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The color line: race and education in the United States [podcast]

By Steven Filippi and Meghan Schaffer

Black History Month celebrates the achievements of a globally marginalized community still fighting for equal representation and opportunity in all areas of life. This includes education. In 1954, the United States’ Supreme Court ruled “separate but equal” unconstitutional for American public schools in ‘Brown v. Board of Education’. While this ruling has been celebrated as a pivotal victory for civil rights, it has not endured without challenge.

The Oxford Textbook on Criminology

Breathing life into statistics: stories of racism within the criminal justice system

By Tyler Hawtin, Clare Weaver, and Livy Watson

Recent events have put the issue of racial inequality in the criminal justice system front and centre. The increased focus has shown that it is human stories that have the greatest impact. This blog post takes extracts from three conversations on of racism and justice.

How Nations Remember: A Narrative Approach

The road from Berlin in 1989 to America today

By James V. Wertsch

In November 1989, the world watched with disbelief as crowds tore down the Berlin Wall. In America, we assumed that we were witnessing the end of communism and speculated about the rise of democracy in Eastern Europe and maybe even in the Soviet Union. These ideas guided our thinking for the next several years, but […]

UK Politics by Andrew Blick

Importance and uncertainty: referendums in the United Kingdom

By Andrew Blick

Referendums—popular votes held on specific subjects—are an important part of United Kingdom (UK) politics. But they are also surrounded by doubts and disagreement.

First Democracy: The Challenge of an Ancient Ideal

Majority rule is not democracy

By Paul Woodruff

What is democracy? Pundits have been writing recently that democracy is majority rule, but that is wrong, dangerously wrong.

Trust and Distrust: Corruption in Office in Britain and its Empire, 1600-1850

Britain’s long struggle with corruption

By Mark Knights

Corruption has risen to the top of the British political agenda. Even if we agree with Boris Johnson that the UK is “not remotely a corrupt country”, then Britain certainly did struggle with corruption in the past. Indeed it has had a long history of corruption and anti-corruption. This has some lessons for today.

OUPblog

The top 10 politics blog posts of 2021

By OUPblog

How can we help Afghan refugees? What are the challenges facing American democracy? Is Weimar Germany a warning from history? These are just a few of the questions our authors have tackled on the OUPblog this past year. Discover their takes on the big political issues of 2021 with our list of the top 10 politics blog posts of the year.

How INGOs mediate China’s “going out” strategy

By May Farid and Hui Li

China has become a major player in global development. Its development finance now rivals World Bank lending in scale, and its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has grown to embrace 140 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.

The Oxford Handbook of the Weimar Repulic

The ghosts of Weimar: is Weimar Germany a warning from history?

By Nadine Rossol and Benjamin Ziemann

The ghosts of Weimar are back. Woken up by the rise of populist right-wing parties across Europe and beyond, they warn of danger for democracy. The historical reference point evoked by these warnings is the collapse of the Weimar Republic followed by the Nazi dictatorship. The connection between now and then seems indisputably obvious: democracy died in 1933, and it is under attack again today.

The Right of Sovereignty by Daniel Lee

The sovereign duties of humanity: re-examining Bodin’s theory

By Daniel Lee

Sovereignty is the grand prize of statehood in public international law, the touchstone of political independence. Its value derives from the monopoly it confers upon its holder, empowering it to do things that no else can—making and unmaking law, declaring war, signing treaties, establishing courts, laying taxes.

Oxford Research Encyclopedias: International Studies

Protecting the protectors: how safe is life for humanitarian workers in conflict zones?

By Daniela Irrera

Despite the visibility of attacks in media reports, problems encountered by NGOs in conflict zones remain an under-researched and undervalued issue that deserves more attention.

A Concise Guide to Communication in Science and Engineering

How research abstracts succeed and fail

By David H. Foster

The abstract of a research article has a simple remit: to faithfully summarize the reported research. After the title, it’s the most read section of the article. Crucially, it makes the case to the reader for reading the article in full. Alas, not all abstracts succeed.

International Affairs

Why increasing deglobalization is putting vulnerable populations at risk

By Jarrod Hayes and Katja Weber

The record of globalization is decidedly mixed. Whereas proponents tend to associate globalization with beneficial developments such as the expansion of democracy and improved access to goods and services, critics highlight the human costs: rising inequality and political and economic exploitation.

The Arctic: A Very Short Introduction

The Arctic Paradox: why the Arctic is caught in the conflicting pressures of global climate change

By Klaus Dodds and Jamie Woodward

The Arctic is now exceeding climate change predictions by decades—it features prominently in the Sixth IPCC Assessment Report (AR6) of the IPCC due in 2022, especially in relation to climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability.

The Science and Art of Interviewing

Why depth interviewing is essential to understanding individuals and institutions

By Kathleen Gerson and Sarah Damaske

Once assumed to be a core research tool, many of today’s researchers have cast a skeptical eye on depth interviewing. These critiques reflect a fundamental misunderstanding about what depth interviews can accomplish.

Sustainability: What Everyone Needs to Know

Sustainability in action: dismantling systems to combat climate change

By Paul B. Thompson and Patricia E. Norris

Some connection between sustainability and the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November is assumed, but the very idea of sustainability remains poorly understood.