appeal comes from both the population's anger at the French and the UN’s inability to respond to crises effectively and the very fact that supporting Russia is against France. The instability causes the public to turn to Russian “mercenaries” from the Wagner group who have been repeatedly involved in cases of political violence in the region. On February 7th, 2023, after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Bamako, Mali, he stated that Russia was to support the Sahel nations against Jihadists. While Russia’s Sahel footsteps remain small, they hint at a future of involvement. The future of the Sahel lies uncertain, with new powers and players emerging. As the situation intensifies, we can only hope that the Sahel, a region so strong in natural resources and was once a rapidly developing region, would be able to recover swiftly, for the economic benefit of the world. Sources: https://www.barrons.com/news/explainer-what-is-the-sahel-and-why-is-it-so-important-01605878107#:~:text=In%20pure%20geographic%20terms%20the,a%20tropical%20semi%2Darid%20climate. https://theglobalobservatory.org/2012/09/for-corruption-few-places-worse-than-the-sahel/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=273KS2IfRZE https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/overview#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20region's%20most,poised%20to%20exacerbate%20this%20fragility. https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep23364.5 https://ti-defence.org/sahel-conflict-boko-haram-mali-niger-burkina-faso-defence-corruption/ https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violent-extremism-sahel https://medium.com/@skandermanaa/fran%C3%A7afrique-a-neo-colonial-marriage-story-95745d0f1c2a https://www.mei.edu/publications/shifting-sentiments-sahel-anti-france-or-pro-russia https://mwi.westpoint.edu/how-to-lose-an-unwinnable-war-why-intervention-in-the-sahel-has-failed/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/12/france-united-states-sahel-making-west-africa-niger-mali-burkina-faso-security-situation-worse/ https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/02/28/russia-s-growing-footprint-in-africa-s-sahel-region-pub-89135

This is an interdisciplinary research project carried out by UWC Political review and Anthropy. Raina Lath, Vivi Li, Gwyneth Garlinghouse, and others contributed to this article. Some authors prefer to remain anonymous. Barbed wires outside people's homes, nucleic acid tests every few hours, and banging pots and pans in the hope of receiving some food are just a small number of events happening in Shanghai at the moment. To halt the spread of Covid, the Chinese government has confined over 26 million people to their homes over two months. And it was just nearing an end. Shanghai's latest Covid outbreak has been the most devastating one in two years, starting in late March, when daily cases rose from near-zero to more than 10,000. With the city having prided itself on its comparatively lax Covid restrictions, the failure of current measures to control the spread of the virus led many to view this as an opportunity for China to embrace coexistence with the virus. The attitude was confirmed by local health expert Wu Fan, who, in a press conference on March 26, emphasised the "indispensable role in the Chinese and global economy." At the time, many deemed the prospects of a lockdown an impossibility. Just a week later, the tides have turned. What was supposed to be 4 days of "mass testing" dragged on to a month-long city-wide lockdown. Without any warnings, chains and barriers have been attached throughout Shanghai's residential complexes. Workers are unable to go to work, students are transitioned to remote learning, and all of the city's health care resources are devoted to discovering and treating Covid patients. The main reason for the Shanghai lockdown is undeniably a political one. "清零政策", or the "Zero-Covid Policy" has been a constant in Chinese governmental response towards the virus since its emergence in Wuhan in December 2019, as seen in the city's subsequent lockdown. However, China's clean record with covid infection rates is becoming increasingly important to its leader Xi Jinping as the 20th triennial Communist Party elections, set to occur in the autumn of 2022, nears. President Xi has benched his political reputation on the country's past success of containing the virus under the "Zero-Covid," and to revert that policy would come at a considerable humiliation. Furthermore, while the Chinese government strives to present China as a leading producer of vaccines, they have been less effective than those used elsewhere. If there were to be higher mortality amongst the vaccinated Chinese population in comparison to those elsewhere, China may face public embarrassment. It is estimated that more than 3 million elder people may die if China relaxes its Covid regulation, many of whom are unvaccinated or have only received one dose. At this point in time, Shanghai is gradually reopening and getting out of lockdown, however the events occurring during lockdown have had severe political and economic implications. Firstly, the lockdown within Shanghai has severely impacted the relationships between the ruling Chinese Communist Party and its citizens. The shutting down of the city had stripped citizens of their human rights all in order to contain covid even with a small number of infections. Many people struggled to attain basic needs such as food. Since April — and