Over the past few years, Asian Americans have suffered an increase in hate crimes, particularly with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. How can we reconcile this with the stereotype of Asian Americans being the ‘model minority’? The model minority myth is a racial stereotype imposed upon Asian Americans, often depicting them as a successful … Continue reading The dark side of the model minority myth for Asian Americans
Author: Oxford Society for International Development
Dr Eloïse Bertrand Following on from Part I, this article contains the details of my interview with Dr Eloïse Bertrand. Dr Eloïse Bertrand is a research fellow at Portsmouth University who specialises in Burkinabe history and has co-authored “A Dictionary of African Politics”. Dr Bertrand sheds light on more recent transmutations within Burkinabe current affairs, partly … Continue reading Sankara and his Legacy: Part 2
Dr Amber Murrey Burkinabé, the demonym for the people of Burkina Faso, may perhaps seem to be an unfamiliar word - rarely heard. The policies of Thomas Sankara, the first Burkinabé President, have also often been shrouded in obscurity, yet they epitomised rapid-paced development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Whilst it is important to not romanticise a … Continue reading Sankara and His Legacy: Part 1
Ken Saro-Wiwa. Before the 1990s, he was perhaps most well-known for being the producer of Basi & Company, an incredibly popular African sitcom which aptly parodied the ‘get rich quick’ mentality and corruption present in oil-rich Nigeria. However, during the 1990s, he was better known for his activism on behalf of his people in Ogoniland, … Continue reading Shell, exploitation and murder: Nigeria’s double-edged attachment to oil
Peruvian politics has always been interesting. The country has experienced multiple coups, numerous changes to its constitution, and an abundance of interesting presidents. Peru itself is on the west coast of the South American continent with a population of over thirty million people. In Spring 2021, Peru held elections for a new president. The previous … Continue reading A difficult turn to the left: Peru’s latest election and Castillo’s plans
If development is to mean more than economic growth, then language should be on top of our agendas. The preservation of minority languages and the building of lingua franca is crucial for the cultural, social and civil well-being of societies. Development which values culture is inseparable from policies which preserve and languages. In this conversation … Continue reading James Griffiths: Minority Languages
A dream born within the diaspora, pan-Africanism has been defined by W.E.B Du Bois as “the idea of one Africa united in experience and exposed to the impact of other cultures”. One may regard the fall of colonisation within Africa as being indicative of the dream coming to fruition, but if we are to look at … Continue reading The Pan-African Dream: is it a political reality or has it been condemned to the ideological realm?
U.S. Troops withdrew from Afghanistan at the end of summer leading to a Taliban takeover Photo: https://www.army-technology.com/news/us-troop-withdrawal-afghanistan-august/ At the end of summer, pundits, politicians, and the public alike watched the slow encroachment of the Taliban across Afghanistan with horror. Following the withdrawal of the bulk of American troops in most of the country, Western media … Continue reading Afghanistan and the end of the liberal intervention
Is censorship ever effective? What methods do the Chinese government use to censor the internet? Why does the Chinese government believe in censorship, and why do so many people in China agree? In the second half of this two-part series on internet censorship in China, Jemima talks to Rongbin Han about social, political, and economic … Continue reading “Internet Censorship in China” (Part 2/2) with Rongbin Han
Displaced Syrian residents wait to receive food aid distributed by the UN Relief and Works Agency at the besieged al-Yarmouk camp, south of Damascus, Syria, on January 31, 2014. UNRWA/Reuters/Landov This year marks the tenth anniversary since the outbreak of civil war across Syria. This multifaceted conflict has touched millions of lives, and has stoked … Continue reading The Syrian Conflict, 10 Years On
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