Meer
Magazine
Calendar
Authors

Categories

Economy & Politics

Profiles

Editions

enEnglish
A woman lying on a bed while scrolling through social media on her cellphone, illustrating digital addiction
The economy of attention
Why the most valuable capital today is not money or knowledge, but visibility and cultural relevance
Oil prices are set by the law of supply and demand in the global marketplace. Oil producers manipulate prices by producing more or less petroleum
A lesson from the Persian Gulf
Too bad the world is so addicted to oil; it’s harder to turn off the sun
NATO allies conduct drills in Exercise Dragon 2024 as French Leclerc tanks advance steadily across the field
Dragón 8x8: modernizing Spain’s army armored vehicles
A breakthrough in armor and technology for Spain’s military forces
Three women in traditional dress, capturing the intersection of identity, labour, and resilience
Women at the frontline of Africa’s crises
How debt, fossil fuels, and climate change intersect to deepen gender inequality across the continent
A contemplative figure overlooking an ancient city, symbolizing the origins of freedom shaped by faith and reason
The origins of political freedom
How Jewish revelation and Greek philosophy shaped the foundations of liberty
The inability of most individuals to access higher levels of understanding constitutes the central problem of the human condition
The educational path to the directive noosphere
How to deal with the consequences of a profound imbalance in the sphere of reason
Panel of glazed tiles by Jorge Colaço depicting Prince Henry the Navigator during the conquest of Ceuta
Moments of bifurcation: from Gibraltar to Hormuz
A history of two straits
A symbolic depiction of democratic fragility, where Lady Justice cracks under rising fear, cruelty, and public despair
Why Judith Shklar matters today
Her ideas on fear, injustice, and democratic fragility illuminate the uncertainties of our world
Women in black pants holding placards for women’s rights
Rethinking women’s lives and the weight of expectations
Outdated norms, diverse choices, and the future of women’s freedom
Instead of just exporting products, transnational corporations actively manage production, offices, and business operations across borders
Transnational corporations and their impact on the world
World leaders and world twisters: identities that now transcend the nation state and nationality
Lama and Yara Elnajjar on a visit to NASA in August 2023
Lama and Yara Elnajjar: building futures against the odds
From Gaza’s classrooms to global innovation, two sisters turn resilience into impact through technology
The 2025 National Security Strategy can be read as an architecture: a structured thesis in which standards, inputs, industry, energy, intellectual property, research, and cybersecurity derive their strategic meaning from their place within a full circuit of sustainment, projection, and protection
2025 U.S. NSS: coherence and strains under pressure
The architecture behind the 2025 National Security Strategy
A wide view of a live newsroom captures the production of breaking news, where media, technology, and real-time imagery shape how conflict is communicated and understood
War in the age of social media
How online communication is redefining diplomacy and escalation
A robotic boss scolding an employee at their desk, representing the loss of human understanding in modern workplaces
When algorithms become the boss
How AI is reshaping management, decision-making, and workplace dynamics
View of the European Parliament district in Brussels, symbolizing Europe’s potential role in shaping global economic leadership
Europe’s moment to lead the global economy
As Trump’s policies threaten America’s role as the world’s growth engine, Europe has a chance to step forward
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C. USA
The IMF lifeline: rescue or trap?
