Society

The death of a spy is rarely newsworthy, due to the secrecy surrounding it. But when a white beluga whale suspected of spying for Moscow was found dead in Norwegian waters in September, the animal soon became a minor celebrity.... Read more

The 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (Anti-ELAB) Movement triggered a dramatic shift in Hong Kong's political landscape. In 2020, the Chinese central government enacted the National Security Law to tighten its control over Hong Kong and reformed the electoral system, imposing stricter candidate qualifications.... Read more

The work of crafting reparations at the municipal level is fierce.... Read more

Continental Europe is home to four microstates with populations of between 30,000 and 80,000 people: Andorra, on the border between France and Spain; Liechtenstein, nestled between Switzerland and Austria; Monaco, which sits on the French Riviera; and San Marino, which is surrounded by northern Italy.... Read more

How can human rights groups criticize governments' human rights violations without appearing racist or fueling racism toward diaspora groups? Research by a University of Notre Dame human rights expert sheds light on the complex relationship between race and human rights, especially as it plays out between human rights groups and... Read more

Threats and harassment are pushing some politicians out of office, scaring off some would-be candidates and even compelling some elected officials to change their vote.... Read more

Researchers have developed a new way of understanding international relations by analyzing almost 200 years of alliances, hostilities and neutrality between countries.... Read more

Local governments in developing countries are crucial for providing public services that promote human development and address challenges like extreme weather, unemployment and crumbling infrastructure. Yet, they often face difficulties in implementing cost-effective programs that meet citizens' diverse needs, particularly in areas with significant socioeconomic inequalities.... Read more

Misinformation about science harms personal decisions, democracy and public policy, says Northeastern University professor David Lazer, who contributed to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report released Thursday.... Read more

Stock investments by politicians have long drawn public scrutiny. Under a 2012 law, members of the U.S. Congress must disclose transactions over a $1,000 threshold. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were criticized for trading in everything from remote work technologies to telemedicine.... Read more

People motivated by power and the desire to influence others are more likely to share fake news posts on social media, according to a new study led by a UCL researcher.... Read more

Social media posts, online petitions, writing to politicians and donating to environmental groups have been identified as popular starting points for climate activists, according to research from the University of Adelaide.... Read more

"I am definitely not following the news anymore," one patient told me when I asked about her political news consumption in the weeks before the 2024 U.S. presidential election.... Read more

In the space of three weeks, South Korea has seen a brief declaration of martial law, its sudden repeal and the impeachment of its president, Yoon Suk Yeol.... Read more

Nearly every state requires incarcerated individuals to pay for room, board and basic services under so-called "pay-to-stay" laws. In 2019, Illinois became one of the first to repeal such a law—a move that prompted Brittany Friedman, assistant professor of sociology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences,... Read more

From 1960 to 1989, South Korea experienced a famous economic boom, with real GDP per capita growing by an annual average of 6.82%. Many observers have attributed this to industrial policy, the practice of giving government support to specific industrial sectors. In this case, industrial policy is often thought to... Read more

The past decade has seen historic challenges for U.S. democracy and an intense focus by scholars on events that seem to signal democratic decline. But new research released Dec. 17 finds that a bias toward pessimism among U.S. political scientists often leads to inaccurate predictions about the future threats to... Read more

The rapidly growing field of esports needs a comprehensive and agreed governance framework to tackle "unhealthy" sponsorships to protect both players and fans, researchers have said.... Read more

A recent study examining how young people interpret political brands through the context of brand image, has found there is little differentiation, identification and connection between young voters and politicians.... Read more

Economist Ali Yurukoglu has some encouraging news for anyone who fears that an overconcentration of corporate power is hurting the U.S. economy, stifling innovation, and harming consumers: Dig deep into the data, and you'll see that competition is, in fact, alive and well.... Read more

One in two "typical" drug traffickers convicted in NSW between 2000 and 2023 will have no further contact with the criminal justice system after release, according to an Australian-first study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy.... Read more

A single conversation with a close family member may not change a young woman's views on policies protecting their rights, but it can strongly influence young men's attitudes.... Read more

A new study is exposing how race, gender, and religion intersect to create inequities in custody cases with biases—including racism, Islamophobia, and sexism—often shaping outcomes to the detriment of fathers and their children.... Read more

South Korea's National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol on Saturday, December 14. The vote marks the third time a president has been impeached in the country's constitutional history.... Read more

"Gladiator II" opens with a Roman fleet brutally laying siege to a city in the north African kingdom of Numidia. On the big screen we see ships set ablaze by pots of burning oil and defenders impaled by man-sized iron bolts. The so-called barbarian inhabitants are eventually enslaved and carted... Read more

Late in December 2023, the former top editor of the New York Times' editorial page, James Bennet, dropped a bombshell in an article for The Economist. "The leadership of the New York Times is losing control of its principles," he wrote, saying slanted coverage at the institution is "pervasive."... Read more