for some residents, late March —, Shanghainese people have been unable to maintain sufficient access to food while being confined to their homes. Food supplies are monopolised by a few government agencies who are not held to account. Therefore, any food delivered by the government is of poor quality, if it can be delivered in the first place. Among the most severely affected were the elderly, who do not know how to use the internet and hence cannot access food delivery services online. The lockdown has also been marked by rampant human rights violations. Some residents were denied entry to complexes because they were unable to prove they tested negative for Covid, while others were not let out for the exact same reason. In some scenarios even, residents were forced outside of their apartments so that it could be converted into a lockdown facility. Those who dare to speak out against the authority saw their posts removed and their accounts suspended. Ironically, just three days before the lockdown was announced, two men were arrested for spreading "fake news and misinformation" on social media — the rumour that Shanghai might be placed under a lockdown! "My faith in the country has completely evaporated.." said Coco Yu, a Shanghainese resident, "I now realise that this country might at any time revert to the state it was in 50 years ago." Additionally, due to Shanghai being China's 'economic' and 'financial' capital, the economic consequences have been extremely severe. Trucks carrying in raw materials and taking out finished products have been unable to maintain a regular shipment schedule. This means that not only factories in the city have been forced to halt production, but there were also ripple effects in parts of China. For example, Nio, an automotive company based in Hefei, Anhui province (which is not currently under restrictions), had to suspend production in the second week of April due to a lack of parts. Similarly, there have been severe supply chain disruptions to manufacturing hubs in the Yangtze River delta where many multinationals such as Apple and Walmart are situated. In terms of the market, initial public offerings are no longer able to proceed due to the requirement for an official stamp from administrative offices which are currently closed. This has led to low liquidity in the market and high borrowing costs as the work from home situation has resulted in less productive traders. This amongst the other negative economic indicators has led to the central bank announcing a cut in reserve ratios for banks. As for the Chinese economy, estimations based on the road vehicle freight flow index (volume of truck and truck traffic on roads), which has fallen by almost 70% since the most recent lockdown, suggest that Shanghai's monthly real income may drop by over 50%. It is also predicted that the lockdown will cost Shanghai at least 3.7% of its annual GDP, destroying hopes of reaching the government's target of a 5.5% increase in GDP. Continuing on, as well as being the busiest shipping port globally, Shanghai is a hub for semiconductor, electronics and car manufacturing. This means that the supply issue caused by the strict measures in Shanghai impacts all companies around the world. According to a European Union Chamber of Commerce review in China, an estimated 30% of European firms have been negatively impacted since the lockdown began. A similar survey approved by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, 57.3% of firms have been negatively affected by the supply chain difficulties . The world is sure to see the impact that Covid decision-making has had on Shanghai and the wider China in the future. It has demonstrated the benefits and drawbacks of a highly centralised and authoritarian government which is able to implement any policy at its will without any checks and balances. While the national lockdown policy was in place back in 2020, Shanghai took a more flexible approach with individual blocks being locked down in lieu of the entire city. However, Beijing eventually overruled the Shanghai leadership as seen in the most recent lockdown, can be viewed as an assertion of power. It is hard to say who will carry the blame for the extensive economic and social costs that have resulted from the lockdown. However, it will be a sure indicator of the future of China's political structure. References: https://thediplomat.com/2022/04/political-tensions-simmer-over-shanghais-covid-19-crisis/ (really good article for political effects) https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2022/04/18/shanghai-lockdown-comes-at-increasing-costs-for-china_5980833_19.html https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3174448/month-lockdown-shanghai-reduce-china-gdp-3-cent-april-new https://theaseanpost.com/geopolitics/2022/apr/05/economic-impact-shanghai-lockdown https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/covid-lockdowns-in-shanghai-choke-lifeblood-of-economy/2569933 https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/what-shanghai-lockdown-tells-us-about-china-future-by-nancy-qian-1-2022-04

