Political Science
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- A new global study shows that people in societies characterized by corruption, inequality, poverty, and violence are more likely to develop aversive, "dark" personality characteristics such as selfishness or spitefulness.
- What makes a person willing to use violence?
- NPR recently reported that the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Futures Lab is experimenting with tools such as DeepSeek and ChatGPT to explore how artificial intelligence could change—and improve—how foreign policy decisions are made.
- "China virus," the Chinese virus—at the start of the 2020 pandemic, this epithet was often encountered in the media. The use of geographically based labels to define the disease (COVID-19) and the virus causing it (SARS-CoV-2) had significant consequences on public opinion, fueling and amplifying—sometimes with very serious outcomes—prejudices against specific people and countries, accused of having a causal role in spreading the contagion.
- Populist parties have long ceased to be a marginal phenomenon. They are now an established political force in many European countries and are fundamentally challenging the democratic system. These parties use harsh rhetoric against the "elite" and present themselves as the sole representatives of the "true will of the people."
- Households affected by high electricity prices during the energy crisis tend to be more negative toward climate policy. Research from the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg shows that perceived unfairness reinforces misconceptions about fuel taxes.
- Large cuts to government-funded research and development can endanger American innovation—and the vital productivity gains it supports.
- An international research collaboration used AI as research participants and discovered that knowledge-enhanced large language models are able to critically assess forensic expert testimonies.
- Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the UK this week announced sanctions against two members of the Israeli cabinet: National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
- There was a time when corporate America was not very online. Most companies used social media for promoting products and services or engaging with consumers in a friendly fashion. Political posts on a company Twitter account were rare.
- Nearly 40% of U.S. cities analyzed in a study in NPJ Complexity diverge from the common narrative that Republican-dominated areas have high levels of implicit racial bias while Democratic strongholds are more tolerant.
- People with higher levels of trust—in both others and institutions—report higher levels of subjective well-being, an important indicator of quality of life and predictor of health and longevity, than those with lower levels of trust, according to research published in Psychological Bulletin.
- The COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's war on Ukraine, geopolitical tensions, climate change and other events highlight our growing exposure to complex, interconnected, and intertwining risks. In view of this development, the focus of risk research has shifted towards the comprehensive analysis of interconnected and mutually interactive risk sources and crises.
- Over the past two decades, conflicts in more than 40 countries, including El Salvador, Northern Ireland, Senegal and the Philippines, have ended in comprehensive peace agreements. But these broader accords don't happen all at once.
- A recent study by researchers at the University of Padua and the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) has revealed that political differences between partners can significantly increase the risk of separation. Using long-term data from UK couples, the researchers found that those with different party preferences were substantially more likely to separate than those with the same political beliefs. The risk is particularly high when there are differences of opinion on Brexit.
- A new study by Northwestern University asks whether voters approve of politicians who use the power of their office to retaliate against corporate political speech criticizing the politician's actions.
- Since becoming president, Donald Trump has aggressively sought to fulfill his campaign promise to reverse the Biden administration's protection of transgender Americans.
- The number of armed conflicts in the world reached a historic high in 2024. This is shown by new data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) at Uppsala University. Despite a marginal decrease in total fatalities, targeted violence against civilians increased significantly.
- Walter Cronkite was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" as he delivered the news on CBS in the 1960s and '70s—a time when fewer news options created a "shared reality" that scholars argue fostered civic engagement, empathy, and shared national identity. The situation looks quite different in today's disparate media landscape.
- The Dutch Golden Age, beginning in 1588, is known for the art of Rembrandt, the invention of the microscope, and the spice trade of the Dutch East India Company. It ended a little under a century later in a frenzy of body parts and mob justice.
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