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Shaky Citadel: Taiwan’s Struggle for Survival
A disclaimer: Taiwan and the Republic of China are used interchangeably to simplify nomenclature. No political position is intended by the use of either term. A Brief History of Taiwan Taiwan, formally known as the Republic of China (ROC), attained its current state in 1949 after the Kuomintang (国民党), or the Nationalists, under the command…
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Chimeric State: Iran between Technocracy and Theocracy
The Iranian state system is a truly unique creature, having maintained both twin heads of fierce personality-based theocracy and experienced institutionalized technocracy. In merging these two normally exclusive traits, it has created a chimeric contradiction, which has allowed it to command the monstrous tools of regional pan-Shiite militia and fervent warrior jihadists with the expertise,…
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To Deal with Devils: Why Arms Sales to Humans Rights Abusers and War Criminals should continue
This essay will argue that liberal states (or states that otherwise uphold the status-quo rules-based liberal order), should maintain controlled arms sales to rogue states and international bad actors, with room for specific temporary restrictions, for sake of limiting atrocities, building cooperation and securing domestic interests.
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Thirsty Partition: Water Politics between India and Pakistan
This essay will explore how water plays a critical part in the current India-Pakistan conflict, focusing specifically on the geopolitical element, as well as related key concepts, such as regional balancing, security dilemmas and how to approach “bad” treaties.
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Arctic Opportunity: Russian Roulette in a Warming World
This essay will analyze how Russia benefits from the warming Arctic, the competition it faces from Western interests and its ambiguous Arctic relationship with China. In doing so, it hopes to shed light on how Great Power Competition, geopolitics and international relations change in some ways and yet stays the same in many others in…
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Empire of Dams: China’s Hydroelectric Geostrategy and Conflicts
Capitalizing on its uniquely strong talent for river construction, China has embarked on an aggressive, multidirectional and increasingly predatory strategy of dam construction for strategic advantage, political leverage and economic profit. This essay will aim to explore how China has used this capacity in its foreign policy and geostrategy, and the resultant implications for neighbouring…
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Bucking the Trend: How peaceful protest won in Algeria
In Algeria, a pro-democracy movement used strategic tact and tactical innovation to overcome a seemingly unassailable hardened regime which had survived the Arab Spring. This essay will break down what, why and how events happened.
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Freikorps meets Mujahideen: How Russian invasion created Neo-Nazi Incubators in Ukraine
Driven into a corner by Russian aggression and European indifference, Ukraine was forced to seek help from an old enemy – the spectre of ultra-nationalism. Today, swastika adorned factions and warlords have become normalized as parts of Ukrainian military and political structure and increasingly entrench themselves further into the Ukrainian state. To export their nazi…
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Frozen Catastrophe: Venezuela’s Neverending Nightmare
There is a certain reassuring assumption in politics, that the absolutely despicable and incompetent should never be able to sustain control over a state. After all, the assumption posits, a weak government should be able to be easily replaced by other civil or military powers or actors. However, this is not always the case. In…
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Mindless Behemoth: The Tragedy of Leaderlessness in Hong Kong
It must have seemed such a wonderful utopian ideal. A movement of and by the people, bravely marching against the establishment, with no greedy ambitious men at the top seeking to exploit or subvert the revolution, in a grand collective struggle for shared goals. However, such a movement, structured in such a leaderless manner, is…
UnderStated
Exploring the intersection of geopolitics, history and strategy that makes our world the way it is.
UnderStated 