By Anon 1 million euro (1,384,250 SGD) a day for ignoring the rule of law; that is the penalty Brussels is leveraging towards a more and more authoritarian Polish government. In January 2020, the ruling Polish Law and Justice Party (Prawo I Sprawiedliwość - Pis ) introduced new measures to give the government sweeping control over the country's judicial system. The government can now remove any independent judges who “oppose judicial reform”. This move garnered widespread condemnation from many, including the European Union. A year later in 2021, the Pis further diminished court independence across Poland. Zbigniew Ziobro, Polish Justice Minister, was granted the power to promote judges to higher courts (known as “secondment”) and remove judges from appointment (with no reasoning required). Following the decision, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled this power to be in violation of EU law. This came just a day after Brussels levied financial penalties of up to 1 million euros (1,384,250 SGD) per day if Warsaw fails to acknowledge the ECJ and immediately pauses the activity of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court. The European Court of Human Rights also ruled that the chamber is “not a lawful tribunal due to political interference”. Poland’s parliament also attempted to silence a popular independent TV channel that had criticised the ruling Pis party. Pis stated that the decision to ban companies outside of the European Economic Area from owning broadcasting networks was aimed at preventing Chinese and Russian interference. Critics, among them the US (a vital military ally), said the move was aimed at silencing TVN24, owned by US-based Discovery. TVN24 was the government's most vocal media opposition. The law did not pass, but the proposition deepened worries of stifling media freedom and human rights in Poland from the EU. These worries began when just months after being elected, Polish president Andrzej Duda signed legislation to allow his government to appoint the leadership of the public media sector. As judicial independence and media freedom come under threat, women’s rights come under threat too. Poland's near-total abortion ban has many women's rights activists and opposition politicians fearing many women will have to face unmatched surveillance due to the party's conservative viewpoints. As Poland has also created a “pregnancy register” which gives the police and any prosecutors against women access to data that allows them to track when the women's pregnancies end, this includes miscarriages. A leader of a women's rights group, Marta Lempart, also spoke out on the situation saying she doesn’t trust the government to keep information about women's pregnancies away from the police and prosecutors. She spoke about how many women are being questioned about their pregnancy by the police and that "being pregnant means that police can come to you any time and prosecutors can come to you to ask you questions about your pregnancy." Every year thousands of women leave Poland in order to get access to abortion care, and many try and import abortion pills from different countries around the world. Polish women in tough economic situations are forced to depend on organisations that may have very limited resources. How long will women have to fight to get rights for their own bodies? To what extent do we define legal and illegal abortion? Even Poland was forced to clarify their laws in 2021 after a 30-year-old woman died due to complications in her pregnancy. All these human rights abuses continue to strain relationships with the European Union and questions of a possible “Polexit” continue to rise. Are LGBTQ+ rights next to go in Poland? Over 105 cities and municipalities have already adopted “LGBT-free zone” declarations (one third of Poland). The president has called LGBTQ+ “a foreign ideology far worse than communism’ - this in a country which only 33 years ago had experienced the horrors of communism first-hand. As free media, women, minorities and democracy continue to be compromised by yet another far-right populist European leader, could Poland be the next domino to fall in a post-Brexit EU? Works Cited Amnesty International. "Poland: Regression on Abortion Access Harms Women." Amnesty International, 28 Jan. 2022, www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/01/poland-regression-on-abortion-access-harms-women/. Associated Press. "Poland, With Near-total Abortion Ban, to Record Pregnancies." VOA, 7 June 2022, www.voanews.com/a/poland-with-near-total-abortion-ban-to-record-pregnancies-/6606318.html. Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com). "EU's Top Court Says Polish Rules on Appointing Judges Violate EU Law." DW.COM, 16 Nov. 2021, www.dw.com/en/eus-top-court-says-polish-rules-on-appointing-judges-violate-eu-law/a-59833245. Accessed 24 Sept. 2022. "Poland Clarifies Abortion Law After Protests over Mother’s Death." BBC News, 8 Nov. 2021, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59206683. "Polish Media Laws: Government Takes Control of State Media." BBC News, 7 Jan. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35257105. Press Corner-Independence of Polish judges: Commission asks European Court of Justice for financial penalties against Poland on the activity of the Disciplinary Chamber. European Comission, 2021, ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_4587. Accessed 24 Sept. 2022. Press Releases PLENARY SESSION LIBE. "Poland: Attacks on Media Freedom and the EU Legal Order Need to Stop | News | European Parliament." European Comission, 16 Sept. 2021, www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20210910IPR11928/poland-attacks-on-media-freedom-and-the-eu-legal-order-need-to-stop. Accessed 24 Sept. 2022. Reporters without Borders. "Poland." Bienvenue Sur Le Site De Reporters Sans Frontières | RSF, rsf.org/en/country/poland.