What 23 years of data reveal about loans, corruption, and why some countries rise while others sink
An employer lashing out as employees endure in silence, representing the cost of job security on self-worth
The humiliation ritual that is gainful employment
The power imbalance with the employer-employee dynamics and how society toxifies the workplace
A journalist surrounded by bold headlines and alerts, symbolising the constant demand for attention-grabbing stories
Why news companies should not be publicly traded
How shareholder pressure pushes media toward outrage, speed, and sensationalism at the expense of truth
A man addressing a large gathering, showing how good leaders can effortlessly capture the attention and love of the followers
Psychopaths, power, and weapons of mass destruction
How psychopaths as leaders exploit fear to justify violence
Herzi Halevi (Israel) visits the military base targeted by Hezbollah in October, 2024. Hezbollah is a Lebanese organization, closely connected to other countries (heavily supported by Iran) in the region
Iran, the big bet
The big stakes facing the regional actors in the conflict
An individual capturing a live protest on their phone, reflecting the power of citizen journalism
Politics in the age of digital power
How online platforms are reshaping political participation, activism, and global influence
A world fortified for war yet hollowed by fear — where rising arsenals stand in stark contrast to a planet growing less secure
The security paradox
Why soaring military spending is making the world less safe
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating Russia for crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide against Ukrainians, and the abduction of Ukrainian children. Illustration by © Paola Bilancieri
Russia’s greatest enemy is itself
The country has already faced near-universal condemnation for its actions
A diverse group of Jewish and Palestinian civilians gathers at a peaceful rally, symbolizing grassroots solidarity and the shared pursuit of coexistence and a just future
Gaza: what happens after the ceasefire?
A conversation with activists from Standing Together on coexistence, grassroots mobilization, and the human future beyond Gaza
Robot performing office tasks in place of human workers
Artificial intelligence and the future of work
How AI is transforming jobs, skills, and employment opportunities
World leaders gathered in Barcelona for the Global Progressive Mobilization that started last Friday (17). Photo by © AFP-JIJI
Barcelona: the hope of global progressivism
An icon for the global left
Who would have thought? A Howard Chandler Christy scene updated by AI
Loudspeakers for Trump
On the adventure of American presidential elections and the billionaires’ chance to determine the winner
A group of students raise their hands to signal that they have come in peace
Weaponising “woke”
The politics behind the global backlash
Today, countries like China, United States, Russia, the European Union, and India all influence global decisions
Social justice in the new world order
Geopolitics, inequality and the future of democracy in a multipolar world
“Cargo of newly released enslaved people on board HMS London,” albumen print from the Michael Graham-Stewart slavery collection
Britain, slavery, and the reparations debate
Between moral claims and practical realities in a globalized world
Pieter Brueghel the Elder: The Triumph of Death
A two-headed Hitler
War and peace as dual strategies of domination in contemporary global politics
A symbolic representation of how government policy, education, and innovation work together to drive national economic competitiveness
Human capital as the engine of innovation
How education quality, market absorption, and government policy shape the innovativeness of nations
Women across cultures lift the weight of the world together — carrying care, responsibility, and hope for the next generation
When you empower a woman, you empower a nation
Psychological empowerment as the foundation of lasting social change
Bharati is a permanent Antarctic research station commissioned by India. It is India's third Antarctic research facility and one of two active Indian research stations, alongside Maitri. India's first committed research facility, Dakshin Gangotri, is being used as a supply base
India’s decade in Antarctica
How science, logistics, and national vision are converging at the bottom of the world
AI (Artificial Intelligence) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think, learn, and problem-solve independently
Europe's strategic push for leadership in the AI race
Ursula von der Leyen unveils ambitious plans for innovation, collaboration, and ethical AI development
Former Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja (left) and author Walden Bello (right)
A talk with former Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja
Living beside the Russian bear
Praça Flores da Cunha lies right on the border between Santana do Livramento and Rivera © Patricia Gomes
Santana do Livramento and Rivera: where borders disappear
