Culture and Ideas
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Can politics ever be free from violence?
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Discussions about violence are perhaps more prominent than ever before, and we are constantly bombarded with depictions of violence in films, the news, books, and a variety of other cultural mediums. We are living in an era which is sometimes described as the bloodiest on record, sometimes as the most peaceful[1]. Lively and fierce debates…
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Coronavirus and the meaning of fake news
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Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, journalists and authors in the media have routinely been using the term “fake news” to refer to the deep and dynamic flows of misleading, malicious, conspiratorial and divisive coronavirus-related online content. Characterised as an ‘infodemic’by the WHO,the coronavirus era has seen high volumes of both non-state and state-backed coronavirus-centric “fake news.”…
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Culture during Covid-19: A Conversation with Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, Belvedere Museum, Jewish Museum, and Albertina Museum
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Culture during Covid-19: A Conversation with Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, Belvedere Museum, Jewish Museum, and Albertina Museum. By Julia Vassileva The Covid-19 times brought many governance measures, but the closure of all museums and cultural institutions in Austria in early March 2020 was a particularly sad one. In a city usually vibrant with visitors, a European…
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Hype, Hope, Repeat: Cryptocurrency and Symbolic Value
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Cryptocurrencies. Virtual currencies. Digital coins. Studies from ING and St Andrews University reveal that, “while most of us now know something about these terms, many of the details are still a little sketchy.” Cryptocurrency is defined as virtual or digital money which takes the form of tokens or coins. Investopedia explains that the ‘crypto’ in cryptocurrency as a…
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The mystery of Finals classifications
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Four of the United Kingdom’s five most recent Prime Ministers graduated from the University of Oxford. And quite a few British voters could tell you with what class of degree. It would be unthinkable to write Wikipedia page or biography without including such a basic fact, up there with school attended. For public figures, past and…
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![[China Series #1] The Communist Party of China and the Idea of `Evil’](https://oxfordpoliticalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/kerry-brown.jpg)
[China Series #1] The Communist Party of China and the Idea of `Evil’
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The Oxford Political Review is conducting a series of contributions from field experts and academics studying China. We are looking to platform a diversity of voices and opinions. This piece is written by Prof. Kerry Brown, Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau China Institute. Over the last quarter of a century or…
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A Western Delusion: Narratives Surrounding Neocolonialism in Africa
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Ever since Chinese President Xi Jinping’s announcement of the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ in 2013 raised disapproving (or perhaps jealous?) eyebrows in the west, an insidious trend has emerged in relation to reporting on China within western media circles. Scaremongering articles, complete with ominous headlines such as ‘What China is really up to in Africa’, have rushed…
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Is expertise as contagious as COVID-19?
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By Jan Eijking In 2017 a book with a well-timed title landed on bookseller’s shelves across the UK: “The Death of Expertise.” Written by US Naval War College professor Tom Nichols, and published only shortly after Michael Gove’s now-infamous declaration that “Britain’s had enough of experts,” this little manifesto bemoaned a growing threat to expertise…
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Refugees in Camp Moria and COVID-19
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Around the world, COVID-19 has forced countries into a sudden reckoning with their most primary fragilities. It cannot be beaten by drone strikes or intimidated by economic prowess. The bold virus seems undaunted by the rhetoric of world leaders or the size of their armies. So as COVID-19 spreads, many comment on the apparently rare…
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The Case for Humility in Our COVID-19 Response
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As of mid-March 2020, the United Kingdom’s strategy for battling the COVID-19 pandemic is markedly different from that of virtually every other Western country. While the UK government’s more relaxed policy is provoking controversy among scientists and policymakers around the world, there is a subtle irony that we should not lose amidst the chaos –…