Nicholas Vincent, University of East Anglia In his speech to Congress during a trip to the US to mark the country’s 250th anniversary, King Charles made repeated references to Magna Carta, the medieval English charter that laid the foundations for the modern rule of law. Dating back to 1215, Magna Carta also established
Philip Murphy, School of Advanced Study, University of London King Charles’s speech to the US Congress – only the second such address by a British monarch – demonstrates how much both the US and the UK have changed in the last three decades. The first speech was in May 1991 during his mother,
Ph. The guided-missile destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. fires a Tomahawk missile during Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, 2026. U.S. Navy via AP Michael A. Allen, Boise State University The fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire announced on April 7, 2026, after 40 days of war came at an opportune time for the United
Claudio Bozzi, Deakin University As the closure of the Strait of Hormuz drags on, the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization has sounded the alarm over a related humanitarian crisis: the plight of the crew stuck on ships at or near the strait. Up to 20,000 seafarers on 2,000 vessels remain stranded in and
Ph. The Emiratis are poised to turn their back on their oil cartel buddies. Karim Sahib/AFP via Getty Images Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University The United Arab Emirates’ decision to withdraw from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will leave the oil cartel weakened at a crucial time. It also illustrates the ongoing
Ph. PM Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have reset the UK-EU relationship – but UK alignment would take things a step further. Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock Ursula F Ott, Nottingham Trent University It is now almost a decade since the UK voted for Brexit and since the tariffs of US president
Ph. In a span of a few years, China has outstripped the U.S. in scientific publications, spending and patents. AP Photo/Andy Wong Caroline Wagner, The Ohio State University China’s rapid rise in science has hit a milestone. The country’s investment in research and development has reached parity with – and by purchasing power
Oula Kadhum, SOAS, University of London You could be forgiven for thinking everyone in Russia either supports the war in Ukraine or is too scared to do anything about it. A dominant narrative is that Russian civil society is passive, complicit or has been quashed to the point of being neutralised. Some elements
Bamo Nouri, City St George’s, University of London and Inderjeet Parmar, City St George’s, University of London Let’s begin with a simple question that rarely gets a straight answer: what would victory over Iran actually look like? In Washington and Jerusalem, the answers tend to sound definitive: eliminate Iran’s nuclear capability, break its
Ph. lavizzara//Shutterstock Renaud Foucart, Lancaster University Iran’s military might was never going to be a match for the US and Israel. So instead it turned to the highly effective weapon it has at its disposal – geography. Blocking off the Strait of Hormuz has shaken the global economy. It has doubled the price