Society

The rare earths so essential to our modern technology have become a new diplomatic weapon—used to leverage influence and wield power, reshape global alliances, and exert economic dominance. For centuries, says Boston University historian Benjamin R. Siegel, opium was used in much the same way.... Read more

"On behalf of President Donald J. Trump," read 22 emails sent from the White House Presidential Personnel Office on Friday afternoon, April 24, 2026, "I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the National Science Board is terminated, effective immediately."... Read more

A physics-inspired model calibrated on 40 years of US congressional data pinpoints a spending threshold of roughly 1.8 million USD at which campaigns stop influencing who wins and start fueling polarization instead.... Read more

If you suffer from information overload, or are unsure what to trust online, you're not alone. Australians are increasingly disengaging from traditional news, turning instead to social media, influencers and—more recently—generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots and summaries.... Read more

Imagine that a government builds a five-star airport without any roads leading to it. The terminal is immaculate, the runway is regulation length—but there is simply no way to get there.... Read more

Over the past 50 years, nearly 4 in 10 peace agreements have failed within five years of signing. New research shows that when international partners help implement an accord, the odds improve—and the deeper their engagement, the better.... Read more

The idea that information should flow freely is deeply embedded in the design of social media. The assumption is that the more information is produced and shared, the better. However, simulations by a team of scientists including University of Groningen Professor of Artificial Intelligence Davide Grossi show that such an... Read more

Climate change has become entangled in partisan politics. In Canada, as in other countries, climate concern and support for climate policy are often coded as left-leaning positions. Meanwhile, climate change skepticism or denial is more likely to be espoused by those on the political right.... Read more

As female leaders continue to face heightened scrutiny in politics and public life, new research from Monash University reveals female candidates face distinct constraints in how they communicate with voters. The study is published in The Journal of Politics.... Read more

Researchers from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), in collaboration with international experts, have published a scientific study on how to ensure that the selection of committees and expert groups is mathematically fair and proportional, preventing significant minorities from being excluded. These findings could find applications in the political sphere,... Read more

The Supreme Court of Canada has described the right to refuse unwanted medical treatment as "fundamental to a person's dignity and autonomy, [including] in the context of treatment for mental illness."... Read more

With the NFL draft taking place in Pittsburgh and an estimated 500,000 to 700,000 people expected to attend the events downtown and on the North Shore, conversations about sex trafficking have resurfaced—as they often do when major events draw large crowds to a city.... Read more

In a comprehensive analysis of state and local sanctuary and anti-sanctuary policies, researchers have mapped the rapidly evolving legal immigration landscape in the US from 2000 to 2021. The dataset sheds light on trends in immigration legislation including "punitive" preemption, state government tendencies to enact laws that are ideologically opposed... Read more

The internet and social media platforms have given rise to a rising wave of misinformation, with many users now posting fake news, AI-generated photos or videos and other types of misleading content online. Over the past few years, this rise in misinformation has become a heated topic of debate, with... Read more

Past research has shown that even though science is commonly viewed as essential for effective policymaking, Democrats and Republicans cite different scientific research when creating policy—even when addressing the same topic. Now, a new Northwestern study analyzing congressional reports, hearings and think tank publications from around the country, has found... Read more

Over the past decades, the diffusion of fake news and other deceptive content on social media platforms has become a heated topic of debate. Some past studies have explored the broad impact of online misinformation, while others have tried to determine whether deceptive content influences voters during political elections.... Read more

The security of every nation faces an increasingly severe and frequent threat: disruptions to nature. According to Bradley J. Cardinale, professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management in the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, disrupted ecosystems can lead to increased risk for food security, water availability, health... Read more

Consumer trust in smart technologies—like Amazon's Alexa or Ring's video doorbells—may rely on more than just the technology. It may also depend on a person's political beliefs. New research from the University of New Hampshire found that where you are on the political spectrum may sway your decision to use... Read more

The relationships human societies have with animals aren't fixed, but vary according to era, culture, territory and customs.... Read more

Americans are more likely to turn to authoritarian leaders when jobs are being lost due to offshoring than they are when job losses result from automation, an international research team has found. This is despite the fact that automation tends to lead to greater job losses.... Read more

Just as major global powers are retreating from climate finance commitments, a new empirical study provides, for the first time, evidence of a direct link between climate finance and a lower risk of resource-related conflict in developing countries.... Read more

Natural resources—such as fossil fuels, water, and minerals—are materials found in the environment that are essential for life and highly utilized in production. Though these resources are viewed as essential to economic development and wealth, many resource-rich countries have paradoxically struggled with limited economic growth and unstable political institutions. This... Read more

Millions of Americans trade cryptocurrency, but a new study from the University of Iowa finds many of them may not be very savvy when it comes to finance, acting more like meme stock traders and failing to report gains on their taxes.... Read more

Citizen participation is widely seen as key to a successful energy transition. In practice, however, it often remains more of an ideal than a reality. In her Ph.D. research at TU/e, Nikki Kluskens shows just how wide the gap is between that ideal and everyday practice—and why we need to... Read more

If you were to ask democracy scholars what they consider the greatest threat to American democracy, you might assume it is voters who support undemocratic practices or policies. But the real answer may surprise you: These voters are not the main problem.... Read more

An Iranian propaganda video depicts Donald Trump, Netanyahu and Satan as Lego figurines, the White House combines real footage of airstrikes with clips from films and video games, and the American president shares AI-generated videos of himself as a fighter pilot. It sounds like satire, but it is the new... Read more

