Culture
The UK's Pandemic Response has been Hamstrung by Political Cronyism
Article by Ben Dzialdowski
The high-stakes nature of COVID-19 policy, with its amplified health and financial implications, has exposed the rampant cronyism that runs throughout Johnson’s government. With a string of errors from PPE to free school meals coinciding with huge government contracts going to friends and donors, cronyism will be seen as one of the defining characteristics of Britain’s COVID-19 government response.
What Next for US Democracy?
Article by Ethan Gray
It is difficult to sum up how deplorable Wednesday's actions were at the capitol. I would sincerely hope elected officials in the GOP can now grasp the repercussions we face from their fanning of conspiratorial claims. Elected officials that people trust indulged a false, destructive narrative in the pursuit of short-term electoral payoffs and did so at the expense of peace, liberty, and democracy. Make no mistake, the crescendo of events that led to Wednesday's riot was entirely preventable.
Women in Politics: Tough by Nature or Necessity?
Article by Grace Couch
This brings me to my next question: do you have to be inherently ‘strong’ or ‘tough’ to be a politician due to the nature of the role, or does the system condition women to act this way in order to ‘make it’? I would argue that despite the naturally higher levels of empathy in women, the political climate creates a necessity, or at least paranoia, to overcompensate for these characteristics.