Primary primers: why Minnesota is – and isn’t – a swing state

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump very nearly won in Minnesota, only missing out by 45,000 votes in the state. Rubrick Biegon takes a close look at whether Minnesota should now be considered to be a swing state. He writes that despite Trump’s recent appeals there, the North Star State’s progressive history and present may make a victory for him very difficult this fall

What happened?: Biden’s Minnesota win masked the ongoing political realignment in the North Star State

In 2020, Joe Biden won by a larger margin than Hilary Clinton did in the North Star State four years earlier. This victory, Rubrick Biegon argues, masks a larger political realignment between the state’s urban and rural communities that will keep Minnesota a particular shade of purple for the foreseeable future. Following the 2020 US General Election, our mini-series, ‘What Happened?’, [...

Primary primers: Biden and Trump go big for Minnesota – a state which may matter less than they think.

As a Midwestern state with ten electoral votes, Minnesota is often seen as a key battleground in the 2020 presidential election. But, writes Rubrick Biegon, barring any ‘October surprises’, the North Star State is very likely to vote for the former Vice President, Democrat Joe Biden on 3 November. How President Trump and Biden are campaigning in Minnesota, he writes, tells us more about the challenges facing both candidates, rather than that the state is an electoral tipping point

Book review: the fifth risk by Michael Lewis

In the Fifth Risk, Michael Lewis gives an inside account of the troubled transition from the Obama to the Trump White House and the new administration’s seemingly wilful ignorance of the federal bureaucracy. Rubrick Biegon and Tom Watts praise the book for its accessibility and discussion of the longer term risks that the Trump presidency may pose to American prosperity, security, and wellbeing

A Populist Grand Strategy? Trump and the Framing of American Decline

What is the role of ‘populism’ in Donald Trump’s foreign policy? Defining populism as a framing style that constructs antagonisms around ‘the people’ and their adversaries, this article explores Trump’s rhetoric in relation to his efforts to shift US grand strategy away from its traditional investment in the liberal international order. Based on an approach grounded in the ontological commitments of critical discourse analysis, it examines three interlocking frames: (1) the ‘corrupt’ elites of the establishment ‘swamp’; (2) the anti-globalist, ‘America first’ agenda; and (3) poor deal-making responsible for the United States ‘losing’ in international affairs. In responding to declinist themes and anxieties, Trump’s populist rhetoric frames a Jacksonian ideological approach based on nationalism, mercantilism and a reliance on coercive power

Potential Contribution of Aromatase Inhibition to the Effects of Nicotine and Related Compounds on the Brain

Cigarette smoking continues to be a major public health problem, and while smoking rates in men have shown some decrease over the last few decades, smoking rates among girls and young women are increasing. Practically all of the important aspects of cigarette smoking and many effects of nicotine are sexually dimorphic (reviewed by Pogun and Yararbas, 2009). Women become addicted more easily than men, while finding it harder to quit. Nicotine replacement appears to be less effective in women. This may be linked to the observation that women are more sensitive than men to non-nicotine cues or ingredients in cigarettes. The reasons for these sex differences are mostly unknown. Several lines of evidence suggest that many of the reported sex differences related to cigarette smoking may stem from the inhibitory effects of nicotine and other tobacco alkaloids on estrogen synthesis via the enzyme aromatase (cyp19a gene product). Aromatase is the last enzyme in estrogen biosynthesis, catalyzing the conversion of androgens to estrogens. This review provides a summary of experimental evidence supporting brain aromatase as a potential mediator and/or modulator of nicotine actions in the brain, contributing to sex differences in smoking behavior. Additional research on the interaction between tobacco smoke, nicotine, and aromatase may help devise new, sex specific methods for prevention and treatment of smoking addiction

Preserving Privacy: How Governments and Digital Services Can Harness Zero-Knowledge Proofs for Secure Identification

Amidst rapid technological advancement and digital transformation, ensuring privacy and data security is paramount. Governments and digital service providers face the challenge of establishing secure identification systems that protect individuals' personal information while enabling reliable authentication and seamless user experiences. Traditional identification methods often require individuals to disclose sensitive personal information, leading to privacy risks and potential data breaches. Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) have emerged as a promising solution to address these concerns. By leveraging ZKPs, individuals can authenticate their identities or assert specific attributes without revealing sensitive data. This approach holds great potential for preserving privacy while enabling efficient and trustworthy verification processes. This paper explored ZKPs and how governments and digital service providers can utilize this technology to achieve secure identification while upholding privacy. A key focus was prototyping a secure identification protocol using ZKPs. Through practical implementation, this research aimed to demonstrate the reliability and effectiveness of ZKPs in real-world scenarios. Keywords: zero-knowledge proofs, privacy, digital identity, governments, digital services. DOI: 10.7176/ISDE/13-2-06 Publication date:September 30th 202

State implementation and compliance with the human rights decisions of the East African Court of Justice

Judicial arms of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa are today active adjudicators of human rights cases. Originally designed to mainly deal with cases regarding regional integration and trade, the courts or tribunals of RECs have in the last two decades received and determined a solid stream of human rights cases. This article concerns itself with the human rights practice of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), a subregional court operating under the aegis of the East African Community (EAC). It examines the extent to which EAC member states have implemented and complied with the human rights decisions of the EACJ. It is located within and adds onto the relatively new body of literature on compliance with decisions of sub-regional courts in Africa. In six human rights cases in which the EACJ found a violation of the EAC Treaty, the analysis finds full or partial compliance in three. Although the sample of cases analysed is small, the article points to important insights on factors predictive of compliance. These include international pressure, quick resolution of cases by the EACJ and the system of governance or level of democracy and rule of law in member states. As the EACJ is only as strong as its parent organisation, a more active involvement of the EAC Council of Ministers in monitoring compliance with EACJ decisions is imperative.http://www.dejure.up.ac.zaam2022Centre for Human Right