International Relations

Pakistani peacekeepers carry out engineering works in Bentiu, South Sudan, 2023. Photo by Gregório Cunha/UNMISS
BooksInternational Relations

What Peacekeepers Build, and Why it Matters for Reconstruction

About the book Peace Infrastructures: How UN Peace Operations Build Roads, Bridges, and Solar Farms in the Pursuit of Sustainability by Silvia Danielak, published by MIT Press in 2026.

By
Silvia Danielak
13 Min Read
The Economization of Politics: The Maastricht Legacy
Economization of Politics : The European Parliament Institutional design shaped by Maastricht's economic logic, constraining EU responses to geopolitical crises. Photo by Ash Crow (CC BY-SA)
International Relations
18 Min Read
A Free Arctic? A Timely but Long-Resisted Debate, Part II
Aerial view of a braided gravel outwash plain formed by glacial meltwater on the northeast coast of Baffin Island, Nunavut, in the Canadian Arctic. Photo by Mike Beauregard CC BY).
International Relations
17 Min Read
A Free Arctic? A Timely but Long-Resisted Debate, Part I
Arctic sea ice and frozen coastal cliffs under the midnight glow of the northern horizon. Photo by Tomsk (CC BY). 
International Relations
17 Min Read
The Arctic Front of the Tri-Axis Challenge
A Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker navigates Arctic sea ice, enabling year-round access to the Northern Sea Route and reinforcing the strategic and economic reach of emerging Tri-Axis connectivity.
International Relations
25 Min Read
Northeast Asia’s “Tri-Axis” Challenge and the Arctic’s Future
Tri-axis pressures converge at the Arctic frontier, where emerging power alignments meet critical maritime routes (public domain).
International Relations
22 Min Read
After Venezuela: Trump Advances on Greenland
In the context of Greenland U.S. conflict, Arctic-capable forces participate in cold-weather training exercises focused on mobility and logistics. Photo by The National Guard (CC BY).
International Relations
22 Min Read
Putin’s Ainu Recognition: Is Hokkaido Russia’s Next Target?
Satellite view of Russia’s Far Eastern Pacific frontier, a strategic launch point toward the Kuril Islands and northern Japan (NASA). Ainu.
International Relations
15 Min Read
Hokkaido and the Foundations of Japan’s Arctic Influence
Maoka (now Kholmsk), a Japanese port city in Karafuto (southern Sakhalin) during World War II, reflecting Japan’s historical projection of power north of Hokkaido.
International Relations
14 Min Read
The Rise, Fall and Re-emergence of Japan as an Arctic Power
Imperial Japanese map of the North Pacific and sub-Arctic regions, depicting Hokkaido, Sakhalin (Karafuto), the Kuril Islands and the western Aleutians. The cartography illustrates Japan’s historical projection as an Arctic power in the High North Pacific prior to 1945.
International Relations
15 Min Read
Beyond Subzero: A Future of Cheap, Quiet Polar Submarines
A Swedish Gotland-class diesel-electric submarine in front of a U.S. aircraft carrier — a real-world example of stealth, efficiency, and strategic surprise that inspires the proposed “Hickel Class” fleet.
International Relations
18 Min Read
Indigenous Power and the Future of Greenland
A coastal settlement in southern Greenland: daily life intertwines subsistence traditions with emerging forms of local development. Photo by Monitotxi (CC BY-SA).
International Relations
18 Min Read
Trump’s Arctic Gambit: The Battle for Greenland
A coastal village in Greenland, where traditional Inuit life meets growing geopolitical interest and the visible effects of Arctic climate change.
International Relations
14 Min Read
How Obsession with China Warps U.S. Arctic Policy
Gao Feng, China's Special Representative for Arctic Affairs
International Relations
16 Min Read
Why NATO’s Arctic Expansion Is Now Backfiring
Royal Marines conduct an Arctic beach assault during NATO’s Cold Response exercise in Harstad, Norway
International Relations
16 Min Read
The Transformation of Chinese Foreign Policy: Leaders Matter
The image of Mao Zedong, a towering figure in China's political history, continues to evoke debates about the country's trajectory in foreign policy.
BooksInternational Relations
14 Min Read
Britain and China: Unexpected Lessons from a Long History
Chinese officers tearing down the British flag on the 'Arrow' and arresting crew members, a scene of British Imperial war propaganda during the Second Opium War.
BooksInternational RelationsPolitical History
17 Min Read
Openness Is the Key to Soft Power
Crowd gathered at the Berlin Wall as a man breaks through with a hammer, symbolizing the magnetic pull of Western soft power. This moment captures how ideals of freedom and openness attracted people from the East, showcasing the influence of cultural and ideological appeal over force, a core concept in soft power.
BooksInternational Relations
19 Min Read
Arctic Alliances Tested: Cooperation in an Era of Rivalry
A monochrome view from the deck of an Arctic exploration ship. The photograph captures the ship's side and its extended walkway, leading the eye towards the icy, turbulent Arctic seascape visible in the distance. The image, under a cloudy sky, emphasizes the cold and remote environment of the Arctic region.
BooksInternational Relations
17 Min Read
Rethinking Geopolitics: Fluid Dynamics in Global Relations
President of Russia Vladimir Putin and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping, solidifying a strategic alliance that challenges the established norms of global geopolitics, during a state visit in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
BooksInternational Relations
4 Min Read

Laureate Picks