In 2020, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as the primary trade framework for the three countries. The agreement is now being reviewed by the three countries. In a new report by the Brookings Institution, experts delved into what the agreement has meant... Read more

In recent years, many observers have noted parallels between the current international environment and the 1930s, including rising geopolitical tensions, political polarization, trade conflicts, and regional wars. This raised a broader question: How do changes in the international environment reshape domestic political landscapes?... Read more

For the first time, a study has shown a direct link between political violence and violence against children, adolescents and young adults perpetrated by family members, acquaintances and peer groups. The findings are based on surveys of over 35,000 young people in nine African countries.... Read more

Asian immigrants are both the fastest-growing and highest-earning immigrant ethnic group in the United States, facts that have caught the attention of many economists interested in how these groups—whether investors or residents—impact housing prices, K-12 education, and other important aspects of community life.... Read more

Popular AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini are not neutral and tend to favor certain political parties when asked who users should vote for. This makes them unsuitable for providing advice in connection with elections, according to researchers from the University of Copenhagen behind a new analysis of political... Read more

A major new U.K. study of 12- to 17-year-olds finds that, while most adolescents say they would vote and are interested in politics, their willingness to engage is linked to their anxiety about the future, low trust in political parties, and limited confidence that political institutions will listen to them.... Read more

Individuals with high intellectual ability frequently occupy leadership roles across business, science, and politics. To date, it has not been definitively established whether a high intelligence quotient correlates with specific political orientations. However, recent research reveals a significant gender-specific distinction: Intellectually gifted men tend to be less conservative than men... Read more

Dr. Ruben Ruiz Rufino found that communities with clusters of workers in labor-intensive sectors consistently showed higher levels of support for radical-right movements than areas dominated by knowledge-based industries. The study, published in the journal Political Studies, sought to examine how local economic environments shape political attitudes across Europe.... Read more

In a new study, researchers introduce the dual threat model of antisemitism, which highlights the central role of perceived Jewish power in fueling antisemitism, and they discuss its implications for interventions aimed at curbing antisemitism.... Read more

For decades, the study of British politics has been defined by an extreme negativity bias, focusing almost exclusively on policy blunders, failures, fiascos, disasters, and crises. Although this criticality is crucial to academic analysis, it does create the risk that successful policies might be overlooked or ignored that, in turn,... Read more

The number of deportations within the United States increased by a factor of five in the first year under the current presidential administration, according to a new report by the Deportation Data Project.... Read more

Generation Z men are less likely to vote for left-wing parties than women, and their political preferences can be linked to their sexist attitudes, a large-scale study has found. Research on 15,122 people in the UK and 23 other European countries found that politics is "increasingly a battle of the... Read more

From refusing to doff hats in court to resisting hat-snatching highway robbers, England's relationship with hats goes far deeper than fashion, new research shows.... Read more

New research from the University of Bath reveals that online influencers can mobilize followers and legitimize harmful behaviors without ever issuing explicit instructions, offering fresh insight into how digital platforms shape public attitudes, emotions and decision-making. The researchers found that far-right influencer Tommy Robinson (whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon)... Read more

Dropping out of high school has been linked to higher rates of delinquency and lower socioeconomic status, but thinking of high school dropouts collectively, as one group, is a flawed belief that could be affecting interventions. The paper is published in the journal Emerging Adulthood.... Read more

Online comments can shape how social media content about politics is perceived, even when people's opinions are hard to change, a new study shows. The new research suggests that while attitudes may be stable, the way people interpret political messages can still shift depending on the surrounding conversation online. Engaging... Read more

An Iran-linked hacktivist group recently claimed to have hacked into the private emails of Kash Patel, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, posting photos and documents online.... Read more

Differences of opinion on climate change among the Dutch have not increased over the past 40 years; in fact, they have decreased, according to a study conducted by sociologists Anuschka Peelen and Jochem Tolsma of Radboud University. The researchers also found no evidence that groups of Dutch people with different... Read more

Disinformation communicated by and on behalf of foreign powers is now part and parcel of digital statecraft in the information age, an expert from Cardiff University has said.... Read more

In just a few years, generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) has brought about significant changes in many industries, from health care to education, entertainment to finance, and even law.... Read more

If you've poured your heart out on social media about a political issue, it might have felt cathartic—but likely was not persuasive, Cornell research finds. Americans are skeptical of emotional comments they see in their news and social media feeds, political scientist Talbot Andrews and co-authors report in a new... Read more

When a natural disaster strikes a Latin American community, the damage doesn't stop at downed power lines and flooded streets. A new study finds that disasters trigger a 69% spike in public protests in affected districts, a social fallout that emergency planners rarely account for and that current disaster response... Read more

As governments worldwide explore how artificial intelligence can transform decision-making, a recent study from Sultan Qaboos University demonstrates how AI can uncover hidden connections within legal systems—offering a powerful tool to support smarter lawmaking. Published in The Journal of Engineering Research, the study applies natural language processing (NLP) and network... Read more

A major new study suggests people's direct experience with artificial intelligence has little impact on their views about its role in government decision-making—while factual information about the technology can significantly shift public opinion. Professor Yotam Margalit (King's College London) and Dr. Shir Raviv (Tel Aviv University) tracked the attitudes of... Read more