Background The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an organisation which aims to achieve unity and cooperation amongst petroleum exporting countries, particularly in regards to their exporting policies. The organisation thus operates to achieve a certain stability in the market. In order to join, a state has to have a substantial net export of crude petroleum. An advantage of …

Public diplomacy refers to any of the different government-sponsored operations aimed at directly connecting with foreign publics. Public diplomacy encompasses all official efforts to persuade certain segments of foreign opinion to support or tolerate a government’s strategic goals. In our contemporary world, when economies all around are working together, embassies conduct more than simply diplomatic duties. Embassies not only assist with …

After years of threatening predictions of a comeback of the far-right, we are now witnessing its rise to power. Arguably, Italy, with its previously understated new PM Giorgia Meloni, paved the way to what seems to be a now-inevitable shift in politics. Interestingly, countries that were not initially on the radar have been swiped by a wave of extreme nationalism. …

Background  Holding states responsible for failures to take adequate or sufficient action in order to limit the effects of climate change is an increasing litigation trend perceivable in multiple jurisdictions including the Netherlands, the United States, Germany and France. The most successful manifestation of this trend is arguably the Urgenda case, in which a Dutch Court ordered the Dutch government to cut …

Following election day on the 20th of December in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the country has witnessed a wave of protest and uprising as a response to the election outcome, adding to the instability and insecurity present in the country. Due to a faulty organisation surrounding polling stations, only a provisional result can currently be established, one …

The recent legislative changes regarding immigration in France and the agreement reached by the European Union to reform the union’s immigration policy announce a change in the landscape of immigration on the continent.  France’s Proposed Immigration Law The immigration and asylum bill was a source of much controversy when it was announced in both the Assemblée Nationale and amongst the …

A first important development to note is that on Wednesday the 20th of December 2023 Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh made his first visit to Egypt in over a month in what is a rare personal involvement in diplomatic efforts. The visit coincided with intensive talks on a potential new ceasefire to facilitate aid delivery to Gaza and the release of additional …

The Red Sea is an important maritime channel using the Suez Canal when it comes for ships to transport different goods such as oil and grains, recently the red sea has been under attack by the Yemen rebel group the Houthi which they are specifically targeting ships that are bound for Israeli ports. These attacks which were also backed back …

After months of political deliberation, the European Union officially initiated a protracted process on Tuesday to fulfil its commitment to allocate funds derived from frozen Russian central bank assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine. The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, announced that it had reached an agreement on a proposal outlining a legal framework to utilize the …

With a view to determining the economic fortunes of nations amidst this intricate network that is international trade, perhaps no other organization plays so pivotal a role at present as does the World Trade Organization (WTO). Established in 1995, the main role of the WTO has been to promote free trade, destroy barriers created by states which prevent trade with other …