Global Issues
Is media literacy the magic bullet for fake news?
As online news and social media have proliferated over the last decade, a whole new category of information has entered the popular lexicon: fake news. Online disinformation has…
Commentary
The coronavirus outbreak has exposed the deep flaws of Xi’s autocracy
China’s political system was meant to be all-powerful, capable of dealing with any crisis. The death of one doctor has shaken that claim. Originally published in The Guardian…
South Korea’s struggle with coronavirus
South Korea now has the second worst coronavirus outbreak in the world, surpassed only by China. More than 1100 people are infected, and seven have died. Unsurprisingly the…
Commentary
Politics comes first in China's agony
In an opinion piece originally published in the Financial Review, Natasha Kassam argues that China's biggest concern in dealing with the new coronavirus is maintaining stability…
“Coordinated inauthentic behaviour”: Facebook haunts US democracy
The recent descriptions of Russian interference in American politics, in both the Democratic primaries and the presidential campaign, are a stark reminder of the…
Be vigilant to reawakened racism in the face of a viral outbreak
Apparently sparked by ignorance over the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, a woman wearing a face mask was allegedly assaulted and called “diseased” this month at the Grand Street…
Why the COVID-19 outbreak may help China move a little further forward
The novel coronavirus viral strain COVID-19 has dominated weeks of headlines and led to extraordinary measures in an effort to quell its spread. The decision to quarantine Wuhan –…
If a tree falls in Nepal, will anyone care?
For all its natural attributes, Nepal is considered a country that provides a template for what not to do, ecologically.
Officials from neighbouring states will quietly admit to…
Coronavirus and the flow of information in the Chinese party-state
As the novel coronavirus outbreak crisis is unfolding across China, the Communist party’s efficiency is once again in the spotlight. On the one hand, there’s the capability to…
The politics of racism as the Philippines struggles with coronavirus
It would almost seem nothing could further divide politics and society in the Philippines – and then the coronavirus arrived. Only three cases have been confirmed in the country,…