Last April, France elected their youngest leader since Napoleon, Emmanuel Macron. A year on, the President of the Republic’s popularity is waning as his approval ratings continue to fall. Some critics say Macron’s centrist platform is a fallacy and correlate his actions, perceived to be far from centrist, to be the reason why. However, the […]
Protests
Politicising Campus Space: the meaning of anti-Beijing art at Hong Kong University
If you have been to the campus of Hong Kong University (and you definitely should: the university is set into a mountain and overlooks Victoria Harbour) you will likely have walked past a big, orange pillar outside the main MTR exit and Student Union canteen. It is unlikely that, as a visitor, you would have ventured into […]
South Africa’s University Riots: a plea for decolonisation?
Amidst the circus that was the US election, many other pressing issues have been marginalized. In particular, last month’s violent protests throughout universities in South Africa have been ignored in favour of faux reality TV. Education is viewed as a fundamental right, which everyone should be entitled to regardless of their socioeconomic group, and over the past […]
Trump’s victory – the domestic reaction
Texas Texas’ polls saw a ten-point margin afforded to President-Elect Trump this past Tuesday, when he won 53% of the conservative state’s votes, compared to Clinton’s 43%. Although Texas’ Republican-leaning reputation comes as no surprise, the result of the election did. The shock of Trump’s unprecedented success was – and continues to be – felt […]
Beijing versus Hong Kong: my experience at a Hong Kong pro-democracy protest
The last few weeks in Hong Kong have been riddled with political turmoil following the election. This came to a head on the 6th November when protesters marched from Wan Chai to Sai wan in Sai Ying Pun district. The cause of this protest? Two of Hong Kong’s elected lawmakers are being barred from standing, […]
Truly feminist? Reclaim the Night and their problematic quest…
Marching to draw attention to and fight oppression has been a popular form of protest for centuries. But can we say, in 2016, that activist marches are always the best way to achieve our goals in changing societal outlooks? Reclaim the Night is a march protesting sexual violence and “all forms of male violence against […]
In Egypt, is economic hardship rekindling the flames of revolution?
In early 2011, Egypt, along with several other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, was rocked by enormous protests which eventually led to the resignation of the authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak. Some of the most important issues driving this revolutionary movement were poverty and corruption by government officials from cabinet ministers to traffic […]
Calls for Cameron’s resignation
In the aftermath of what even Prime Minister David Cameron had to concede was “not a good week” in front of his Conservative peers at the Conservative Spring Forum yesterday, calls for his resignation have never been louder and more widespread. Mr. Cameron has recently been criticised for his involvement in the Panama Papers scandal, […]