On May 31, less than a month after the publication of this piece, the student body of the University of Amsterdam is called to the polls to elect its student councils. These councils, and the students that comprise them, will have the task of representing their peers before the university’s administration, while implementing measures and
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Title: Patria (Homeland) Writer: Fernando Aramburu Year of publication: 2016 Review: On a rainy night, a family man is murdered. Shot in the back as he headed home, the water spreading his blood down the streets of his town. His last words to his wife just that morning: “It won’t happen to me; this land
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The United States of America has worked on the principles of a two-party system since 1850. Ever since, the dichotomy between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party has stirred debates and encouraged reflecting on how political dynamics should work and on what everyday life should look like. As the elections are approaching rapidly, and
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An eerie silence fell upon the large blue-cladded crowd. They all stared at the giant screen in disbelief as the map of their great nation slowly turned red. Shortly after, their candidate conceded defeat and the night was over. Winning over 270 electoral college votes, Donald J. Trump was now president of the United States
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As the world wages a reluctant war against coronavirus, the pandemic has not seemed to put a hold to old tensions. Starting in July, deep in western Asia, guns which had mostly been silent for the past decade roared again, spewing death and fire across the fields of the Caucasus. Armenia and Azerbaijan, old soviet
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Title: Mr. Two Bomb Writer: William Coles Year of publication: 2010 Review: As American bombers drop the first ever nuclear bomb onto Hiroshima, a despicable, selfish man is unaware that the first of two hells in upon him. Surviving the first blast, and escaping right into the clutches of the second detonation in Nagasaki, he
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From the moment the first coronavirus cases where reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan, many realized that its impact on the world’s economy would be astronomical. Some warned their respective countries – few warnings were heeded, but they were proven right by the rapid and uncontrolled expansion of the virus worldwide. Most states were
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Diplomacy is not a trade indigenous to modern European societies. From the earliest tribes to the most modern states, all forms of civilization have relied upon a select group of individuals to communicate with outsiders, in order to secure peace or enhance relations. Founded in 2010, the European External Action Service (EEAS) has served this
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Title:  The Sympathizer Writer:  Viet Thanh Nguyen Year of publication:  2015 Review: In this potent novel, a south Vietnamese, half-French, secret police captain flees Saigon for California as the city falls to communist forces, putting an end to the infamous Vietnam war. His personal war, however, is not over. As a man considered a bastard
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Title: Prisoners of Geography Writer: Tim Marshall Year of publication: 2015 Review: Have you ever wondered why the COVID-19 epidemic creates international tensions? Perhaps you are curious as to why Putin’s regime has targeted Crimea specifically, beyond propagandistic purposes. The answer to most of the questions surrounding these current events fall under the umbrella of
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A Russian colonel charging through the smoke of cannon shells into Japanese positions, a Swedish anthropologist trekking through the Chinese frontier on a secret mission, a friend of both Winston Churchill and the Czar of Russia, a monarchist conspirator in times of bolshevism and a ruthless leader in times of civil-war, the vanquisher of foreign
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Dr. Nicholas Christakis (MD, PhD) is an American and Greek physician/sociologist known for his extensive research on social networks and on the socioeconomic, biosocial and evolutionary determinants of behaviour, health, and longevity. Educated at Harvard Medical School and at Yale University, Dr. Christakis has, alongside his academic research, published multiple books and presented various TED
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Title:  Goliath Writer:  Sean McFate Year of publication:  2019 Review: Even before the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, our world was in turmoil. Novel threats to western nations prevailed across the globe as populism and the negative impacts of social media uprooted the pillars of democracy. In his newest, most visceral work, Sean McFate presents a desolate
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As PhD in Ecological Economics and research fellow at the University of Surrey, Dr. Simon Mair has focused his work on building a better economy through the thorough analysis and understanding of our current systems. However, his wide range of interests stretches far beyond: from the history of economic thought to utopian economics. Previous works
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On a clear night of March an Airbus A340 lowered its landing gear as it entered final approach to Munich airport. Inside the cockpit, captain Jörg Otto received final permission to land from air traffic control. Behind, the cabin was filled to the brim, all seats taken. Silence followed as the aircraft lightly glided down
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Never before have I been forbidden from leaving my home by the government. Coincidently, neither have my parents. My grandparents lived through the brutal Spanish civil war, and even they find the situation shocking. Universities and schools around the world lay barren, alongside bars and cinemas, in an attempt to fight the spread of the
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Last week, upon arriving home from university and opening the mailbox for the first time in a rather long time, I was avalanched by a barrage of letters in a language I seldom understand. Yet their characteristically green background and three vertically placed red crosses were enough to send shivers down my spine. I fearfully
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