By: Nikhil Nalam The opioid crisis – one of the most devastating public health issues the United States has faced in the 21st century – is worse than ever. The issue has taken several forms over the past twenty years, but its newest chapter, beginning around 2015, has been especially fatal. Characterized by a massive increase in fentanyl overdoses, an analgesic fifty to a hundred times more potent than morphine, the opioid crisis’s fourth wave kills over twice as many people as road accidents every year. There were over 110,000 deaths caused by overdoses just last year, and this alarming figure isn’t getting any smaller. Thus, we’re compelled to wonder: what is the government doing about this? Furthermore, powdered fentanyl is often sold as a counterfeit drug due to its resemblance to many substances. Being cheaper and more addictive than its counterparts allows dealers to cut costs and ensure customers return wanting more. The alarming rise in polysubstance overdose deaths reflects the catastrophic harm caused by unintended fentanyl consumption. So, now that we understand the problem, we’re brought back to our original question: what is the government doing? The Trump administration, which was in power when the fentanyl crisis blew up, was accused by many of handling the situation poorly. While the administration did successfully push for slower fentanyl exports and increased regulation in China, it also severely cut funding to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), hampering federal policymaking. The problem, now the responsibility of the Biden government, has only gotten worse. While the current government has pledged mountains of money towards fighting the crisis, unlike Trump’s, it’s unclear where this money is being spent. Despite the billions of dollars the administration pledged, they still haven’t appointed an Opioid Crisis Accountability Coordinator, even though this was promised as a key point of Biden’s 2020 campaign that he failed to follow up on. A lack of federal leadership can lead to the misuse of billions of dollars, which could be happening now, with states having complete control over their funds and little to no public reporting on how they’re using them. Change has been slow, but it’s evident that it needs to happen – now. A coordinated approach at the local, state, and federal levels that is conducive rather than detrimental to policymaking is required to halt the onslaught of new cases. This means increased transparency, cooperation, and action rather than empty promises. Sources: www.cfr.org/backgrounder/fentanyl-and-us-opioid-epidemic. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/13/health/overdose-deaths-record-april-2023/index.html. www.nist.gov/image/drug-overdose-deaths-chart-0. www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/traffic-crash-death-estimates-2022#:~:text=NHTSA%20Estimates%20for%202022%20Show,Two%20Years%20of%20Dramatic%20Increases&text=The%20National%20Highway%20Traffic%20Safety,in%20motor%20vehicle%20traffic%20crashes. www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/DEA_GOV_DIR-008-20%20Fentanyl%20Flow%20in%20the%20United%20States_0.pdf. https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates. www.npr.org/2020/10/29/927859091/opioid-crisis-critics-say-trump-fumbled-response-to-another-deadly-epidemic www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/briefing-room/2023/09/01/icymi-biden-%E2%81%A0harris-administration-announces-450m-to-support-president-bidens-unity-agenda-efforts-to-beat-the-overdose-epidemic-save-lives www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/04/20/1170921912/opioid-settlement-billions-federal-watchdog-missing.

