The Conversation: In-depth analysis, research, news and ideas from leading academics and researchers.

People stand on a bridge in front of smoke anf flames

Iran’s protests have spread across provinces, despite skepticism and concern among ethnic groups

Shukriya Bradost, Virginia Tech

‘Neither Gaza nor Lebanon!’ Iranian unrest is about more than the economy − protesters reject the Islamic Republic’s whole rationale

Kamran Talattof, University of Arizona

A dumpster on its side is on a street with cars.

Venezuela’s civil-military alliance is being stretched — if it breaks, numerous armed groups may be drawn into messy split

Rebecca Hanson, University of Florida and Verónica Zubillaga, University of Illinois Chicago

A group of demonstrators hold long guns in the air.

A woman walk down a palm tree lined sidewalk, past signs saying 'United Fruit Co. Depto de Mercaderias' and 'Contra intervencion extranjera.'

Before Venezuela’s oil, there were Guatemala’s bananas

Aaron Coy Moulton, Stephen F. Austin State University

Rows of huts with mountains in the background.

Refugee families are more likely to become self-reliant if provided with support outside of camp settings

Lindsay Stark, Washington University in St. Louis and Ilana Seff, Washington University in St. Louis

A man holding a bucket walks through rubble.

Ukraine is under pressure to trade land for peace − if it does, history shows it might not ever get it back

Peter Harris, Colorado State University

How is China viewing US actions in Venezuela – an affront, an opportunity or a blueprint?

Kerry E. Ratigan, Amherst College

Two men stand in front of a desk with wallpaper showing birds in flight behind them.

4 pivotal elections around the world that will pose a test to democracy in 2026

Jean-Nicolas Bordeleau, Flinders University; Intifar Chowdhury, Flinders University, and Rodrigo Praino, Flinders University

From Kathmandu to Casablanca, a generation under surveillance is rising up

Amani Braa, Université de Montréal

Cuba’s leaders just lost an ally in Maduro − if starved of Venezuelan oil, they may also lose what remains of their public support

Joseph J. Gonzalez, Appalachian State University

Two men in suits walk in front of a red background

Women seated on a tatami mat wearing kimonos; one serves Japanese tea while the others wait.

How tourism, a booming wellness culture and social media are transforming the age-old Japanese tea ceremony

Małgorzata (Gosia) K. Citko-DuPlantis, University of Tennessee

I grew up in the world’s coldest city without central heating. Here’s what the world can learn from us

Yangang Xing, Nottingham Trent University

People walk on frozen river, bridge and city skyline in background

How rogue nations are capitalizing on gaps in crypto regulation to finance weapons programs

Nolan Fahrenkopf, University at Albany, State University of New York

A mash-up of a North Korean flag and the bitcoin emblem.

A composite of Sudanese generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and some of their respective soldiers

Sudan’s civil war: A visual guide to the brutal conflict

Christopher Tounsel, University of Washington

Trump tariffs and warming India-China ties have silenced the Quad partnership … for now

Hyeran Jo, Texas A&M University and Yoon Jung Choi, Texas A&M University; Sejong Institute

China and Mongolia are battling to control massive dust storms

Thomas White, King's College London; Andreas Baas, King's College London, and Han Cheng, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

People in China wearing masks because of a major dust storm.

Germany’s plan to deport Syrian refugees echoes 1980s effort to repatriate Turkish guest workers

Michelle Lynn Kahn, University of Richmond

Facing myriad global pressures, Iran intensifies outreach to African partners for critical needs

Eric Lob, Florida International University

Asia’s scamming gangs target Timor-Leste as their next frontier – but they may have misjudged the small island nation

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

People on the street flee water cannons.

Autocracies in transition: In 2025, Cameroon and Tanzania rulers clung to power — but look more vulnerable than ever

Yonatan Morse, University of Connecticut

The outline of a woman's face is illuminated in a dark church by a sunbeam coming through a tall window.

‘Yes’ to God, but ‘no’ to church – what religious change looks like for many Latin Americans

Matthew Blanton, The University of Texas at Austin

Coup contagion? A rash of African power grabs suggests copycats are taking note of others’ success

Salah Ben Hammou, Rice University and Jonathan Powell, University of Kentucky

A group of men in army fatigues and holding guns stand behind a desk.

