President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” election campaign was centered on one basic theme: that for the past 70 years the United States has been taken advantage of by the rest of the world. President Trump won the presidential election promising to protect Americans by changing America’s relationship with the world. As president, Mr. Trump has steadfastly implemented policies … Continued

Against a background of economic slowdown, the Chinese state is showing signs of stepping up its efforts to suppress the freedom of its religious and cultural minorities. Along with the internment of Uighur and Kazakh Muslims at ‘re-education camps’ in Xinjiang province, the religious and cultural freedoms of China’s Christian, Tibetan Buddhist, and adherents of … Continued

Is the world becoming more peaceful? This proposition encounters widespread disbelief. Have the United States and its allies not been repeatedly involved in messy wars over the last decades? Alternatively, is the relative peacefulness of today’s world not attributable to a transient American hegemony since the collapse of the Soviet Union? Are we not tempted … Continued

It is common for policymakers and technologists to talk about the digital transformation of public service. In practice, however, most technology projects in government involve ‘automation’ (streamlining and systematizing current ways of working) rather than ‘transformation’ (using technology to deliver services in ways that were not possible in the past). In this talk, Richard Susskind … Continued

Protests against increasing Chinese interference in Hong Kong's promised autonomy have in 2019 been unprecedentedly large, sustained and, at times, violent. With emotions running high and divisions stoked by both Beijing and radicalised and fearful protesters, it is easy to lose sight of what we are seeing in the latest research data. Dr. Brian Fong will … Continued

Eighteen months after he led his own audacious insurgency against France’s established parties Macron would face another popular insurrection. This time, he was the target. On the eve of important European elections, and with nationalist and populist forces rising across the continent, questions remain as to whether Macron can still hope to hold the centre … Continued

John Bellinger, formerly the Legal Adviser to the Department of State and the National Security Council in the George W. Bush Administration, will discuss legal aspects of the U.S. impeachment proceedings as well as the U.S. drone strike on Qasem Soleimani. He will also review the Trump Administration’s approach to international law over the last … Continued

India’s foreign policy diplomacy in the 1990s and 2000s focused majorly in trying to delineate India from being hyphenated with Pakistan. From India’s strong presence in Davos in 2006 and 2015 and in between, it marked a renewed confidence that India was an economic might in its own right. But commentators, including former Foreign Secretary … Continued

Psychologists have long understood that social environments profoundly shape our behavior, sometimes for the better, often for the worse. But social influence is a two-way street—our environments are themselves products of our behavior. Under the Influence explains how to unlock the latent power of social context. It reveals how our environments encourage smoking, bullying, tax … Continued

Lebanon stands at political crossroads. As heightened tensions and border clashes with Israel threaten a repeat of the 2006 conflict, the growing strength of Hezbollah as a state within a state is a source of concern for the security of the wider region. Indeed, Lebanon currently faces a multitude of threats from within and without, as Iran continues … Continued