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Poland’s hospitality is helping many Ukrainian refugees thrive – 5 takeaways

Patrice McMahon, University of Nebraska-Lincoln More than 8 million Ukrainian refugees have entered Poland since Russia’s February 2022 invasion. About 1.5 million of them have remained in the central European country rather than moving on to other places or returning home amid Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II. So far, Polish citizens have demonstrated incredible solidarity and generosity, in many cases hosting Ukrainian refugees in their own homes. Many Poles told me that they appreciated President Biden’s visit to Warsaw in February 2023 and his acknowledgment of their work and sacrifices. But the end of the war is

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Bola Ahmed Tinubu: The kingmaker is now Nigeria’s president-elect

Olayinka Oyegbile, Trinity University, Lagos Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Nigeria, has been declared winner of the country’s keenly contested presidential election. The 70-year-old former governor of Lagos State and Nigeria’s political kingmaker will inherit a Nigeria that is faced with a fractured polity, national security threats and economic challenges including skyrocketing cost of living. Tinubu polled 36% of the 24,965,218 votes cast in the 25 February presidential election whose outcome is being disputed by his closest rivals. To emerge as Nigeria’s President, Section 134 of the constitution states that a presidential candidate must score

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A more hawkish China policy? 5 takeaways from House committee’s inaugural hearing on confronting Beijing

Michael Beckley, Tufts University In a rare show of bipartisanship, Republican and Democratic House members put on a united front as they probed how to respond to the perceived growing threat of China. The inaugural hearing of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party comes at a delicate time – amid concerns in the U.S. over Chinese espionage and tensions over Taiwan and China’s position on the Ukraine war. Michael Beckley, an expert on U.S.-China relations at Tufts University, was among those watching on as witnesses gave evidence during the committee’s

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All wars eventually end – here are 3 situations that will lead Russia and Ukraine to make peace

Andrew Blum, University of San Diego It’s been a year since Russia first launched a full invasion of Ukraine, and, right now, peace seems impossible. Peace talks between the two countries have launched, and then faltered, multiple times. In February 2023, a senior Ukrainian official said that peace talks are “out of the question” – without Ukraine’s reclaiming its territory that Russia overtook 2022. All wars end, however, and research shows that almost half end in some type of agreement to stop the fighting. The others end in victory for one side or when, for a variety of reasons, the

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How Putin has shrugged off unprecedented economic sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine – for now

Peter Rutland, Wesleyan University The U.S. and four dozen other countries have imposed punishing sanctions on Russia in reaction to its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The sanctions were unprecedented in their scope and severity for an economy of Russia’s size. The initial sanctions included the freezing of Russian assets abroad and a ban on the export of key technologies to Russia. Over the course of 2022, the sanctions were ratcheted up significantly as the European Union eventually phased in a radical reduction of the purchase of Russian oil and gas. Separately, over 1,200 Western companies closed their

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Russia announces its suspension from last nuclear arms agreement with the US, escalating nuclear tension

Nina Srinivasan Rathbun, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences After decades of progress on limiting the buildup of nuclear weapons, Russia’s war on Ukraine has prompted renewed nuclear tensions between Russia and the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his annual State of the Nation address on Feb. 21, 2023, that Russia is “suspending” its participation in the U.S. and Russia’s last remaining nuclear arms agreement – known as New START. “Our relations have degraded, and that’s completely and utterly the U.S.’s fault,” said Putin, who stopped short of entirely withdrawing Russia from the deal that

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Nicola Sturgeon resignation: the unanswered questions for Scotland and the SNP she leaves behind

Murray Leith, University of the West of Scotland When Jacinda Ardern resigned as New Zealand’s prime minister a few weeks ago, Nicola Sturgeon assured voters she still had plenty left in the tank. Yet apparently, Scotland’s first minister had been thinking about her own future for some time. She said so in her resignation speech on Wednesday, which came as a surprise to much of Scotland. Despite a recent and consistent wave of difficulty and controversy over the gender recognition

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Global economy 2023: how governments could make the energy crisis worse this year

Adi Imsirovic, University of Surrey This is the second instalment in our series on where the global economy is heading in 2023, which started with this article on global inflation. As 2022 drew to a close, EU energy ministers finally reached an agreement to cap gas prices at €180 (£159) per megawatt hour (MWh) following months of volatility that piled pressure on European businesses and households. The cap, according to EU policymakers, is an attempt to control the unruly market forces that saw gas prices spike to nearly €340/MWh last summer, driving electricity prices close to a record €1,000/MWh. But

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Global economy 2023: Why central banks face an epic battle against inflation amid political obstacles

Steve Schifferes, City, University of London Where is the global economy heading in 2023? After all the challenges of last year, it’s a question we ask with trepidation. Just as the economy was dealing with the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February ramped up inflation. Significant rises in the cost of vital items such as food and energy created a cost of living crisis that has engulfed households and businesses. Central banks reacted with a raft of interest-rate hikes, while a wave of industrial action saw workers in many countries fighting for pay and

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Four ways Netanyahu’s new far-right government threatens Israeli democracy

Boaz Atzili, American University School of International Service Democracy is not just about holding elections. It is a set of institutions, ideas and practices that allow citizens a continuous, decisive voice in shaping their government and its policies. The new Israeli government, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu and sworn in on Dec. 29, 2022, is a coalition of the most extreme right-wing and religious parties in the history of the state. This government presents a major threat to Israeli democracy, and it does so on multiple fronts. Here are the four ways that Israel’s democratic institutions, customs and practices are endangered

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Ancient Greece had extreme polarization and civil strife too – how Thucydides can help us understand Jan. 6 and its aftermath

Rachel Hadas, Rutgers University – Newark The second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection is upon us. And each new revelation about that brutal mob assault on our government raises a host of fresh questions about what transpired in the days prior to January 6, notably who was involved in planning the events of that day. Why, for instance, did former President Donald Trump reportedly consider a blanket pardon for all the insurrectionists? An answer to that question and others will surely raise more questions and ultimately reveal the scope of what we still do not, and may never,

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Pope Benedict XVI: A man at odds with the modern world who leaves a legacy of intellectual brilliance and controversy

Mathew Schmalz, College of the Holy Cross Benedict XVI leaves behind a complex legacy as a Pope and theologian. To many observers, Benedict, who died on Dec. 31, 2022 at the age of 95, was known for criticizing what he saw as the modern world’s rejection of God and Christianity’s timeless truths. But as a scholar of the diversity of global Catholicism, I think it’s best to avoid simple characterizations of Benedict’s theology, which I believe will influence the Catholic Church for generations. While the brilliance of this intellectual legacy will certainly endure, it will also have to contend with

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6 moments in African football in 2022 that will be talked about for years to come

Chuka Onwumechili, Howard University 2022 was a significant year for African football. It was a benchmark for the women’s game and a year that may mark the first real move into African football as a business rather than football as development. It ended with some thrilling matches at the men’s World Cup in Qatar, proving the real progress made by teams from African countries. The first full year of a return to the sport after the COVID pandemic, 2022 has shown that the African game is able to grow and claim its own space in world football beyond the headlines

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