Hope and hardship have driven Syrian refugee returns – but many head back to destroyed homes, land disputes

Sandra Joireman, University of Richmond

Mena and women crowd onto a convoy of vehicles.

Foreign policy 101

Regime change means different things to different people. Either way, it hasn’t happened in Venezuela … yet

Andrew Latham, Macalester College

Newspapers depict a man in a blindfold with headlines saying 'captured'

From evil to upheaval and beyond: How the ‘axis’ metaphor shaped modern geopolitics

Andrew Latham, Macalester College

US leaders view China as a ‘pacing threat’ − has Washington enough stamina to last the race?

Andrew Latham, Macalester College

Gunboat diplomacy: How classic naval coercion has evolved into hybrid warfare on the water

Andrew Latham, Macalester College

Men in suits sit and stand behind a desk

The Dayton Peace Accords at 30: An ugly peace that has prevented a return to war over Bosnia

Gerard Toal, Virginia Tech and Adis Maksić, International Burch University

Why can’t every country get along with each other? It comes down to resources, inequality and perception

Kaleb Demerew, West Texas A&M University; Institute for Humane Studies

Acrylic painting of a grenade and a peace symbol against a colorful backdrop

Can a pro-federation win in Northern Cyprus revive the island’s stalled reunification?

Spyros A. Sofos, Simon Fraser University

A smiling man wearing glasses with short grey hair holds a microphone and waves.

Lasting peace in Ukraine may hinge on independent monitors – yet Trump’s 28-point plan barely mentions them

Peter J. Quaranto, University of Notre Dame; Josefina Echavarria Alvarez, University of Notre Dame; Pavlo Smytsnyuk, New York University, and Tyler Jess Thompson, University of California, Berkeley

Guinea-Bissau’s military takeover highlights the nation’s sorry history of coups and a deepening crisis across the region

John Joseph Chin, Carnegie Mellon University

A soldier looks out a window at a trash-strewn street.

The UN is reinventing peacekeeping – Haiti is the testing ground

Bulbul Ahmed, University of Iowa; Bangladesh University of Professionals

‘I have to talk about it so that the world can know what happened to women and girls in Sudan’ – rape and terror sparks mass migration

Sabine Lee, University of Birmingham; Heather Tasker, Dalhousie University, and Susan Bartels, Queen's University, Ontario

A new world order isn’t coming, it’s already here − and this is what it looks like

John Rennie Short, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

A group of men and women look at a big screen with men walking on it.

China’s new 5-year plan: A high-stakes bet on self-reliance that won’t fix an unbalanced economy

Shaoyu Yuan, New York University; Rutgers University

The shadow of a person obscures some Chinese writing and a hammer and sickle emblem.

Peace in Sudan? 3 reasons why mediation hasn’t worked so far

Samir Ramzy, Helwan University

Women and children in the foreground sitting on the ground, with a man walking in the background with a sack on his head.

Starvation as a weapon of war: how Ethiopia created a famine in Tigray

Teklehaymanot G. Weldemichel, University of Manchester and Birhan Mezgbo, Tufts University

A woman carrying a baby walking on a dusty path between makeshift tents, with children in the background standing outside their tents.

A billion-dollar drug was found in Easter Island soil – what scientists and companies owe the Indigenous people they studied

Ted Powers, University of California, Davis

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A world map showing the extent of the British Empire in 1886.

The rise and fall of globalisation: the battle to be top dog

Steve Schifferes, City St George's, University of London

The lost history of Latin America’s role in averting catastrophe during the Cuban missile crisis

Renata Keller, University of Nevada, Reno

Israel-Gaza latest

Gaza’s once-growing economy is nearing total collapse

Dalia Alazzeh, University of the West of Scotland and Shahzad Uddin, University of Essex

Palestinians near the ruins of Gaza's international airport.

What charges does Benjamin Netanyahu face, and what’s at stake if he is granted a pardon?

Michelle Burgis-Kasthala, La Trobe University

Why are the ICJ and ICC cases on Israel and Gaza taking so long?

