Rethinking Crisis

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Ben Lodewijks analyses the changes brought about by the global financial crisis.

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The first images associated with a financial crisis are often those of balding, middle aged stockbrokers yelling frantically at each other as they helplessly watch their stocks tumble from the exchange floor. However, such images belie the true impact of a crisis. Those hardest hit by a financial crisis are inevitably low-skilled factory workers who, having never owned a stock in their life, suddenly find that their economic livelihood has been pulled right out from under them. Protecting citizens’ economic and social wellbeing in the face of such a crisis poses an enormous challenge to governments around the world. [...]

Rik Moors considers the future of nuclear proliferation.

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In 1949, George Orwell wrote You and the Atom Bomb, an eloquent essay on the effects of the development of the atomic bomb on international relations. In the piece, he prophetically constructs a picture of the imminent Cold War, using the newly acquired atomic power as an important basis for his projection. His argument hinges on the notion that “the history of civilization is largely the history of weapons”. Few nations were capable of building an atomic bomb at that time, and even for those that could, it was a complex, expensive and time-consuming project. [...]

Louise Ferreira traces the development of the Zimbabwean crisis.

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In the twenty-first century, ‘crisis’ has become an empty term, reflecting political discourses as opposed to actual problems. People have come to accept, and subsequently ignore, issues bearing this name. Considering the frequency of media-induced moral panic, it may (at times) even be justified for the public to ignore this buzzword. But what happens when a country really is in crisis and the government denies its existence? [...]

Christopher Angelos reflects on the lessons of the ‘global financial crisis’.

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Do you remember a time when mortgage defaults were the overriding concern in markets worldwide? You may be forgiven for thinking that this was not so long ago. Since early 2007, the world has witnessed a wave of defaults evolve into a systemic crisis for U.S. financial markets and, more recently, for the global economy. Developments have occurred at a “frightening velocity”, as described by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. Attention has rapidly shifted from financial regulators to governments and how they formulate plans to stimulate economies. [...]

Robert Flawith examines the impact of global climate change on international order.

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While scientists are still trying to predict the full impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the earth’s climate, few now doubt the impending, manmade rise in global temperatures. Indeed, it is becoming apparent that the effects of climate change on global temperatures for the next century are already ‘locked in’. Despite attempts to ameliorate the long-term trends of global warming, climate change is set to play an increasingly central role in international politics. [...]

Jessica Carter discusses the security crisis posed by North Korea’s nuclear program.

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A heated match of soccer always arouses plenty of excitement and tension on the field, which, let’s face it, is why we love to watch the game. A qualifier match for next year’s World Cup, which saw North and South Korea play against each other in April, was no exception. But when the North lost to the South 1-0, the tension could be felt off the field as well. North Korea’s coach, Kim Jong Hun, accused South Korea of poisoning his players. [...]

Daniel Liu considers the role of the Fourth Estate in a crisis.

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From the footage of the ‘tank man’ during the Tiananmen Square Massacre, to the fall of the Twin Towers, the news media provides us with powerful images that shape history. As the much-vaunted ‘Fourth Estate’, the media has a tremendous impact on nearly every aspect of our lives. Its influence can be characterised as the “CNN effect” of round-the-clock global news coverage. [...]

Mark Grime explains how resolving the public health crisis in Zimbabwe may be a crisis in its own right.

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The collapse of Zimbabwe’s public health infrastructure has enlivened debate on the inherent contradiction that exists between the international legal and international political approaches to the resolution of humanitarian crises. Whilst the international legal approach can be seen in arguments for humanitarian intervention, the international political approach is exemplified by the resurgence of the realist paradigm, with politicisation limiting the reach of international criminal law. [...]

Ben Friis-O’Toole argues for the simplification of the global economic order.

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When the solvency of a local council in suburban Sydney is threatened by a collapse of the U.S. housing market, it is not merely an inevitable if regrettable outcome of globalisation: it is absurd. More importantly, though, it demonstrates a great failure of the global financial system that first became obvious in 2007 and continues to spiral out of control – a failure rooted in excess generally, but triggered and exacerbated by the excessive complexity of modern finance. [...]

A word from the editor, Christopher Beshara.

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The mainstream media has spun a compelling yarn about the folly of the human condition. It goes a little something like this: our blind faith in free markets has laid waste to the economic superstructure. Africa’s failed states have become ground zero for despotism, electoral fraud, and famine. [...]