by Julia Piórko Bermig Poland has periodically disappeared off of the world map since the late 1700s. It's been partitioned by its neighbours for 123 years, invaded, reduced to a battle zone, a setting for humanity's greatest atrocities and later subjugated by the Soviet Union. It is natural then, to assume it has been virtually stripped of an independent political or cultural identity, that its grim tumultuous history has inflicted too much pain, and that its language and traditions have been effectively erased. Indeed, its contemporary history is one synonymous with suffering, yet it’s ultimately one of hope. It is a national identity that has been, by necessity, sustained through memory as opposed to territory. As history unfolded, over and over, Poles found themselves forced to live under a protectorate that sought to “russify” or “germanize” them. The Polish spirit is one of resistance and steadfast resilience. In the words of Ryszard Kapuściński: “In the Polish experience, the state was always a foreign power. So, to hate the state was a patriotic act.” The plight of the Soviet puppet state, the PRL (Polish People's Republic- Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa), exemplifies this stubbornness. Creatives hid behind satire to avert censorship and sought escape from the confines of a brutalist reality in distinctly Aesopian writing. The shipyards of Gdańsk, and eventually every metropolis, staged protests, demanding independent, free trade unions and workers’ rights. This morphed into the Solidarność (solidarity) movement, which championed the fight for democracy through means of civil disobedience. While the imposition of martial law and a military junta suppressed the movement, its undercurrents ran rampant. The Solidarność strikes and protests culminated in the first free elections in a Soviet-bloc nation since the 40s. Of course, to declare oneself a proud patriot, in today's climate, conjures uncomfortable connotations. It reeks of vitriolic xenophobia. No doubt, there are deep rooted, far right, nationalist factions of the electorate, who conflate pride with supremacy and weaponise it to justify backwards views. But it is crucial to avoid misinterpreting this deeply racist animosity towards anything foreign as a form of necessary patriotism. Polish patriotism has, at least historically, fought the oppressor, which has always been a foreign state, whilst nationalism characteristically oppresses the foreign. The two are diametrically opposed. The Polish national anthem opens with the line “Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła, Kiedy my żyjemy.” - Roughly, "Poland is not yet lost (or “has not yet perished”), so long as we still live." This distinctive anti-imperialist patriotism has been, in my view, a driving force behind the unlikely survival of the Polish nation, both as a legitimate independent state and as a culture. It seems that the Polish spirit, and the reason for its implausible endurance, is a form of patriotism in which rebellion against authoritarian and oppressive forces is regarded as a civic duty and means of survival. Works Cited "An Interview with Ryszard Kapuscinski: Writing About Suffering." U-M Library Digital Collections, 1 Oct. 1998, quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jii/4750978.0006.107/--interview-with-ryszard-kapuscinski-writing-about-suffering?rgn=main;view=fulltext. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023. "Jak Polska Przetrwała Zabory? Poczucie Polskości Okazało Się Trwalsze Niż Państwo." Newsweek, 11 Nov. 2017, www.newsweek.pl/historia/zabory-jak-polska-je-przetrwala/wjhh3pj. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023. Kapuściński, Ryszard. Imperium. Czytelnik, 1993. "Polskość: The Legacy of Polish Past in Its Present Identity Struggles." BlogOxford Law Blogs, blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/research-subject-groups/centre-criminology/centreborder-criminologies/blog/2018/02/polskosc-legacy. "Powstanie Solidarności I stan Wojenny - Zintegrowana Platforma Edukacyjna." Zintegrowana Platforma Edukacyjna, zpe.gov.pl/a/powstanie-solidarnosci-i-stan-wojenny/D1CygZdik.

By: Aditeya Das During the Republican presidential debate, candidate Vivek Ramaswamy made an absurd comment: "The climate change agenda is a hoax." Shockingly, his poll numbers soared in the aftermath. While this unfolded, the Panama government unveiled a $2 billion plan to manipulate rivers, in order to revive the dwindling Panama Canal. The Canal, responsible for ferrying 14,000 ships yearly, is at a critical point where it is drying up at significant levels. The economic implications are severe so it is of utmost importance to solve this issue. The Panama Canal was built in 1914 by the United States to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It relies on freshwater to open a series of locks that open the water flow in the canal. The source of this water comes from a man-made reservoir that has been experiencing a drought for the past 20 years. As a result, the water levels in the canal have decreased to the point that Panama authorities are forcing ships to reduce their weight, increasing wait times from one week to a week and a half. Nevertheless, even half a week is crucial as the canal is responsible for 40% of world cargo ships. Furthermore, this trend in shipping times can snowball to a point where shipping times can even double. A bottleneck has been created. Around 200 ships have currently run aground at two ends of the canal, partially blocking the passage and leading to even higher amounts of congestion and travel times. This can mean disruptions of supply chains which many attribute to inflation. An example of this is the crucial Liquid Natural Gas trade between North America, India, and North East Asia. If there is a supply chain disruption, there can be skyrocketing gas prices which are detrimental