The World at War
| Published date | 01 March 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/20419058241238039 |
| Author | Peter Geoghegan |
| Date | 01 March 2024 |
MARCH 2024•POLITICAL INSIGHT3
The World
at War
When Vladimir Putin sent
up to 200,000 soldiers
into Ukraine on 24
February 2022, the
Russian President assumed he could take
the capital, Kyiv, in days and impose a
puppet government loyal to Moscow. Putin
was wrong.
Two years later, Russia is mired in a war
that almost nobody expected. Ukraine has
proved a far more tenacious adversary than
Putin had ever envisaged.
While the commitment to the Ukrainian
cause among Western leaders is under
question as never before – especially if
Donald Trump is elected as US President
again – Ukraine’s people remain remarkably
resolute.
But the war has taken a huge toll on
the country. In this issue’s cover feature,
Jennifer G. Mathers examines the role of
women in Ukrainian civil society during
a time in which their country has faced a
series of existential conicts, both political
and military.
As Mathers writes, war has fundamentally
changed the role of women in Ukraine,
putting them at the heart of public life in
radical new ways. But it remains to be seen
whether women will be given more access
to formal political power after the war.
Ukraine is far from an exception. The
spectre of war haunts the world. The
conflict in Gaza. The prospect of a wider
regional – or even global – war in the
Middle East. Rising tensions in the South
China Sea.
No wonder, then, that the restoration
of power-sharing in Northern Ireland in
February was so warmly received. Irenic
images of Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill and
the Democratic Unionist Party’s Emma
Little-Pengelly side-by-side were beamed
around the world.
But while the conict in Northern
Ireland is over, the prospects for devolved
government in Stormont remain
uncertain. Many of Little-Pengelly’s DUP
colleagues remain opposed to returning
to government. The symbolism of an Irish
republican First Minister in Northern Ireland
has not been lost on many.
External politics could have a huge
bearing on Northern Ireland, too. With both
the UK and Ireland heading to the polls
within the next year, Katy Hayward argues
that the prospect of Labour and Sinn Féin-
led administrations in London and Dublin
could herald both a reset in British-Irish
relations and unprecedented challenges for
Northern Ireland.
What does all this mean for the future
of the UK itself? While the travails of
the Scottish National Party have been
welcomed by both Conservative and
Labour, Michael Kenny nds that the
union remains brittle, with many potential
diculties ahead.
One issue that cuts across nationalism
and unionism is political trust. With polls
suggesting faith in British democracy is at
an all-time low, former Liberal Democrat
MPs Nick Harvey and Paul Tyler oer
some remedies to restore ‘the mother of
democracies’ to health.
The decline in trust in politics has
been exploited by a new generation of
populist leaders. But what do we mean by
populism? With the populist radical right
widely expected to win major victories
in June’s European Parliament elections,
Mattia Zulianello explores the rise of these
parties across the continent and traces
their evolution in comparison to other
varieties of populism.
One way to combat declining faith in
democracy is to encourage participation.
Christine Huebner and Constanza
Sanhueza Petrarca look at ‘votes at 16’
initiatives across the globe and explore
how the lowering of the minimum voting
age can aect young people’s political
engagement.
Elsewhere, Liz David-Barrett examines
what happens when democracies become
captured by systematic corruption. From
Orbán to Erdoğan to Trump and even Boris
Johnson, state capture is on the rise.
2024 is a huge year for elections across
the world. In the regular In Focus slot,
Benjamin D. Hennig maps US President Joe
Biden’s tweets – and nds a President with
rather dierent priorities and focuses to his
predecessor.
In the UK, Labour is widely predicted to
win oce. But what of the fate of the Liberal
Democrats? After a series of painful general
elections since the coalition years, could the
party be on course for a comeback this time
around? David Cutts, Andrew Russell, and
Josh Townsley investigate.
In the regular Last Word slot, Alice Moore
looks at the UK government’s obsession
with outsourcing in the wake of the Post
Oce Horizon scandal. Meanwhile, James
D. Boys examines the career of former US
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and his
infamous Madman Theory.
2024 is only a few months old but it is
certain to be another tumultuous political
year. Whatever happens,
Political Insight
will be there, bringing you expert research,
analysis and commentary on the issues that
matter.
Peter Geoghegan
Editor
Political Insight March 2024.indd 3Political Insight March 2024.indd 319/02/2024 09:3019/02/2024 09:30
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