Analysis: Here is a summary of significant articles published on ForeignAffairs.co.nz on July 19, 2025.
MIL-OSI Submissions: How the ‘big, beautiful bill’ will deepen the racial wealth gap – a law scholar explains how it reduces poor families’ ability to afford food and health care
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Beverly Moran, Professor Emerita of Law, Vanderbilt University President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio watch Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on television after the House passed the bill on July 3, 2025. Joyce N. Boghosian/White House via AP President Donald Trump has said the […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Israel is exploiting the vacuum left by southern Syria’s sectarian clashes and a weak state
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rob Geist Pinfold, Lecturer in International Security, King’s College London Several days of bitter sectarian fighting in the south of Syria has brought the fledgling government in Damascus dangerously close to direct conflict with Israel, after Israeli warplanes launched strikes against government buildings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: The US Environmental Protection Agency’s retreat from science endangers the health of people and the planet
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Scott Glaberman, Associate Professor of Comparative Toxicology, University of Birmingham Andromeda stock/Shutterstock Pollution causes more illness and early death than any other environmental threat, accounting for one in six deaths worldwide. For decades, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) has driven many […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Decoding hints that Xi Jinping may be under pressure to relinquish some of his power
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Chee Meng Tan, Assistant Professor of Business Economics, University of Nottingham Political and economic pressures might force Chinese president and overall leader Xi Jinping to delegate some of his powers to his deputies in a highly significant move. This has prompted some observers and media outlets to speculate […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Cognitive warfare: why wars without bombs or bullets are a legal blind spot
Source: The Conversation – UK – By David Gisselsson Nord, Professor, Division of Clinical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University Master1305/Shutterstock Imagine waking up to the news that a deadly new strain of flu has emerged in your city. Health officials are downplaying it, but social media is flooded with contradictory claims from “medical experts” […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Exercise could ease symptoms for people with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) – new study
Source: The Conversation – UK – By David Bartlett, Senior Lecturer of Exercise Immunology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Surrey Ground Picture/Shutterstock Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is the most common adult blood cancer in the western world, and it predominantly affects older adults. Most people are diagnosed after the […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Testosterone gel: what happens if it rubs off on other people
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Daniel Kelly, Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry, Sheffield Hallam University Marc Bruxelle/Shutterstock.com A case that first appeared in a medical journal several years ago has recently resurfaced in the media, highlighting an unexpected risk of hormone therapies: a baby girl in Sweden developed unusually large genitals after lying on […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: A brief art history of adultery
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Natalie Hanley-Smith, Teaching fellow in early modern history, University of Warwick The Stolen Kiss by Jean Honore Fragonard (1787). Hermitage Museum A stolen glance across a crowded room, a shadowy figure slipping through a doorway, a lover hidden behind a curtain – adultery has long been a drama […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: It doesn’t have to be welfare versus warfare. Changes that make tax fairer could fund both
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Giray Gozgor, Associate Professor of Economics & Finance, School of Management, University of Bradford Historically, UK spending on defence has often been pitted against welfare, education and local government. But at a time when the government has pledged to meet Nato’s target for defence spending – 5% of […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Cynthia Erivo will be the most talked about Jesus of 2025 – but women have long retold the gospel
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sarah Parkhouse, British Academy Research Fellow, Centre for Biblical Studies, University of Manchester Cynthia Erivo, the award-winning actor and star of Wicked, will play Jesus Christ at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles between August 1 and 3 2025. Unsurprisingly perhaps, the casting of the Wicked star as […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: ‘People who spent years saving lives are now struggling to survive’ – how we witnessed Trump’s USAID cuts devastate health programmes in Kenya
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rachael Eastham, Lecturer in Young People’s Health Inequalities, Division of Health Research, Lancaster University Homabay, Kenya, in February 2025. Rachael Eastham, CC BY My phone wouldn’t stop ringing – nurses, social workers, young mothers – all begging for help. ‘I’ve lost my job,’ ‘I have no food,’ ‘What […]
MIL-OSI Analysis: Automatic voter registration: a huge step forward for democracy – and a chance to bring missing millions into elections
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Toby James, Professor of Politics and Public Policy, University of East Anglia Shutterstock/Melinda Nagy The UK government has announced planned changes to elections which it claims to be “the boldest and most ambitious change to our democracy for decades”. This includes extending the franchise to 16- and 17-year-olds […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: How to understand the row between Angela Rayner and Unite – and what it means for Labour’s relationship with the unions
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Eric Shaw, Honorary Research Fellow in Politics, University of Stirling At its recent conference in Brighton, the union Unite voted overwhelmingly to expel deputy prime minister Angela Rayner from membership. The successful motion denounced the way Birmingham’s Labour council has handled a pay dispute with the city’s bin […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Going on holiday? Here’s how to make sure your trip is sustainable
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sayed Elhoushy, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Queen Mary University of London Anna Om/Shutterstock With the rise of sustainable tourism (travelling in a way that minimises harm to the environment, and benefits local communities), words such as “sustainable”, “”eco” and “green” appear on countless holiday brochures. From five-star hotels […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Bluetongue outbreak endangers UK livestock – what you need to know about the virus
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Cate Williams, Knowledge Exchange Fellow at Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University Bluetongue causes illness and death in cattle, sheep, goats and other ruminants. Juice Flair/Shutterstock A tiny midge, no bigger than a pinhead, is bringing UK farming to its knees. The culprit? A strain […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Going on holiday? What you need to know about taking your meds with you
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dipa Kamdar, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, Kingston University YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV/Shutterstock As summer holidays begin, many travellers are packing more than just swimsuits and sunscreen – for millions, medicines are essential. But taking them abroad isn’t always simple. From legal pitfalls to temperature-sensitive drugs, here’s how to travel […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Afghan data leak: how selective state secrecy and cover-ups can harm civilians
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Victoria Canning, Professor of Criminology, Lancaster University In 2022, somebody in the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) mistakenly shared a spreadsheet containing the personal information associated with 18,714 Afghans and their family members. This data breach, and the efforts to cover it up, raises serious questions about state […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Lions rugby tour: why visual training, including juggling, can be a secret weapon in elite sports
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Zoe Wimshurst, Senior Lecturer of Sport Psychology, Health Sciences University Odua Images/Shutterstock Much of the pre-series attention on the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia has been on injuries, player omissions and personal rivalries. One of those rivalries involves the Australian sensation Joseph-Akuso Suaalii facing Lions […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Britain’s ban on lead ammunition could save tens of thousands of birds from poisoning
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Deborah Pain, Visiting Academic, University of Cambridge; Honorary Professor, University of East Anglia, University of Cambridge CHUYKO SERGEY/Shutterstock The UK’s environment minister Emma Hardy has announced a ban on toxic lead ammunition to protect Britain’s countryside. This ban includes the sale and use for hunting of both lead […]
MIL-OSI Submissions: Florida plan to deputize National Guard officers as immigration judges at Alligator Alcatraz would likely violate constitutional rights
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Raquel Aldana, Professor of Law, University of California, Davis President Donald Trump visits Alligator Alcatraz in Ochopee, Florida on July 1, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images Seeking to expand Florida’s role in federal immigration enforcement, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in May 2025 submitted the state’s Immigration Enforcement […]