By Cora Kirby Daniel Noboa became Ecuador’s president in a 2023 snap election and now faces a presidential election this coming Sunday. The ballot will consist of 16 candidates, but Noboa and leftist lawyer Luisa Gonzalez remain the frontrunners. Gonzalez worked under former president Rafael Correa, and has garnered the support of many of his... Continue Reading →
By John W. Parks The first few weeks of President Trump’s second term have produced substantial changes to the foreign policy of the United States. Tariffs imposed on the US’s largest trading partners and the drastic cutting of funds for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have begun to build an American future... Continue Reading →
By Madelyn Williams Last month the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, signed the Land Expropriation Law. This has caused a firestorm of controversy in South Africa and abroad as some expect that it will be used to remove white farmers from their land. The law provides guidelines about how land expropriation may be implemented and... Continue Reading →
By Abby Bedard Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s de facto leader since the fall of Assad late last year, was recently appointed president of Syria for a transitional period. A slew of other announcements followed, including the dissolution of the Syrian constitution, Bashar al-Assad’s Baath party, the Syrian military and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), al-Sharaa’s own organization.... Continue Reading →
By Matthew Grace Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have begun the process of abandoning Russia’s electricity grid and switch over to the EU’s network. The process was scheduled to occur over two days, beginning on February 8th with announcements given for all citizens to charge their devices, stock up of food and water supplies, and prepare... Continue Reading →
By Suha Abrahim Earlier this week the US and Mexico reached a deal to pause tariffs. Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to send troops to combat drug trafficking while Trump promised to “prevent the trafficking of high-powered weapons to Mexico”. With only two legal gun stores in Mexico, cartel violence has continued to rise over... Continue Reading →
By Lauren Ho Amidst growing conflict and corruption claims, the Philippine vice president and daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, Sara Duterte, has been voted to be impeached by the Philippines’ parliament. What began in 2022 as what seemed to be a unified presidential campaign by Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with Duterte running as the vice-presidential... Continue Reading →
By: Sam Dantzler Early this week, the Hangzhou-based, Chinese startup, DeepSeek released its AI model causing a stir in the larger global tech industry. Historically, American tech firms have stayed at the forefront of the AI arms race. DeepSeek has disrupted this norm, however, as the company claims its model was developed more efficiently and... Continue Reading →
By: Madelyn Williams In recent weeks, the Tutsi-led M23 rebels have advanced towards Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), near the Rwandan border, finally entering the city on January 26th. Within two days, by January 28th, the rebels had captured most of the city including the airport. The DRC claimed that they... Continue Reading →
By Cora Kirby Senior Trump administration official, Richard Grenell, traveled to Venezuela this week to speak with President Nicolas Maduro amidst the new administration’s heavy focus on deportations and anti-gang efforts. Grenell is said to be meeting with Maduro to pressure his government to accept deportations of migrants who have committed crimes in the U.S.,... Continue Reading →
The Patterson Journal of International Affairs 