Christian nationalism is not a new phenomenon, but in recent years it has led to the consolidation of power by politically conservative, illiberal and authoritarian political leaders and parties across the globe. The storming of Brazil’s seat of government, in part driven by this ideology, is the latest evidence of this trend.
In September 2024, the United Nations is set to launch its “Global Digital Compact,” which will outline shared principles for an “open, free and secure digital future for all.” This sounds promising in theory. But a growing divide between U.N. leaders and their Silicon Valley counterparts threatens to undermine these efforts.
From farm to fork, the global food system as it currently exists is the most environmentally destructive of all human activities. In order to make rapid changes and avert potential ecological disaster, we must understand how we got here and what may be holding us back from revolutionizing the way we grow our food.
Last year was a strange mix of chaos and continuity for the United Nations. Yet, despite the general rancor between the West and Russia, a lot of U.N. business ground on much as before. Now, U.N. officials and diplomats remain uncertain if the months ahead will involve more chaos or more business-as-usual. Three questions stand out.
In recent years, formerly colonized countries have been advancing a confident and militant movement for reparatory justice, and it has seen results. But the breakthroughs made have been met with a stubborn resistance by the countries responsible for colonization and slavery to avoid framing the issue as reparations.
Turkish arms exports surged past $4 billion in 2022, up nearly 36 percent from 2021, with exports accounting for 98 percent of the arms contractor Bayraktar’s sales. Clearly, Turkey has arrived as a major arms exporter, but what are the implications of these exports in terms of its choice of partners?
A landmark framework agreed to at the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP15 summit in December includes the “30X30” commitment to conserve at least 30 percent of the world’s land and oceans by 2030. The target was welcomed by most environmental groups, but some observers question whether the “protected area” approach is enough.
In response to growing criticism for its lack of diversity, Marvel Studios has featured an increasing number of women and people of color as heroes over the past five years. But despite the course-correction, its creations remain stubbornly American in terms of perspective. That may not work out well for the studio.
For many, predictions are simply a fun exercise. But for pundits, they are more than that, as they offer a stress test for how well we truly understand our world. In order to predict, we must first understand. In that spirit, then, here’s my own stab at predicting what 2023 will have in store: a true “end of history” moment.