Global Policy Next Generation's Opinion pieces provide short commentaries on current issues facing the global policy community. Writers also introduce articles from the journal or update research findings and arguments presented in previously published pieces. Contributors represent a diverse range of young and early career academics and practitioners.
The Implications of Inconsistent Content Moderation: Reflections on Ukraine and Yemen Conflicts
Caroline Tynan argues that online platforms must adhere to and carefully balance international human rights law to tackle online hate and extremism during conflicts.
Over the last several years, human rights organizations have noted with alarm the problem of automated removal of extremist content. Not only have these policies lacked transparency and been used against journalists and activists, but they have also removed evidence of war crimes. (Continued...)
How the Trump Administration’s Foreign Terrorist Designation of the Houthis will solidify instability in Yemen and the Gulf—just in time for the incoming Biden Administration
Caroline Tynan examines the wider ramifications of US policy towards Yemen’s Houthi-led government.
After several months of deliberation, on Monday January 11th, the Trump administration officially designated Yemen’s Ansar Allah, commonly known as the Houthi militias, as foreign terrorists. Three key consequences will ensue from this latest move by the Trump administration. (Continued...)
Authoritarian Populism in the Americas: A Symptom of Democratic Crisis
Andi Hoxhaj argues that the UK must tackle domestic corruption whilst fostering international cooperation to address transnational crime after Brexit.
The negotiations on the future relationship between the UK and the EU are resuming again as both Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed on 15 June 2020 not to extend the transition period beyond December 2020. Much of the talks on the future UK–EU relationship are on trade, with the German government claiming that its expecting the trade talks to enter a ‘hot phase’ in September 2020. However, little attention is being paid to the future of ‘police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters’ with the EU , and the UK capacity to fight organised crime after Brexit, given that the UK will no longer be a member of the Europol or able to use key tools such the European arrest warrant, with policymakers and experts warning that the UK could see a surge in human trafficking and drugs entering the country. (Continued...)
State Responses to COVID-19: South Korea, Taiwan, and the Power of Strong Democracies
Caroline Tynan unpicks why South Korea and Taiwan has been so effective at countering COVID-19.
Since the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic, challenges to democratic systems have come in many forms. By March, some were hailing the success of China, along with others in the region, in quickly containing the virus. This has been juxtaposed against the chaotic situation across Western democracies—most notably in the United States, which since April has the world’s greatest number of deaths, now totaling over 100,000. Although academics and policy analysts have been quick to note that an autocracy/democracy binary of regime type falls short in explaining varying levels of success in state responses to COVID-19, headlines continue to question the viability of democracies in responding to pandemics, especially when compared with China’s success so far in containing the virus. (Continued...)
The EU-Albanian Accession Talks: Renewed Hope or yet Another Symbolic Gesture?
Andi Hoxhaj explores whether the EU-Albanian accession talks can really have substance (and if they ever have) in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.
On 24 March 2020, the foreign ministers of the 27 European Union member states reached a consensus to start accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. The news to open accession talks with the two countries may have failed to make it to the news cycles dominated by the spread of Covid-19 across the globe, it was nonetheless welcomed by both the countries. (Continued...)
Responsible Development in Nigeria: Addressing Environmental and Social Damage
Nma Chinaza Agada analyses the roles that cross-sectoral environmental, social and governance laws can play in tackling institutional causes of environmental degradation and social disintegration in Nigeria.
In the Niger-Delta of Nigeria, the colour is black. Soot displaces mists. Crude oil spreads like a blanket over waters. The colour red is prominent, too. Bloodshed accompanies the insecurity, crime and conflict that ravage the region. These, in spite of a large Gross Domestic Product (GDP), are some of the legacies of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. (Continued...)
Will Science-Based Targets Save Us? Insights from the Global Food Industry
Amy Janzwood and Caitlin Scott explain why food companies have committed to science-based targets to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and argue that the unique challenges of the agricultural industry compromise the effectiveness of these targets.
Have you ever wondered how carbon intensive your favourite snacks are? Probably not. But the companies that make them are. Their concern centres on climate change, which will make it harder for these companies to have cheap access to the ingredients and resources they depend on. More than two years after the Paris Agreement most governments continue to backtrack and filibuster as they unroll uninspiring national climate strategies. (Continued...)
The Helsinki Effect
Gregory Stiles, Editor of Global Policy: Next Generation, explores the re-awakening of the bilateral-summit model in international politics.
The recent summit meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Helsinki has come to reinforce the perception of egotistic world leaders using bilateral meetings to solve intractable international issues. Coming on the heels of the groundbreaking North Korea summit, the stage has been set for a new norm of political drama that exemplifies turbulent international relations. (Continued...)
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