to many households not only in the West but all over the world. There are many ecological issues as well. The Panama Canal relies so heavily on freshwater that each ship uses up about 50 million gallons worth of it. The combination of this and the drought plaguing the reservoir nearby means that the government is forced to take away freshwater from rivers and lakes which can result in a spillover of effects on wildlife that rely on that water. The environment aside, the people of Panama will be highly affected. The freshwater that is being redirected is the source of the country’s drinking water. This means that a water crisis may also be imminent which is arguably more important than the economies of the superpowers. To conclude, the Panama Canal drying up has implications on an economic, social, and environmental scale. The water levels are dangerously low leading to many ships running aground and longer travel times as a result of congestion. This can lead to an inflationary pull on prices due to supply chain disruptions so the Panama government feels that they should solve the issue through the redirection of more freshwater. Yet this also has a downside, affecting both the ecosystems in Panama and the people’s drinking water so officials should be urged to find the right balance between economic gain, and social responsibility. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/panama-canal-trims-vessel-passage-quota-again-deal-with-severe-drought-2023-09-30/ https://www.pressherald.com/2023/09/21/commentary-the-panama-canal-is-running-dry-thats-a-problem-by-and-for-the-u-s/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/08/28/panama-canal-cargo-ship-restrictions-drought/70685156007/ https://usoas.usmission.gov/past-present-and-future-of-the-panama-canal/ https://www.eurasiareview.com/27092023-the-geopolitical-significance-of-the-panama-canal-analysis/ https://abcnews.go.com/International/panama-canals-low-water-levels-become-headache-consumers/story?id=102674557

By: Henrique Vieira Soares Content Warning: The following article contains material that may be harmful or traumatising for some audiences. K-pop is more than just music. It is a complete form of entertainment that embodies choreography, fashion and lifestyle. In today's globalised world, it is hard for someone not to be familiar with the music genre that makes billions for South Korea. K-pop is a fundamental part of the Hallyu (or Korean Wave), which is South Korea's cultural economy exporting pop culture, entertainment, music, TV dramas and movies. Hallyu started in the 1990's and has been a powerful way to exert soft power, which positively contributes to the country's economy and international influence. K-pop, in specific, has played a major role in boosting the country's economy, generating about $10 billion for South Korea each year. However, such economic development requires a price to the artists who get involved with the K-pop industry. The K-pop industry can be really tough. To start, many auditions have a competitive rate of 700:1, meaning that there's a lot of pressure to do well in order to become a trainee As a trainee under a company, your life can change as there's a restless training schedule and a strict contract that restricts you from dating, having an online life, and contacting people. In addition, many companies stress the idea of the ideal body and face, requiring their artists to maintain an "acceptable" weight and to do plastic surgeries. Even though a bill to protect underage K-pop idols from exploitation was passed in 2023, it is possible that the industry's behaviour will take a while to change. Beauty standards and exemplary behaviour are an intrinsic part of Korean culture, which motivates the way the K-pop industry works. The industry tries to build and shape perfect artists but mostly fails to ensure their wellbeing. These inhumane conditions have led to many suicides in the K-pop industry over the past years. South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates among developed countries. In the context of K-pop, it is not any different. Many K-pop idols have taken their lives because of the pressure to be in this industry and because of the lack of mental health support provided. The question that stays, then, is: how legitimate is the growth of South Korea's economy because of Hallyu given the negatives of such growth? Jonghyun was found dead in his apartment in 2017. He was part of K-pop group SHINee. South Korea and the K-pop industry need to start reflecting on what they are doing right and wrong. The increasing suicide rate in the country, and among K-pop idols, is a strong indication that something needs to be changed. On the other hand, we are talking about societal culture, meaning that some beliefs are hard to change, as most of what happens in the K-pop industry reflects what Korean society believes to be ideal. Yet, on an international level of analysis, South Korea's way of treating their artists could be negatively seen by some countries, which could affect their soft power. In the end, K-pop is still a cultural phenomenon that has attracted a lot of attention towards South Korea, which is good for their economy and has positively impacted their international relations. K-pop is an addictive phenomenon that will hardly disappear in the following years. Despite that, it must be said that the negative events in the K-pop industry may be seen as an infringement of basic human rights. Therefore, it is clear that its structure and way of functioning needs to change, as South Korea's economic development is happening at the expense of people's lives. Sources https://www.asiafundmanagers.com/gbr/kpop-and-economic-impact-on-south-korea/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inside-the-world-of-k-pop/ https://highschool.latimes.com/diamond-bar-high-school/the-dark-side-of-the-k-pop-industry/ https://www.statista.com/topics/5098/music-industry-in-south-korea/ https://martinroll.com/resources/articles/asia/korean-wave-hallyu-the-rise-of-koreas-cultural-economy-pop-culture/ https://socioeconlabs.org/articles/why%20kpop%20is%20profitable,%20but%20white-washed/kpop%20whitewash#:~:text=Not%20only%20did%20the%20popularity,for%20the%20country%20each%20year. https://www.theguardian.com/global/2020/mar/29/behind-k-pops-perfect-smiles-and-dance-routines-are-tales-of-sexism-and-abuse https://qz.com/kpop-idol-lee-seunggi-act-underage-labor-exploitation-1850369563 https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-51476159 https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2021/07/119_312404.html