A rare story of peace and coexistence on the line between Brazil and Uruguay
A young man sits alone in a dimly lit room, surrounded by screens, absorbed in a digital world
The smiling prisoner in the digital age
Screens, algorithms, and the collapse of critical thought in the digital era
A solitary observer overlooks a restless crowd inside a crumbling civic hall, capturing the tension between mass participation and individual political powerlessness
Rethinking the democratic void
How institutional rigidity, false necessity, and democratic experimentalism shape the modern crisis of political agency
A young woman at work reacting with sadness as she reads on her touchpad
The age of constant threat
Global instability and digital noise intensifying our perception of threat and contributing to modern paralysis
US Army 10th Mountain Division soldiers guarding the apron at Kabul Airport. Crowds of people can be seen in the background
Closing the loop in Afghanistan
From Bonn to Kabul airport: how illegitimacy, corruption, and miscalculation doomed a 20-year project
A silent architecture of control where unseen hands guide perception, and the crowd moves without ever realizing who is pulling the strings
Social engineering and mass influence
From propaganda to psychological warfare in the modern age
A young boy stands in the mud at a refugee campsite
The good intentions paradox
How our efforts to change the world collide with the messy realities we rarely confront
A person travelling in Dumaguete aboard a tricycle, representing the simple realities of provincial urban life
Understanding the Philippine economic paradox 
A close look into why a resource-rich nation struggles with poverty and uneven development
In 1983, Alfonsín took office after the darkest dictatorship in Argentine history
Argentina's politics half a century after the dictatorship
Memory remains trapped between political use, economic failure, and a democracy unable to deliver on its promises
A tank pushing through debris and dust in a war-torn city, highlighting the persistence of violence in contested territories
How a fractured world is remaking the Middle East
How global shocks, chokepoints, and fragmentation are reshaping the region into a frontline of systemic disorder
Upskilling is the process of learning new skills or deepening existing ones to improve performance and advance in a current career field
Questions facing us as we retrain and upskill
Are there particular human abilities to develop and how?
A remote meeting highlights the importance of fostering a workplace culture that values both productivity and employee well-being
The hidden cost of toxic workplaces
Why we must shift from profit-driven to people-focused cultures
A silent crowd gathers beneath an illuminated cross, their candlelight flickering under the watch of cameras and drones, capturing the uneasy convergence of faith, surveillance, and collective power in the modern age
21st-century fascism and the antichrist
Apocalyptic politics, religious extremism, and the transformation of fascism in the age of technological power
A hyper-connected battlefield where cyber operations, disinformation, and digital networks shape conflict beyond the visible front lines
Security in the age of invisible war
NATO’s challenge of defending open societies in a contested digital space
Like any other globalised city, Mumbai thrives on unsustainable extraction of resources, India © Vipul Sangoi
The crisis of globalization and the search for alternatives
Moving towards genuine self-reliance in times of war and climate collapse
A man surrounded by falling data fragments under an “unauthorised access” alert, representing the fragile boundaries of enterprise security
Why companies must stop Shadow AI now
How Shadow AI impacts data security, compliance, and intellectual property in modern enterprises
The devastation is not only internal to Iran—it will impact the entire world, including the aggressors
The Iran war means world fragmentation and disintegration
The many global economic consequences triggered by the USA and Israel
A young Indian graduate sits in a dimly lit room, exhausted and overwhelmed by a sea of digital applications and paperwork that highlight the grueling reality of navigating a hyper-competitive and structural job crisis
The cost of being a graduate in India
Behind the statistics lies a quieter crisis: young people spend weeks applying to jobs and navigating broken systems alone
A country might form alliances, impose trade policies, or even go to war if leaders believe it serves their national interest
Great powers, national interest and diplomacy
Global order transformation amid geopolitical tensions, institutional crisis, and a loss of norms
During autumn in Seoul, South Korea, the vibrant colors of the leaves surround the peaceful lake in the park
Governance, people, and development
The interplay of leadership, citizens, and global influence in national progress
Healthy, balanced governance comes from healthy, balanced people
The key to balanced, healthy governance
Just how balanced are those governing?
