perspectives

At the start of the race to become the Democratic candidate, Elizabeth Warren seemed to be a firm favourite. She was a solid progressive (less radical than Sanders), friendly with her rivals to secure party unity and seemed to be doing everything right. However, as many know, in politics just because something seems to be going right, it does not mean it will. In early Autumn 2019, she was ahead of both Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden to take the lead in Iowa. But by the end of late last year, she did not win a single state—she came in third in Massachusetts (her home state)—and secured only a handful of the delegates available.

What happened to Warren? Her downfall is hard to pinpoint, but an important factor surely that Warren started backing away from Medicare-for-a...

Over the past weeks Black Lives Matter movements have risen to media prominence, drawing an incredible number of protestors for city-wide marches across the globe. George Floyd’s death has sparked a truly global campaign against racial injustice, with increasing demand for reform, diversity and accountability within policing. US President Donald Trump has rejected calls for defunding and has not proposed reform, but what does his now confirmed competitor Joe Biden have to offer? Biden, still tarred by his role in the 1994 Crime Bill which increased mass incarceration efforts impacting black and ethnic groups, is staying true to his policy of ‘reform not defund’. His policies carry some merit in attempting to dismantle structural racism, but are the proposals fresh ideas? Not so much. Biden is p...

Whilst the #BlackLivesMatter movement has existed for about seven years since the shooting of Trayvon Martin, its presence as a household term has peaked and waned throughout that time. The last few weeks following the death of George Floyd have brought the Black Lives Matter movement to its most recognised and established point during those seven years. However, there are concerns that this support will fade over the coming weeks and months, that as BLM fades from Instagram’s algorithm, it too will fade from people’s minds. Posting a black square is a well-meaning show of support, but it can often be performative. #BlackoutTuesday had more than double the posts than the George Floyd petition had signatures.

The very fact that it has taken seven years for the Black Lives Matter movement to reach...

On announcing his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States Joe Biden declared that he was engaging in a “battle for the soul of this nation”. Reflecting on the bold scenes of fascist demonstrations that plagued the streets of Charlottesville in 2017, as well as  the current President’s unwillingness to condemn it as wrong, Biden indicated that in November “the core values of this nation, our standing in the world, our very democracy, everything that has made America, America will be at stake”.

The presumptive Democratic nominee was not the first person to employ such a high-stake, restorative narrative. Like Biden, Malcolm X, in his later years, spoke about saving America from the path of destruction that inevitably followed unchecked racism. In his autobiography he reasoned that the “r...

With the global Coronavirus pandemic now in its seventh week, and lockdowns covering a third of the global population having been in place for about as long, it seems obvious to state that the virus has had a huge impact upon people’s everyday lives. From stay at home orders permitting people to go outside only for essential reasons, to economic recessions leaving millions more unemployed and without regular income, the effects of this unprecedented outbreak have intruded into almost every part of modern life.

The United States, unsurprisingly, seems to have become a focal point for how it has responded to the global crisis, with fundamental tensions between States’ rights with those of the Federal Government having been brought to the fore. One of the most obvious and dire consequences of this...

It is hard to argue Donald Trump’s handling of the Coronavirus Pandemic does not present an active danger to the people of America. Even if you do not think he has spent the last three years blundering his way through disaster after disaster, throwing America and the world into chaos, and you agree with most of his policies, you would have to be willingly deluded not to think his comments on injecting disinfectants to stop the virus caused serious harm. Especially after the flood of stories we’ve seen since of people turning up in emergency rooms having injected watered down bleach, or people dying because they trusted the president. Whether he’s malicious or just incredibly stupid, having Donald Trump in the driver’s seat of America is no longer a car crash in the making; the crash has happene...

Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee for the presidential election this November. In the midst of the chaos and turmoil wrought by the coronavirus outbreak, his only remaining opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), withdrew from the race last week, allowing Biden to begin in earnest his campaign for the general election. Now the former vice president faces an important decision – selecting his own second-in-command. Though his promise at the final primary debate in February to opt for a woman on the ticket narrows down the list of options, qualified candidates are abound. Among them are governors, senators, newcomers onto the political scene, and former opponents in the race for the nomination.

Biden has already outlined two of the main points he’s looking out for – ideological simila...

In the middle of one of the worst pandemics in recent memory, US intelligence agencies have issued a stark warning; China may have deliberately understated the number of infections and deaths relating to coronavirus. This has major repercussions for the global response to the crisis. That being said, the USA itself did not appear to have been taking the virus seriously during the initial stages of the outbreak. Do these accusations levelled against China therefore offer a distraction from the criticism that the US has received?

Initial signs of a cover-up in China appeared in December 2019 when Doctor Li Wenliang, who was working to combat the virus in Wuhan Province, was arrested by local police for ‘spreading false rumours’ after he posted a message to fellow medics warning about the emergence...

I try to make a point not to idolise politicians, but I think it is hard not to look at Bernie Sanders and find characteristics worthy of adulation. Whether or not you agree with his policies and proposals, you cannot claim that he is not a man of conviction, of worthy intentions, who gave all he had and more to the cause he believed in. Whether on the right or left side of the aisle, few can see he was not the most honest man in politics, for better or for worse. Whilst Sanders has failed in his presidential campaigns, he has accomplished something far greater. He has spearheaded a strong progressive movement for social and economic reform within the democratic party and beyond. It is for that movement he entered the race both times. ‘Not me. Us.’

For 40 years, Sanders has spearheaded the fight...

With the 2020 United States census currently taking place, states will be bracing themselves for the upcoming redistricting cycle that follows every census. Redistricting involves redrawing the map of voting districts as the population changes and moves over time, and is undoubtedly becoming an increasingly contentious issue in the USA owing to the partisan gerrymandering of state legislative districts and congressional districts that have blighted many states over the last decade. Whilst gerrymandering, the act of shaping districts for purely political gain rather than through any natural boundaries is nothing new in the America, it has become increasingly prevalent with time. In the 2010 midterm elections, the Republicans (GOP) achieved significant gains throughout the country, particularly i...