By Julia Piórko Bermig In the digital age, social media is integral to our daily lives, changing the foundation of campaign politics. Newcomers and populists alike can leverage social media’s virality and outreach to establish themselves, raise funds and raise awareness. Many have turned to short-form video clips such as Tiktoks, following the latest trends of dancing around to cartoonishly sped-up classics. Is this just another ploy to relate to younger generations? Is this just wise campaigning? Or is it something far more dangerous? The Great Equaliser? Since roughly 2008, social media has been a significant tool in election campaign strategy; experts suggest it helped Obama win. University of Pennsylvania professor Dr. Yildirim studies how social media is changing how politicians communicate with their electorate. “You don’t have to have the big money, big bucks, big fundraisers, big supporters to be able to communicate on Twitter with your constituency”, she says. Thus social media can be a starting point for grassroots campaigns and those with no political experience. The effect of such political messaging can be seen through the spread of the #MeToo movement, which originated online and entered the cultural zeitgeist, and created meaningful change to address sexual assault. The hashtag was originally used by community organizer Tarana Burke but catapulted into the mainstream after actress Alyssa Milano encouraged women to come forward and share their experiences. The grassroots movement led to a long overdue international dialogue, surrounding the accountability of high-profile individuals and institutions.. Furthermore, political newcomer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used social media platforms to build a strong following and ultimately rally enough constituents to win her seat in the US House of Representatives. This sort of communication can also be an educational way to engage otherwise politically disinterested or unengaged audiences. For example, US Congressman Jeff Jackson gained prominence on Tiktok and Instagram for his insightful and remarkably unbiased updates on key issues and congressional hearings from an insider perspective.

By: Sienna Lovelock-Burtt On the 6th of February, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Southern and Central Turkiye, and Northern and Western Syria. It caused mass devastation and had a death toll of over 47,000 people. The aftershocks reverberated through the already damaged countries over the next few weeks and took another few hundred lives. However, one question remains: was any of this necessary? As international aid floods into Turkiye and Syria, much of it too late to help with the rescue, and questions arise about the death toll. Turkiye’s death toll in particular has been attributed to the failure to meet building standards of many new buildings in Turkiye. President Erdogan’s government came to power on a platform of economic growth and loosened regulations to ensure that could happen. 2003-2013 was an incredible period of growth for Turkiye, with per capita GDP almost tripling. Due to the growth, Turkiye also approved an unprecedented number of new buildings, especially in the less developed South of Turkiye, many of which did not meet safety standards. Over the last few years, President Erdogan has become increasingly autocratic, brutally crushing an attempted coup in 2016. In what many saw as a bid to regain his popularity with the Turkish people in 2018 (an election year), he extended “zoning amnesty” to buildings that failed to meet code requirements. Many of the survivors point to this as the reason so many buildings collapsed, and so many people died in the earthquakes. Given that this government is bordering on autocratic, and has willfully let its people suffer, what is the international response to the situation? Immediate, short term, relief has been given, to provide for and rehome survivors. The UN has launched a $1.4 billion aid appeal, to cover the basic needs of survivors for five months. There are ethical requirements to help these people who have faced an unfathomable disaster, but in the long term, as Turkiye begins to rebuild, is there still a moral requirement for us to help an autocratic government that has proved it does not care for its citizens' wellbeing? If global aid does go towards rebuilding, should countries demand accountability for building standards? Perhaps that violates state sovereignty, but is there any other way to know that Turkiye isn’t hurtling back towards a disaster of similar proportions - not due to nature’s wrath, but due to the fallibility of human errors? Sources: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/18/1157783760/turkey-syria-earthquake-aid-donor-fatigue https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-earthquake-un-launches-1-billion-aid-appeal/a-64736889#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20on%20Thursday,Syria%20exceeded%2041%2C000%20on%20Friday. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/10/opinion/erdogan-turkey-earthquake.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/21/death-toll-from-latest-earthquakes-in-turkey#:~:text=The%20toll%20from%20two%20earthquakes,both%20sides%20of%20the%20border. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/15/turkeys-failed-coup-attempt-explainer