As decades passed, barriers slowly fell. Women became commercial pilots, astronauts, and leaders in aerospace
The role of women in aviation
From Amelia Earhart to modern times, women still have so much to contribute to it
By investing in local renewables and energy efficiency, we secure a future defined by economic resilience, environmental health, and true independence from distant energy conflicts
The rise of local energy solutions
Efficiency, solar power, and innovation in a world of uncertain energy supply
A Potemkin village originally referred to the fake settlements built to impress Empress Catherine the Great, and today the term describes any elaborate façade created to hide an unpleasant reality
Ghost work behind the curtain
The hidden human labor behind “intelligent” systems and the cost of pretending machines work alone
One of the biggest challenges nowadays is to understand that economic growth shouldn't lead to the destruction of the planet
Regulating the economy: a common-sense approach
We must reach an economically viable society, but also socially fair and ecologically sustainable
Spanish soldiers from the Brigada Paracaidista salute during the retirement ceremony for Lt. Gen. Cesar Muro, held as part of Operation Skyfall in Madrid, Spain, on May 6, 2015
Brigada 2035: modernizing the Spanish army
A comprehensive overhaul of the Spanish military to adapt to modern threats and emerging technologies
Businessman walking away from the office while speaking on the phone
Freedom is not the goal
Skill, usefulness, and the uncomfortable truth about leaving the 9-to-5
Soldiers walking through mud and ruins as a helicopter hovers above, representing the human toll within technologically driven conflict
Africa’s forgotten soldiers: from world wars to Ukraine
An exploration of how African soldiers have been recruited, used, and often abandoned
Student protesters march through the streets demanding transparency, accountability, and democratic reforms after the Novi Sad railway station tragedy in Serbia
Serbia’s students are demanding change
After the Novi Sad railway station tragedy, nationwide protests challenge corruption, democratic decline, and government silence
Artificial Intelligence offers many perspectives; it depends on our objective with it
Structural proportionality in the use of AI in education
Scientific formulation from the Universal Princonser Method
Businesspeople walking by a large cybersecurity advertisement displayed in a modern business area
The new geopolitics of cyberspace
How digital power, technological trust, and cyber alliances are reshaping global politics
A distressed woman reaches out from a crowded bus, capturing a moment of urgency, separation, and human vulnerability amid crisis, Kashmir
Asiya Andrabi and the politics of resistance
Activism, imprisonment, and the contested narratives of the Kashmir conflict
How should a document be read when its strategic meaning arises from the structure that binds its priorities into an ordered whole?
Technology in the 2025 U.S. NSS: a structural CR analysis
State purpose, security, and power in the National Security Strategy
The house in Gaza shelled by the Israeli military on December 25, 2013, where toddler Hala Abu Sbeikhah was killed
War as a system, not an event
How conflict organizes society, perception, and everyday life beyond the battlefield
In Brussels, Belgium, the night unfolds under a deep, dark sky, framing a magnificent arch glowing in the distance
Lessons in compassion from an age of division
The story of abolitionism’s founding father and what it can teach us today
Richard Nixon announced 50 years ago that the US would no longer exchange dollars held by foreign governments for gold
The day money became just paper
The 1971 break from gold, the rise of debt-based money, and the global shift toward hard assets
A moment where value floats free of lived reality: money, data, and artificial intelligence converge as symbols of control, while human presence recedes into managed abstraction
AI, crypto and the disappearence of reality
Money, machines, and what we stopped paying attention to
American fiscal profligacy in the post World War II period was not the habit of all administrations. The most fiscally responsive was the Clinton administration
The United States at an economic crossroads
Either a self-destructive dollar collapse or a fundamental change
War has wide-ranging consequences that affect societies, economies, environments, and individuals
The USA's attack against the Middle East
A war with Iran and ongoing fights with militant groups
Often driven by geopolitical tensions, pandemics, and populism, deglobalization represents a retreat from global cooperation to national-centric policies
A detailed analysis of deglobalization
Conceived in a political struggle, it was never meant to be a neutral term
A close view of petroleum in motion, representing the turbulence of resource-driven conflicts
Liquid gold in the age of resource wars
How oil, water, and minerals are reshaping conflict, diplomacy, and global influence 
This photograph was taken on 12 February 2022, as protesters marched from Parliament Square along Whitehall towards Downing Street during a large demonstration in London against the government’s role in rising living costs and growing inequality and poverty. The protest was organised by the anti-austerity group People’s Assembly in collaboration with trade unions, with parallel rallies held in 25 cities across the UK
The affordability illusion
Food, energy, health, and the costs politicians prefer not to count
Digital illustration showing the flow of algorithmic bias widening the digital gap
AI at the juncture of India’s smart cities
Balancing efficiency, equity, and democracy in the age of algorithmic governance
Senator McCarthy (center) confers with Roy Cohn (left) and David Schine (right) in 1953
Toward a new McCarthyism in Latin America?
