By Michael Bruening, Professor of History, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Ideological division was tearing the country apart. Factions denounced each other as unpatriotic and evil. There were attempted kidnappings and assassinations of political figures. Public monuments and art were desecrated all over the country.
This was France in the middle of the 16th century. The divisions were rooted in religion.
The Protestant minority denounced Catholics as “superstitious idolaters,” while the Catholics condemned Protestants as “seditious…
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By Alfiya Battalova, Assistant Professor in Justice Studies, Royal Roads University
The narratives embedded in disability policy influence everything from budget priorities to program eligibility and institutional cultures. They also shape how disabled people imagine their futures.
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By Friederike Döbbe, Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in Business & Society, School of Management, University of Bath
Emilia Cederberg, Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting, Stockholm School of Economics
The European parliament recently backed changes to the rules around the labelling and marketing of plant-based meat alternatives. New definitions specify that words like “burger”, “sausage” or “steak”, refer exclusively to animal protein. To get to the meat of the matter, this may mean that Europeans’ favourite soy-based patty can no longer be called a burger.
The vote took place amid a long-running European debate over the designation of plant-based alternatives to animal protein and the associated…
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By Paul Coughlan, Professor in Operations Management, Trinity College Dublin
Aonghus McNabola, Deputy Dean International & Professor of Energy and Environmental Engineering
Wastewater heat recovery, which recycles hot water from drains to preheat new water, could cut coal use, lower carbon emissions, and create local jobs in Zambia.
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By Claire Bedelian, Senior Researcher, SPARC Consortium, ODI Global
Guy Jobbins, Executive Director, SPARC Consortium, ODI Global
Africa’s drylands are often imagined as vast, empty spaces. Romantic wilderness on the one hand. Zones of hunger, conflict and poverty on the other. Media stories tend to emphasise crises and scarcity, portraying these regions as peripheral and fragile.
But this narrative obscures a more complex and hopeful reality. Across these landscapes, millions of pastoralists and dryland farmers are constantly adapting, innovating, and building livelihoods in some of the continent’s most variable environments.
Drylands are areas of low rainfall and high temperature that cover
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By Ashraf Patel, Senior Research Associate: Digital Economy, University of South Africa
South Africa’s G20 presidency’s Digital Economy working group tried to make progress on digital inequality, high data costs and weak broadband. How did they do?
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By Lovise Aalen, Research Professor, Political Science, Chr. Michelsen Institute
Mai Azzam, PhD candidate, Bayreuth University
Sudan’s neighbourhood committees represent a unique blend of political and practical action. They mobilise for change while addressing immediate community needs.
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By Mitchell McLarnon, Assistant Professor, Adult Education, Concordia University
Any large-scale policy affecting schools, like Montréal’s ambitious transition to zero waste, needs to reflect that success relies on the labour and care of students and education workers.
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By Anthony Schrapffer, PhD, EDHEC Climate Institute Scientific Director, EDHEC Business School
Coastal regions, where dense clusters of critical infrastructure are found, are facing the sharpest edge of climate change. The threats include paralysed transport networks and disrupted supply chains. To stay ahead, we need a clearer picture of these vulnerabilities that lets us anticipate the fallout before it comes. But right now, patchy data, inconsistent approaches, and the absence of a unified framework make it tough to grasp the scale of the risk.
In late October, the Caribbean was ravaged by Hurricane…
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Wednesday, December 3rd 2025
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has condemned an Israeli raid on the Union of Agricultural Work Committees in the occupied West Bank, warning that pressure on Palestinian civil society has reached alarming levels.
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