'Fake news' is poison for the body politic – can it be stopped?
Nov 22, 2016 23:35 pm UTC| Technology Politics
If prescription drugs contained as much fake content as the news coverage of the 2016 US presidential election, there would be wide demands for government action. But, it was only news. However, fake news can be as...
The dirty politics of scapegoating – and why victims are always the harmless, easy targets
Nov 22, 2016 23:05 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics Economy
The word scapegoat is being used a lot in discussions about politics in 2016. The new US president-elect, Donald Trump, appealed to some voters with rhetoric that appeared to scapegoat Mexicans and Muslims for various...
Do conservatives value 'moral purity' more than liberals?
Nov 22, 2016 23:02 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics
In the wake of Donald Trumps election, the overwhelming response among progressives was how in the world did this happen? Those of us who study the rise of political and moral polarization in the United States, however,...
Politics complicate blasphemy investigations in Indonesia and around the world
Nov 22, 2016 22:58 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics Law
The Indonesian police recently named the Chinese-Indonesian and Christian governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaya Purnama, also known as Ahok, a suspect in a blasphemy case. This came after Muslim groups, which accuse Purnama...
Urban activists are forging diverse communities in a divided Europe – here's how
Nov 22, 2016 14:00 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics
Throughout 2016, politicians and pundits have been caught off guard time and time again by the successes of populist politics first Brexit, then Trump and the rise of far-right parties across Europe. Casting about for...
How to climb the social ladder in ancient Rome
Nov 22, 2016 00:02 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
It is easy to imagine ancient Rome as a society where the emperors, senators and other nobles sat on top of an undifferentiated, static mass of ordinary Romans (who in turn sat above the mass of slaves). But Roman society...
Angela Merkel to run again: why she's the antithesis of Donald Trump in a post-truth world
Nov 21, 2016 17:43 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics
Angela Merkel has finally confirmed that she will run for reappointment as German chancellor in the countrys 2017 parliamentary elections. Many have hoped for this moment, despite the setbacks of the past few years. There...