Mass protests and a presidential ouster have hoisted Sri Lanka into the international spotlight through much of 2022. But have these societal upheavals improved matters for the island nation, and placed it on track for a brighter future? The answer may depend on who you ask, and how they think Sri Lanka could stand to [...]

Indian scholar Dadabhai Naoroji championed the theory of the ‘drain of wealth.’ The drain of wealth referred to the ‘tribute’ or the unrequited transfer of resources from the colony to the colonial metropolis. In other words, this theory refers to a portion of the national product of India which was not available for consumption by [...]

A recent decision by the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has had a subtle but important impact on Canadian sexual assault law, particularly as it pertains to the issues of consent and fraud. The case of R v Kirkpatrick involved a man accused of failing to wear a condom during sex with the complainant against [...]

A Biblical Lesson  According to Mark 2:22 in the King James Bible: “And no one pours new wine into old wineskins.  Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined.” There was a sound basis for this parable.  In ancient times, leather flasks were used to hold [...]

“Just watch me.” Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau uttered these words to a CBC reporter in October of 1970 when Quebec’s deputy premier and a British diplomat were kidnapped by violent Québécois separatists. Reporter Tim Ralfe may not have known it, but the elder Trudeau’s words signaled a monumental change in how Canada would treat civil [...]

In October 2021, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled that in the event of a conflict between the Constitution of Poland and the treaties of the European Union, the Polish Constitution will reign supreme. The Tribunal concluded that Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union, in conjunction with Article 279 of the Treaty on the Functioning of [...]

On 21 April 2022, Vladimir Putin, in a televised meeting with his defence minister Sergei Shoigu, ordered Russian armed forces to seal off the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol from the outside world.  The intention, according to Putin, was to spare Russian armed forces from the very high casualty rate that would almost certainly stem [...]

In a recent interview on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, former French president, François Hollande established a direct link between NATO’s, and particularly the United States’, withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine. “If Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine, it was not due to a provocation from the Atlantic alliance . [...]

In a dramatic midnight move on April 9, Pakistan’s National Assembly voted to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan in a no-confidence resolution. Minutes before voting, the Speaker of the House, a member of the ruling party and a known friend of Khan, resigned from office after waving a quasi-confidential letter at the legislators. This letter [...]

The no-knock warrant — a search warrant that authorizes police officers to enter certain premises without knocking and announcing their presence or purpose before entering — is a source of contention in America today. Its element of surprise and extirpative effects makes it a powerful yet contemptible militarized tactic. In this respect, reference is made [...]