The A$140 million aid agreement between Australia and Nauru signed last week is a prime example of the geopolitical tightrope vulnerable Pacific nations are walking in the 21st century.... Read more

There's a universe of possible outcomes if the Supreme Court takes up the TikTok case, a Northeastern University legal scholar says, including a ruling that signals a "slippery slope" toward more restrictions on constitutional freedoms of speech.... Read more

A rapid and robust expansion of publicly funded housing could potentially reduce the number of people living in cars, RVs and tents in Los Angeles, according to a new USC analysis.... Read more

The Midwest played a central role in the growth of Black freedom movements in the 20th century. It was a key site for incubating and expanding the ideas of political activist Marcus Garvey, not only in the U.S., but globally, said University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor of African American studies... Read more

The purpose of presidential term limits is to protect democracy and ensure democratic competition. In recent years, however, many African presidents have attempted to amend constitutions to pursue extended mandates. For example, in Kenya, a motion was tabled before the senate in September 2024 to extend the presidential term limit... Read more

The Kenyan government is using technology to improve governance, service delivery and national security. The progress, while welcome, has brought with it concerns about state surveillance, data protection, and violations of fundamental rights and freedoms. Following anti-government protests in Kenya that began in June 2024, for instance, there were several... Read more

Young Muslims are less interested in national politics in Scotland and instead are increasingly involved with local and global issues, research led by Newcastle University shows.... Read more

More than 10% of Chinese citizens who took part in a survey say they are willing to boycott Russian goods and most likely disapprove of Russia's actions in Ukraine, says new research led by Lancaster University.... Read more

People are already being forced to flee the consequences of climate change to an alarming extent in the Global South, says Jan Freihardt. He believes, however, that Europe's fear of mass climate migration is exaggerated, since international migration has other root causes. Here he shares his viewpoint.... Read more

Authoritarian regimes rely on patriarchal structures to consolidate their power. In Iran, this partnership serves to control women's bodies.... Read more

Several top law firms are turning to specialists to beef up their artificial intelligence compliance practices in a way they wouldn't with more established areas of law.... Read more

The 2012 London Olympics Games serve as a cautionary tale for local communities in host cities—a new study warns. The study by the University of Portsmouth analyzed 20 years of data, from 2001 to 2022. It looked at the long-term legacy of the 2012 London Olympics, particularly the impact on... Read more

The results of the 2024 presidential election cement a trend in American politics: Polls cannot accurately gauge support for Donald Trump. In the 2016, 2020 and now 2024 elections, polls consistently underestimated Trump's support by an average of 2.3 percentage points.... Read more

Despite some progress, women remain seriously underrepresented in politics globally. As of 2023, women held only 26% of parliamentary seats and 15.8% of the positions as heads of state or government.... Read more

The increasingly complex and wide-ranging role of Members of Parliament, and the weight of expectations placed on them by voters, makes it harder for them to seek support for physical or mental health impairments, a new study warns.... Read more

We distance ourselves from completely neutral products if they are liked by people who have political views that we find disagreeable. This is shown in four studies from Linköping University, Sweden. The behavior is reinforced if we have to make a decision when others are watching.... Read more

When asked in Arabic about the number of civilian casualties killed in the Middle East conflict, ChatGPT gives significantly higher casualty numbers than when the prompt was written in Hebrew, as a new study by the Universities of Zurich and Constance shows. These systematic discrepancies can reinforce biases in armed... Read more

This month marks 35 years of DNA evidence being used in Australian legal cases. But unlike DNA firsts in other countries, Australia's is perhaps the most significant legal milestone that is practically unheard of.... Read more

The war in Ukraine has just edged up another notch. It has not been going well for Ukraine in recent months, and this week Joe Biden's administration made the decision to allow Ukraine to fire US-supplied army tactical missile systems (Atacms) long-range missiles deep into Russia for the first time.... Read more

Intensifying coercive tactics used by repressive states to silence critics abroad requires the set-up of specialist transnational rights protection offices, says a new paper by researchers at Lancaster University and Central European University in Vienna.... Read more

With social media platforms serving as soapboxes for politicians, campaigns and voters alike, pollsters may be able to better predict election results by tracking the buzz around each candidate on social media, according to a new study published by a team of researchers from Penn State, Stanford University and the... Read more

Misinformation can lead to socially detrimental behavior, which makes finding ways to combat its effects a matter of crucial public concern. A new paper by researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General explores an innovative approach to countering the impact of factually... Read more

Black men on buses and trains—whether as passengers or transit workers—face hostile encounters that threaten their sense of safety and well-being, according to a new study by a Keough School of Global Affairs sociologist. By reinforcing racist tropes that they are dangerous or invisible, these encounters can also erode Black... Read more

Remotely operated camera traps, sound recorders and drones are increasingly being used in conservation science to monitor wildlife and natural habitats, and to keep watch on protected natural areas. But Cambridge researchers studying a forest in northern India have found that the technologies are being deliberately misused by local governments... Read more