Politics & Policy | Warwick Think Tank

Politics. Explore the latest developments in political systems in the UK and around the world, democracy and its limits, and the influence of policy.

Recent developments in Politics & Policy

The Conservative Party: Out into the Wilderness

Will Allen The Conservative party, the UK's, and arguably the worlds, most storied political party is drawing its protected leadership contest to a close later today. For the first time in nearly two decades, the party is selecting someone to become Leader of the Opposition, rather than Prime Minister. This job is arguably one of the toughest in UK politics, if not the toughest - where there are no right answers or easy decisions. So will the party understand the gravity of i

POLITICS & POLICY

Will Allen

Nov 2, 2024

2024 The Year of Elections: Change and Uncertainty

By Reuben Bye 2024 is the biggest year for voting, ever - and it will be a year of uncertainty. 76 countries with a combined population...

POLITICS & POLICY

Reuben Bye

Jan 26, 2024

Editorial: Let Joe Biden Run Again

By Will Allen It seems like a given rule that presidents are expected to seek re-election. There are just six examples of incumbent...

EDITORIAL

Will Allen

Mar 20, 2023

Editorial: The chronicles of German extremism

By Ananya Sreekumar On 7th December 2022, German Special Forces, in tandem with regional Police forces, conducted raids across the...

EDITORIAL

Ananya Sreekumar

Mar 17, 2023

Zombie laws: Sec 66 A of the IT Act

Section 66(A) of the IT Act, 2000 says, "Any individual who sends any grossly offensive message through a computer source or any...

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Warwick Think Tank

Mar 13, 2023

Re-Envisioning the Command Economy

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked the end of the Cold War and lifted previous restrictions for capitalist nations, allowing...

ECONOMICS & FINANCE

Warwick Think Tank

Jan 31, 2023

Kyrsten Sinema is a Senator bereft of vision, unless it concerns Kyrsten Sinema

(Image: Flickr/ Gage Skidmore, Illustrations by Will Allen) When she’s not busy listing her items of clothing on Facebook marketplace or...

POLITICS & POLICY

Will Allen

Jan 24, 2023

Investment Zones the answer to the Levelling up agenda?

Political history of Investment Zones Similar to the Enterprise Zones promoted by Thatcher and Osborne, the Investment Zones announced by...

ECONOMICS & FINANCE

Kavisha Manoj

Jan 17, 2023

Education Spotlight: Busting Myths about the UCU Strikes!

This article is an expression of our solidarity with the university staff on the UCU strike in the UK on the 24th, 25th and 30th of...

POLITICS & POLICY

Caitlin Hoyland

Nov 21, 2022

‘Over to you, Rishi’: Can Rishi Sunak fix the country by 2024?

If you’ve been following the Conservative Party’s Machiavellian Game of Thrones adaptation in the news then you will already know that,...

POLITICS & POLICY

Alex Freeney

Oct 27, 2022

The Third Home Secretary This Year: Will This One Have Some Morals?

Don’t be fooled by the shambles of a Tory government, they all want to take our Human Rights. On 19th October, former PM, Liz Truss...

POLITICS & POLICY

Caitlin Hoyland

Oct 26, 2022

Truss: Leadership Without Long-term Vision is Destined to Fail

Liz Truss took just 45 days to prove that a leader without long-term answers is a leader unfit for office. Whilst her disastrous...

POLITICS & POLICY

Evie Taylor

Oct 25, 2022

Trussonomics: a lesson in credibility

After just 44 days of economic and political upheaval, Liz Truss announced her resignation as the PM of the country. By the end of the...

POLITICS & POLICY

Kavisha Manoj

Oct 24, 2022

Unleashing Britain’s Potential? Two years of Johnsonism Under Review

This article has been written by contributor James Baldwin Two years have passed since the resounding election victory of Boris Johnson...