The United States is pressuring governments in the region to curb China's technological and commercial expansion
A devastated urban landscape engulfed in fire and smoke evokes the human and geopolitical consequences of war in Tehran, Iran
Why Tehran was attacked?
The latest war on Iran has raised unsettling questions about nuclear fears, global power, and hidden political motives
A panoramic view of Riyadh’s evolving skyline, where modern architecture, sustainable infrastructure, and tradition converge—reflecting Saudi Arabia’s ongoing transformation under Vision 2030
Saudi Vision 2030: transforming a nation beyond oil
How Vision 2030 is reshaping growth, governance, and global ties
A classical bust, its human head replaced by a cold surveillance camera, stands in a rain-slicked city. The image serves as a stark metaphor for "civic death" and the replacement of democratic diplomacy with technological control
Decapitation and the end of politics
How targeted elimination has become a normalized instrument of contemporary power and violence
A split natural environment of vitality and decline, symbolising the contested future of the Earth
The future of the world: optimism vs pessimism
Examining how conflict, inequality, and climate reshape our expectations of the future
A woman in a black shirt sits on the ground in the desert, working remotely on her laptop
The new nomads: redefining work and home
Digital mobility reshaping culture, economy, and belonging
AI-generated smartphone students in the digital reading room of a historic library
Media upheaval in the technology field
How the rise and irresponsibility of the new social media aided and abetted Trump and Trumpism
Pakistan’s Parliament House in Islamabad, the center of the country’s legislative decisions, amid debate over the 27th Constitutional Amendment
Pakistan’s 27th Constitutional Amendment
A step toward progress or a blow to democracy?
Politicians give speeches for several key reasons: all tied to influence, leadership, and public communication
How to resist right-wing populism and fascism?
Going beyond anti-imperialism
Working from home does not mean working without a routine or discipline: it's the opposite
How to stay productive during the holidays
Even when working from home
A tense public protest in a European city captures the clash between free expression and growing calls for restriction, as demonstrators gather around a provocative act that has ignited widespread debate
Denmark’s free expression quandary
New restrictions spark concern over censorship, protest rights, and the resilience of democratic debate
A professor addresses a silent lecture hall, his words hanging in the air — a moment that captures academia’s struggle to keep truth alive amid the noise of a divided world
How academia lost its sanctuary
In an age of polarisation and digital noise, universities must rediscover the courage to think freely and the humility to listen
The skyline in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, represents the need for urban development in the modern world
Africanizing democracy and nation-building in Africa
How colonial borders, ethnic diversity, and political choices affect stability and development in Africa
A contemplative portrait reflecting the inner experience of identity, self-perception, and psychological introspection
Gender identity and transgender experiences
Psychological interpretations, treatment models, and social responses
An American political leader stands in front of his supporters
The key political question: has Trump reached his peak?
Is he the "Napoleonic" figure of the decade?
A devastated oil refinery burns amid thick smoke and scattered wreckage, symbolizing the destructive consequences of escalating conflicts and interventionist wars in the Middle East
The Neo-Con road to war with Iran
From the Iran–Iraq War to Trump’s 2026 confrontation, decades of intervention and miscalculation threaten a wider global conflict
See 2766 more
Subscribe
Get updates on the Meer