By: Anjo Chu Introduction Free will is a concept that has been debated for centuries, the idea that humans have the ability to make choices that are not predetermined by outside forces is at the core of human existence. However, the idea of free will is determined by socio-political factors beyond our control, and it feeds into the idea of an illusion of free will. The Illusion of Choice One of the most common arguments against free will under capitalism is that the choices available to us are limited by economic and social factors. In a capitalist system, individuals are encouraged to pursue their own interests and compete for resources. However, this competition is not conducted on a level playing field as some individuals and groups have access to greater resources, giving them an advantage in the market. As a result, the choices available to individuals are limited by the economic constraints of the system. For example, a person born into poverty may have limited access to education, healthcare, and job opportunities. As a result, their choices are limited by their economic circumstances. They may be forced to take low-paying jobs with little room for advancement, or they may not have the means to pursue education or training that would lead to a more fulfilling career. In this sense, the illusion of free will is created by the appearance of choice, when in reality, the options available to individuals are predetermined by their economic circumstances. The Role of Advertising and Marketing Another factor that limits our ability to make truly autonomous decisions is the role of advertising and marketing in shaping our desires and preferences. Capitalism relies on the creation of consumer demand to drive economic growth. Advertising and marketing are used to create desires and preferences in consumers, encouraging them to buy products and services they may not actually need or want. Advertising and marketing are pervasive in our society, influencing our choices in ways that we may not even be aware of. For example, advertising may create a desire for a particular brand of clothing or car, even if the product itself is no better than other options on the market. In this sense, the illusion of free will is created by the appearance of choice, when in reality, our desires and preferences have been shaped by outside forces. The Role of Social Norms Social norms also play a role in limiting our ability to make truly autonomous decisions. Capitalism relies on the creation of social norms that encourage individuals to pursue their own self-interest. However, these norms are often in conflict with other values, such as community, compassion, and social justice. For example, in a capitalist system, success is often measured by wealth and status. Social norms encourage individuals to pursue these goals at all costs, even if it means sacrificing other values such as empathy or fairness. In this sense, the illusion of free will is created by the appearance of choice, when in reality, our decisions are shaped by social norms that prioritize individual success over other values. The Illusion of Responsibility Another aspect of the illusion of free will under capitalism is the idea of personal responsibility. Capitalism encourages individuals to take responsibility for their own success or failure. However, this emphasis on personal responsibility ignores the broader economic and social factors that influence our choices. For example, a person who fails to achieve financial success in a capitalist system may be blamed for their own lack of effort or ambition. However, this ignores the fact that economic opportunities are not distributed equally in society. The illusion of free will is created by the appearance of personal responsibility when in reality, our decisions are shaped by economic and social factors that are beyond our control. Conclusion In conclusion, the idea of free will is a complex and contested concept, and its validity under capitalism is even more controversial. The illusion of free will under capitalism is created by the appearance of choice when in reality, our decisions are limited by economic and social factors beyond our control. The capitalist system is designed to create consumer demand and encourage individuals to pursue their own self-interest, often at the expense of other values such as community, compassion, and social justice. The illusion of personal responsibility also ignores the broader economic and social factors that influence our choices. While the concept of free will may be difficult to define and prove, it is important to acknowledge the ways in which economic and social systems limit our ability to make truly autonomous decisions, by recognizing the ways in which capitalism shapes our choices and desires, we can work towards creating a more equitable and just society. This may involve challenging social norms and economic systems that prioritize individual success over other values and working towards a more equal distribution of resources and opportunities. Ultimately, the illusion of free will under capitalism is a reminder that our choices are not always as free as they may seem, and it is important that we educate ourselves on the illusion of free will so that we are aware of the factors that go into our choices every day. Sources https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/theres-no-such-thing-as-free-will/480750/ https://washcollreview.com/2022/12/08/the-illusion-and-reality-of-freedom-under-capitalism-an-attempt-at-existential-marxism/ https://www.quora.com/Does-free-will-exist-in-a-capitalist-society-Why-or-why-not https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13698230.2020.1830350