Melanie O'Brien, The University of Western Australia

A Palestinian man takes cover following an Israeli air strike during a military operation in Gaza City in September 2025.

Israeli doctors reveal their conflicted stories of treating Palestinian prisoners held in notorious ‘black site’ Sde Teiman

Merav Amir, Queen's University Belfast and Hagar Kotef, SOAS, University of London

Israeli military personnel outside the secretive Sde Teiman detention centre

Ukraine-Russia conflict

A man lights a candle next to a statue and engraving.

Beware the Anglo-Saxons! Why Russia likes to invoke a medieval tribe when talking about the West

Peter Rutland, Wesleyan University and Elizaveta Gaufman, University of Groningen

A man sits at a desk talking to several other people. A map is behind him.

When it comes to Ukraine peace negotiations, it’s all over the map

Gerard Toal, Virginia Tech

Trump and the world

Donald Trump gestures as he addresses the media at the White House.

US force has been used against drug traffickers before – but Trump’s plan is a dangerous escalation

Luca Trenta, Swansea University

US presidents have always used transactional foreign policy – but Trump does it differently

Patrick E. Shea, University of Glasgow

Ilham Aliyev and Donald Trump sat at a table as they speak to the media.

Trump’s Middle East pivot aims to counter China’s rising influence

Maria Papageorgiou, Newcastle University

Mohammed bin Salman faces Donald Trump with his hands in the prayer position.

Sanctioning ghosts: Why US plans to hit Russia with fresh economic penalties will have little effect

Keith A. Preble, East Carolina University and Charmaine N. Willis, Old Dominion University

A woman takes a picture of another woman next to a display with a hammer and sickle design

Will Trump’s deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan lead to lasting peace?

Brian Brivati, Kingston University

Ilham Aliyev, Donald Trump and Nikol Pashinyan join hands at the White House.

Around the globe

A bridge extending from a barge in the water.

Chinese barges and Taiwan Strait drills are about global power projection − not just a potential invasion

Colin Flint, Utah State University

Ethiopia’s 2026 elections: without reforms, the vote may not be free or fair

Bizuneh Yimenu, Queen's University Belfast

Two men and a woman looking at a pile of folded up papers on a table in front of them

Digital imperialism: How US social media firms are using American law to challenge global tech regulation

Yasmin Curzi de Mendonça, University of Virginia and Camille Grenier, Sciences Po

An assembled crowd stands during a ceremony.

China’s dwindling marriage rate is fuelling demand for brides trafficked from abroad

Ming Gao, Lund University

Colombia wants to ban Pablo Escobar and other narco-themed merchandise – here’s why

Ross Bennett-Cook, Leeds Beckett University

A mural dedicated to Pablo Escobar in a neighbourhood in Medellín.

Iran and US to enter high-stakes nuclear negotiations – hampered by a lack of trust

Ali Bilgic, Loughborough University

A woman walks outside the former US embassy in Tehran which is decorated with murals showing US and Iran in negotiations.

China’s new underwater tool cuts deep, exposing vulnerability of vital network of subsea cables

John Calabrese, American University

A man in a fluorescent vest works on a beach.

DeepSeek is now a global force. But it’s just one player in China’s booming AI industry

Mimi Zou, UNSW Sydney

Red flag with one large yellow star and four smaller yellow stars in top right corner.

African Union’s new chair has a long list of tough tasks – what it will take to get them done

Ulf Engel, University of Leipzig

Man wearing grey suit, seating in front of two flags

Scam Factories: An investigation from The Conversation

Scam Factories: the inside story of Southeast Asia’s brutal fraud compounds

Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Justin Bergman, The Conversation, and Matt Garrow, The Conversation

‘It seemed like a good job at first’: how people are trafficked, trapped and forced to scam in Southeast Asia – Scam Factories podcast, Ep 1

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

Buildings under construction in Sihanoukville.

‘Your life becomes a nightmare’: how scam operations exploit those trapped inside – Scam Factories podcast, Ep 2

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

A man who was trafficked to a compound praying.

‘I thought about escaping every day’: how survivors get out of Southeast Asia’s cybercrime compounds – Scam Factories podcast, Ep 3

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

A man who was trafficked to a scam compound.