Some countries like consensus. England likes a feud. Whether it’s politics, social class or geography, English public life has long been characterised by the comforting discomfort of choosing sides. In England, to be in favour of one is often to be against another: choice, belief, or person. Rivalry seems to be more than just a habit of taste, but also a way of creating one’s identity. © Tokuo Nobuhiro via Pexels That is why the old musical oppositions are still relevant. Oas

Some frontiers arrive with flags, others arrive with paperwork. The Moon, it turns out, may be the latter. © Drawn by the Moon by NASA Images For years, the future of space governance was framed in imaginative terms, evoking colonies, explorers, and “aliens” from distant worlds. After all, men have not revisited the Moon since 1972. Yet the modern space age has a way of making fiction look premature. [Today, rocket launches are no longer rare events, private companies are pl

Alena Kerosinskaya, a 2019 graduate of UvA’s MSc in Business Administration program, has gained experience across a variety of fields and is currently working in FinTech. I first came across her work on UvA’s website, and her inspiring story motivated me to reach out to her. She kindly agreed to meet, and I had the opportunity to ask about her student experience at UvA, her early career, and topics ranging from the challenges many students face to her own “I made it” moment.

In the United States alone, sports betting generated nearly USD 14 billion in revenue in 2024. Gambling ads and logos now saturate many major sports broadcasts, while clubs and leagues sign multi-million dollar deals with betting companies. How did gambling become so entrenched in sports, and why is so little being done to address it? ©“Sports Betting at a Las Vegas Casino” by Baishampayan Ghose. Licensed by CC BY-SA 2.0 Manufactured Addiction ​ While gambling has long been

There are growing tensions between the United States and China. A crisis over Taiwan no longer seems unthinkable. In this hostile environment, will the Strait of Malacca be the deciding factor in whether the cooler heads will prevail? ©“150321-N-LX437-771” by Naval Surface Warriors. Licensed by CC BY-SA 2.0 The “Malacca Dilemma" In November 2003, Chinese President Hu Jintao coined the term “Malacca Dilemma". This term referred to China’s over-reliance on the Malacca Strait

©Smith Patel via Unsplash I. The Illusion of Control: Why Models Seem Too Theoretical People are clearly embedded in the foundations of all academic and interdisciplinary curricula, ranging from econometrics to the philosophy of economics. Their interactions, their behaviour, and ultimately their decisions. Some subjects explore the rational aspects of such behaviour in greater detail, as they expect to uncover tangible truths or create consistency in a world full of intangi

©“Bucha. Faces of War. - Ukraine War Photo Exhibition 2023” by Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed byCC BY 2.0 In his speeches, Vladimir Putin portrays the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a national struggle that unites all the Russian people. Yet Putin’s claims do not hold up under closer scrutiny. In reality, Russia has increasingly relied on poverty as a key recruitment tool both within and outside its borders. Russia weaponises poverty by turning economic despera

In collaboration with Angèle Doray While consumption may seem like an individual issue on the surface, it is prompted by a much larger imperative of our economic system: to always keep growing. Yet today we can take the initiative to embrace a sharing economy, away from the profit-incentive and with community at its heart. ©cottonbro studio via Pexels For a moment, imagine you are French. Emblematic of your love for your national cuisine, you own a raclette machine used for t