Books

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow stand side by side during a public ceremony, exemplifying the strategic use of religious authority to reinforce national identity and geopolitical legitimacy.
BooksPolitics & Religion

The Religious Turn in Great Power Politics

About the book The Geopolitics of Religious Soft Power: How States Use Religion in Foreign Policy, edited by Pierre Mandaville (Oxford University Press, 2023).

By
Peter Mandaville
10 Min Read
How Democracy, Media and Gender Equality Shape Abortion Views
A coat hanger, symbol of unsafe abortion, held during a reproductive rights protest in Washington, D.C.
Books
16 Min Read
Black Women and the Making of Human Rights
A Black woman holds a banner listing victims of police violence during a protest in the United States. Her mask features the faces of Black individuals killed by police, including George Floyd.
BooksHuman Rights
17 Min Read
Why Illiberalism Explains Changes in Today’s Social Order
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a leading figure of the “illiberal democracy” model, shakes hands with Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain’s Vox party, known for its nationalist, anti-immigration, and illiberalism (CC0).
Books
14 Min Read
Human Rights Discourse: Language, Translation and Genre
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Books
14 Min Read
Making Americans Bankrupt Again?
The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in New York City, home to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York—where some of the nation’s most consequential decisions on who gets to go bankrupt are made.
Books
14 Min Read
A Comprehensive Search for a Fair Immigration Policy
A solitary figure faces the border fence at the U.S.–Mexico divide. The image evokes questions of exclusion, visibility, and the human cost of national boundaries — all central themes in contemporary immigration policy debates.
Books
15 Min Read
Dual Justice: Crime, Class, and Corporate Accountability
Facade of the New York Stock Exchange—an enduring symbol of corporate power and economic influence, central to the legal double standards explored in Dual Justice.
Books
18 Min Read
Land Remains the World’s Engine of Social Change
Aerial view of a village and its surrounding fields land organization continues to shape power and inequality in modern societies.
Books
13 Min Read
The Multiple Political Orders in New York City
Political order: Skyscrapers converge against a stark black sky in Manhattan, capturing the scale and symmetry of New York City’s urban order.
Books
11 Min Read
Politics of Love
Love: Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan wave from behind a long wooden table at an official event, standing against a plain blue background.
Books
97 Min Read
We Were Never Meant to Obey: Weaving Abolitionist Constellations
Abolition : Artwork by Shepard Fairey. A powerful visual of Black resistance and radical truth-telling, challenging the structures of obedience through unapologetic presence and voice.
Books
14 Min Read
Suicide by False Belief
Books
15 Min Read
Voice and Protest in Times of Democratic Decline
Protesters demonstrate in solidarity with Gaza, using visual and performative acts to claim political visibility and challenge dominant narratives. Such collective action exemplifies the use of voice beyond formal democratic institutions. Photo by Alisdare Hickson (CC BY-SA).
Books
15 Min Read
Why Are Governments Short-Sighted?
Franklin D. Roosevelt giving a Fireside Chat, illustrating the contrast between long-form political communication and today’s short attention span politics.
Books
16 Min Read
How State Sovereignty Fuels Language Loss: Lessons from Tibet
The Potala Palace served as the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India, following the 1959 uprising in defense of Tibetan sovereignty.
Books
15 Min Read
Persecution and Genocide: A Long History
Illustration of the persecution and murder of Hypatia of Alexandria by Lee Woodward Zeigler, from Charles Kingsley’s Hypatia (early 20th-century edition). The image dramatizes the philosopher's brutal death in 415 CE at the hands of a Christian mob, amidst religious and political upheaval in late antique Alexandria.
Books
17 Min Read
What Gets Absorbed? Jews, Race, and Identity Across the Americas
A street view of Harlem, New York—an urban space that, like many across the Americas, has borne witness to shifting racial and communal boundaries shaped by patterns of absorption, mobility, and exclusion.
Books
13 Min Read
Commercial Art and the Urban Spectacle of Modern Japan
Contemporary view of Ginza, Tokyo. The illuminated spectacle of branded signage reflects the long-term influence of Commercial Art on Japan’s urban consumer spaces.
Books
7 Min Read
When Too Much Freedom Leads to Tyranny
Freedom_statue-of-liberty-storm-clouds-new-york
Books
15 Min Read
Who Are the War Criminals, Genocidaires, and Terrorists?
Criminal Adolf Eichmann, one of the main architects of the Holocaust, stands trial in Jerusalem in 1961. Seated in a bulletproof glass booth, he became the embodiment of Hannah Arendt’s controversial concept of the “banality of evil.”
Books
17 Min Read
Truth and Authoritarianism in America
The erosion of truth as a democratic norm is starkly illustrated by the political strategies of President Donald Trump, in which factual accuracy is systematically subordinated to ideological loyalty.
BooksAnalysis & Theories
17 Min Read
The History of Tech-As-Religion
Holding faith and code: a visual metaphor of technology's rise as a modern belief system.
Books
12 Min Read
Moral Judgement and the Normativity of Practical Identities
This marble sculpture depicts a young Aristotle in deep contemplation, symbolizing the early development of moral judgment and philosophical inquiry.
Books
22 Min Read
Religion in International Politics: Power and Influence
Faith and Power: World Leaders in Prayer – A Moment of Reflection in International Politics. President George W. Bush, Mrs. Laura Bush, Former President George H. W. Bush, Mrs. Barbara Bush, Former President Bill Clinton, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton, bow their heads during the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance service at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.
BooksPolitics & Religion
19 Min Read
A New History of Atlantic Slavery from the Global South
BooksPolitical History
16 Min Read
Does Free Speech Have a Future?
A political street mural in San Diego with bold red, black, and beige tones. It features a woman holding a newspaper questioning climate denial, propaganda-style posters, and imagery related to surveillance and control. The artwork highlights free speech, censorship, and political power dynamics.
BooksFreedom of Expression
21 Min Read
When Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness
Animal Dream: A red fox sleeps peacefully in the sunlight, its body relaxed and still. Photo by Qijun Huang.
BooksEnvironment & Animals
14 Min Read
Marijuana Rescheduling: Federal Uncertainty in the U.S.
Black and white close-up photograph of a marijuana leaf, showing its serrated edges and detailed texture against a blurred background.
Books
9 Min Read
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