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What is The Social Contract?
History & The Arts

What is The Social Contract?

...law is not natural, but a product of some sort of promise, then I can get out of it very easily by pointing out that I never made a promise! I never signed up for this! For most states, there never was a time when the first citizens got together and thrashed out a set of rules. And even if there were, what difference would that make to the obligations of anyone now? Just...
Exploring Ireland’s historic army barracks network
OpenLearn Ireland

Exploring Ireland’s historic army barracks network

...law, James II, as king of England, Scotland, and Ireland. James II fled England for France, and then landed in Ireland in March 1689, hoping to regain his lost throne. The two kings confronted each other at the Battle of the Boyne, a key battle during the 1689–91 Williamite-Jacobite war in Ireland. Jacobite forces in Ireland ultimately surrendered, and James II went...
Refugees languish in camps on Lesvos as conditions deteriorate
Society, Politics & Law

Refugees languish in camps on Lesvos as conditions deteriorate

...laws. There aren’t any official figures, but there may be as many as 4,000 refugees in Moria camp. It has operated as a detention centre, and people couldn’t leave it; now, largely due to pressure from NGOs, they can leave the camp, but not the town of Mytilini. On my most recent fieldwork trip in early June, it became clear that conditions in Moria and in Kara Tepe...
What do we know about the seven Earth-like planets?
Science, Maths & Technology

What do we know about the seven Earth-like planets?

...laws of gravity allow us to deduce its distance from the star. These exoplanets have no names, but by convention are designated as TRAPPIST-1b (the innermost) to TRAPPIST-1h (the outermost). Amazingly, the planets of TRAPPIST-1 span only a narrow range of sizes, not much different to Earth. They huddle round their star almost as closely as Jupiter’s major moons to...
Can quotas make gender equality happen in politics? Lessons from business
Society, Politics & Law

Can quotas make gender equality happen in politics? Lessons from business

...laws and developing policy, no? Possibly. It’s easy to overlook the startling fact there are more men currently sitting as MPs in this parliament than the total number of women elected to serve since 1918. This shows that there is a long history to consider when we think about equality and discrimination in professions and organisations – a legacy that will take a...
Why do we need free speech?
History & The Arts

Why do we need free speech?

...law...[Person holding a sign for free speech] But that wasn’t always the case. And in many parts of the world today, like China, Russia and Turkey, governments are cracking down on free speech and protest through censorship, surveillance and mass detention. Meanwhile in the West, there have been worries that misinformation and disinformation spread through social media...
Rocky relations: Why an isolated rock in the Atlantic is a sought after and contested place
Nature & Environment

Rocky relations: Why an isolated rock in the Atlantic is a sought after and contested place

...law. While it is often said that the rock is claimed by the Republic of Ireland, this has been disputed by Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach, speaking in 2019: ‘We don't have a claim on it. We don't accept any other sovereign claim on it’. Ownership of the rock is also disputed by Denmark – on behalf of the Faroes - and by Iceland. One very small rock, measuring just 70...
Immigration detention: what's the problem with privatisation?
Society, Politics & Law

Immigration detention: what's the problem with privatisation?

...law. This raised questions about whether the Home Office is deliberately outsourcing the abuse of migrants to security companies, thus shifting responsibility from itself to those doing the state’s bidding. Misery as Business? Since the time of their inception, private security companies have been driven by the quest for higher profits. These companies by definition are...