Because of the new collective consumption of news due to social media and the rise of clickbait and controversy as journalistic tactics, the Olympics have become a pressure test for athletes: either falter and face widespread criticism, or rise to the occasion and become a national icon.
Category Archives: World
De-Westernizing Democracy
The existence of democratic infrastructure should not be conflated with the presence of democratic ideals or human rights; each can exist without the other.
Splendor over Sense: The Olympics as a Justifiable Expense for Notoriety
Even in a typical non-pandemic year, host cities pull out all the stops to cultivate an Olympic experience — and face enormous debt as a result. What, then, is the draw of such exorbitant spending in the eyes of host cities?
The Woman in Lane Five: Substances, Suspensions, and Sha’Carri
After a victory jog, Richardson hurried to embrace her grandmother on the sidelines, her face wracked with the emotions of a lifelong dream fulfilled. In a matter of days, that elation would be replaced with sorrow, remorse, and raw grief.
The Second Cold War?: The Way Forward for Southeast Asia
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong once commented that the region lives “at the intersection of the interests of various powers and must avoid being caught in the middle or forced into invidious choices.”
When We Shrink Our Tent, We Leave Allies in the Cold
Nevertheless, the fact that our brand of progressive criticism, which denounces Israel’s violence but does not wish to see it wiped off the map, feels far outside the mainstream points toward a growing trend across almost every facet of our political discourse: political tribalism.
Stick-and-Stick Diplomacy
The original leaders of the Third World envisioned a future of sovereignty, security and prosperity for themselves. As it stands, this dream is on its deathbed.
Responses to the Pandemic: A Trade-off Between Freedom and Efficiency?
As of early April, only weeks after the government was granted extraordinary emergency powers, more Filipinos had been arrested than had been tested for Covid-19.