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North America She Said

Increasing Female Representation in U.S. Politics: Non-Partisanship and Confidence-Building for Political Empowerment

Running Start is a U.S. nonprofit that trains diverse young women to run for public office. Recognizing the lack of female representation at all political levels, the organization aims to encourage women regardless of partisan affiliation to seek political office and supports them through mentoring and skill-building in leadership, campaign strategy and teamwork. Under CEO & Founder Susannah Wellford’s leadership, Running Start has trained over 20,000 women from high school to college in more than 100 annual programs. 90% of alums who ran for office have won. SHE SAID spoke to Susannah Wellford about her vision for female political empowerment.  

Africa Politics

Kenya: Camp Closures Weaponised as Relations with Somalia Sour

The maritime dispute between Kenya and Somalia has dragged diplomatic relations between the two neighbours to a new low, with the most likely outcome favouring Somalia. In threatening to close Dadaab and Kakuma, Kenya may be seeking a new source of pressure to apply to Mogadishu through deploying the prospect of thousands of returnees as leverage. 

Africa Politics

New Cabinet Signals Tshisekedi’s Tightening Grip on Power

On Monday 12th April Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), announced a new cabinet representative of President Felix Tshisekedi’s ruling coalition. Tshisekedi’s “Sacred Union” coalition has had figures appointed to key posts including finance minister, mining minister and interior minister. The previous government had a majority of ministers loyal to former president Joseph Kabila and was headed by a pro-Kabila Prime Minister. The replacement of all but ten of those figures represents the changing balance of power in Congolese politics.

Latin America Security

Mexican Marijuana: The Effects of Legalization on the Economy and the War on Drugs

Following in the footsteps of countries including Canada and Uruguay, Mexico’s lower house passed a bill on 10th March for the purpose of legalizing the recreational use of cannabis. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, often referred to as AMLO, has cited undermining drug cartels as one of the key reasons behind his support for the proposal. Nevertheless, though legalization is likely to prove an economic boon, its impact on crime is likely to be less substantial.

Europe Politics

The Domino Effect of Normalizing Violence Against Women: Why Turkey’s Withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention Has Become the Norm Rather Than the Exception

Turkey’s decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention has been highly criticized by the European Union and human rights advocates. However, Turkey is not the first and most likely not the last country to opt out of the Convention on preventing and combating gender-based violence. Whereas much of the focus has been on Erdogan’s political motivations behind the decision, the issue of violence against women in Central and Eastern Europe in relation to the Istanbul Convention remains in the shadows and requires further attention.

Insights Under The Radar

The Suez Canal, Maritime Chokepoints & The South China Sea

Written by Mark Wright.  The recent blockage of the Suez Canal by the Ever Given container ship brought global attention to the importance of maritime chokepoints. While the international community

Environment Latin America

An Ecosystem in Crisis: Environmental Degradation in Venezuela

Venezuela’s biodiverse environment, from its share of the Amazon rainforest to its lakes and coastline, has suffered increasing levels of pollution and degradation in recent years. Venezuela’s reliance on extractive practices including mining and its ageing oil industry is one of the main drivers of the degradation of its environment. Given the attitude of the Maduro regime, the situation is set to worsen.

Middle East/North Africa Politics

Hezbollah’s Economic Initiatives in Collapsing Lebanon

With the Lebanese Lira hitting a new low at the beginning of March, Lebanon is at the brink of collapse, undergoing fuel shortages and driving its population into poverty. The economic crisis has worsened in the last year due to the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, the explosion of the port of Beirut in August, and, above all, to the Lebanese political class that has repeatedly failed to form a government. The political vacuum has given room to Hezbollah, which is likely one of the actors responsible for stalling the government’s formation, to demonstrate its abilities in managing the country through its apparently well-developed social welfare.

Covid-19 Latin America

Brazil’s Attitude Towards the Pandemic Poses a Serious Threat to the Region

Since the start of the pandemic, Brazil has become an epicenter for the spread of coronavirus in the region. Jair Bolsonaro has opposed lockdowns, supported unreliable medical treatments, and downplayed the impact of COVID-19 in the country. The eruption of the new Brazilian variant (known as P1) is dominating the country. This scenario has alerted leaders, who have taken measures to prevent this new and highly contagious variant from proliferating freely. The situation is becoming a threat to the region. The lack of policies can lead to the outbreak of new coronavirus variants that can alter vaccination plans in the rest of the continent.

Middle East/North Africa Security

Yemen’s Chance for Peace Weakens as the Fighting against the Houthis Intensifies

As the war in Yemen enters its seventh year the Saudi Arabian-led coalition has begun attempting peace talks with their main adversaries, the Houthi rebel forces that have occupied much of the northwest of the country for the last several years. As President Biden is now committed to withdrawing American support for the coalition, it has left them at a disadvantage which they appear to wish to rectify by negotiating with the Houthis in the hope of reaching an agreement. However, the Houthi forces have largely held a strong position in the war and, as demonstrated by their recent bombings and airstrikes, appear to have little interest in ending the conflict.