POLITICS & POLICY

Warwick Think Tank

Dec 2, 2021

Billionaires Beware: Congressional Toils and Trials

On Wednesday 27th October, Oregon Senator and chair of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden unveiled his plans for a new tax that...

ECONOMICS & FINANCE

Eve Dunkley

Nov 25, 2021

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Rebuilding After Assad

Udaya Pal The fall of the brutal Assad regime on the 8th of December was rightly celebrated across the world, just as the horrors of the regime became painfully clear. However, as the dust settles, serious concerns are emerging amongst observers who fear that Syria could follow Libya’s post-revolution trajectory into collapse. Further doubts about the future of Syria’s leadership have been cast by those who highlight the former al-Qaeda connections of the leaders of the rebel

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Udaya Pal

Feb 12, 2025

EU Membership: The Price of Belonging

Aditi Someshwar The European Union is one of the most powerful and significant geographic blocs in history. The Union extends decision-making dominance across countries both within Europe and beyond, positioning itself as an overarching ideological faction with implicit power at the global stage. However, is being a member of the Union worth the price one pays in accession? This remains a question that begs an answer. Who may enter the Union? Being within the geographic co

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Aditi Someshwar

Jan 8, 2025

Trump’s Return: What this means for the Fragile Balance in the Middle East

Udaya Pal Donald Trump’s incoming return to the White House has many skeptical and concerned about the implications for the future of US relations with the Middle East. He’s been very vocal about his desire to return to a time of US isolationism, outlining a foreign policy characterised by high tariffs, transactional relationships, and a rejection of multilateral organisations. His first term demonstrated his appetite for reckless and aggressive behaviour, but his ambitions w

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Udaya Pal

Dec 5, 2024

Global Plates: How Countries Export Culture

Aditi Someshwar Food is central to all of our lives, an essential ingredient for our mind, body, and soul. It is also a severely overlooked dimension of how countries exercise power. Cuisine and culinary premise is an unconscious yet effective mechanism of influencing perception and image with very real world consequences in the form of bilateral treaties, trade agreements, and tourism. Setting The Plate - Culinary Exchange To understand the way in which culinary diplomacy i

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Aditi Someshwar

Nov 30, 2024

Life, Death, and Dignity: Understanding the Assisted Dying Debate in the UK

India Gordon The UK is at a pivotal moment in its history with the proposed Terminally Ill Adults (Assisted Dying) Bill having passed its second reading in the last month. If approved, the Bill could transform end-of-life care in the UK, marking a significant step forward in patient autonomy. However, to truly ensure the safety and dignity of patients, adequate safeguards are needed to address the procedure’s intrinsic practical and ethical challenges. need to be robustly def

JUSTICE & HUMAN RIGHTS

India Gordon

Jan 9, 2025

Confronting the UK's Far-Right Violence Problem

India Gordon This year, the UK witnessed a level of national violence not seen since the 2011 riots. However, the violence this time seemed to have a clear ideological fuel: far right-wing populist sentiments driven by anti-immigrant and Islamaphobic rhetoric. These views, having been repeatedly reinforced by leading political figures, mainstream media, and social media platforms, have become deeply ingrained in British society. From this perspective, the riots serve as just

JUSTICE & HUMAN RIGHTS

India Gordon

Nov 21, 2024

Innocence under Siege: The Plight of Gaza’s Children

By Mehul Chopra The Gaza Strip, a small, densely populated piece of land on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, is home to over 2...

JUSTICE & HUMAN RIGHTS

Mehul Chopra

Jan 16, 2024

Refugees in Limbo:Confronting Discrimination and Institutional Racism in Europe's Immigration Crisis

By Saarah Rahman Refugees flee their home country due to violence, crossing international borders for safety. However, they are met with...

JUSTICE & HUMAN RIGHTS

Saarah Rahman

Nov 8, 2023

Progress Up North: Exploring the Success of Canadian Child Benefit Reforms

Abhay Venkitaraman Over the past decade, Canadian governments on both sides of the aisle have implemented reforms to the country’s child benefit regime. These efforts have significantly increased the generosity of welfare provision for households with children. What impact did these policies have – and with child poverty rates on the up in the aftermath of the pandemic, what more needs to be done? Across advanced economies, child poverty rates in the OECD generally exceed tho

ECONOMICS & FINANCE

Abhay Venkitaraman

Jan 18, 2025

Levelling the Global Financial Playing Field: BRICS' Strategic Bid for Monetary Independence

Syed Hussain BRICS' ambitious bid to level the global financial playing field presents more questions than answers in the evolving landscape of international monetary relations. While the alliance's recent expansion and high-profile Kazan summit signal growing momentum, critical analysis reveals significant structural impediments to achieving true financial parity with the U.S.-led system. The summit's unprecedented attendance by over 30 nations, including EU partners and NAT

ECONOMICS & FINANCE

Syed Hussain

Nov 27, 2024

A Leaky Bucket: How Britain’s Consumption Tax System Undermines its Economy

Abhay Venkitaraman Illustration by Will Allen The UK’s Value Added Tax (VAT), a tax on household consumption, spares many goods and services from the ‘standard’ 20% tax rate. Some, like food and children’s clothing, are subjected to reduced rates of VAT – whilst others, like education, are exempted from VAT altogether. This bleeds the government of £100bn every single year, burdens businesses with extra administration and compliance costs, and results in unfair tax treatment

ECONOMICS & FINANCE

Abhay Venkitaraman

Oct 24, 2024

The Price of Imperialism : Israel, Oil, and the looming Global Recession

By Syed Hussain The Israel-Palestine war has profound and wide-ranging implications for the global economy that extend far beyond its...

ECONOMICS & FINANCE

Syed Hussain

Nov 10, 2023

Editorials

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THE DRAGON'S GLOBAL CHESSBOARD: NAVIGATING THE COMPLEXITIES OF CHINA'S ECONOMIC STRATEGIES AND EFFECTS ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

Explore Healthcare

The Downplay of the Mental Health Crisis: How Will Disparities be Resolved?

Lois Glover Historically, mental health has been a heavily stigmatised, taboo topic and in many ways remains that way. Whilst mental health has gained increasing political and public attention, many misconceptions continue to circulate. From minimising symptoms to ridiculing therapeutic practices, a harmful legacy of misinformation has been created. Political decisions often convey an undertone of neglect toward mental health issues, despite the serious consequences of this d

HEALTHCARE

Lois Glover

Nov 13, 2024

Cancer: why health inequalities in cancer are making the world’s biggest killer that much more dangerous

Isabella Lopez-Scott There are many areas in healthcare in which spotting inequalities is obvious, for example, those who can afford...

HEALTHCARE

Warwick Think Tank

Mar 28, 2024

COVID-19 and its Implications on our Mental Health

By Isabella Lopez-Scott The COVID-19 pandemic had many implications for the economy, education, and healthcare. However, one factor...

HEALTHCARE

Isabella Lopez-Scott

Feb 25, 2024

Public vs Private: Does the Quality of Healthcare vary between the Public and Private Sectors?

By Nimrit Jodha Over the past decade, there has been an increased emphasis on healthcare becoming a profit-maximising industry. However,...

HEALTHCARE

Nimrit Jodha

Oct 31, 2023

Explore Technology

Levelling the Supply Chain: How Blockchain Enhances Transparency and Equality Across Global Markets

Giovanna Zarrebini Since COVID struck in 2020, consumer expectations revolved around a two-hour delivery model. When the pandemic disrupted that model and Just-In-Time frameworks, consumers soon discovered the implications that the term ‘supply chain’ had when the delivery of household goods was delayed. New consumers and corporations are looking into technology to improve supply chain efficiency and alleviate potential bottlenecks in the system (Deloitte, 2023). Supply chain

TECHNOLOGY

Giovanna Zarrebini

Nov 5, 2024