Economic defence alliances may help deter economic warfare

The world is entering a new era of economic warfare, but current international institutions are not right to deal with the problem. Anthony Vinci proposes the creation of multilateral economic defence alliances as a way for countries to defend themselves. Companies and investors will also need to consider how to protect their own interests in this new world. This is the second in a series of blog posts summarising the new report ‘Protect, Constrain, Contest’, by LSE IDEAS, the foreign policy think tank at LSE

Warlords in the international order: a neorealist approach.

Armed groups are becoming increasingly significant international actors. International Relations as a discipline must analyze and integrate these actors if it is to effectively explain international politics. This thesis begins this process through examining the international relations of warlords. Specifically, this thesis asks: how do warlords relate with states and other international actors. The thesis moves away from the greed-grievance debate, instead a Neorealist approach is used to analyze the relations of warlords. The conclusion reached is that warlords relate with states and other international actors in essentially the same way as states - they seek to ensure their survival through the balance of power. Specifically, they relate in terms of internal power cultivation, alliances, and war. The argument for this conclusion begins with a conceptual analysis of warlords, in which it is determined that warlords are non-state actors that use military power and economic exploitation to maintain fiefdoms which are autonomous and independent from the state and society. It is then demonstrated that the traditionally state-centric Neorealist approach can be used to analyze warlords, by arguing that warlords can be seen as empirically sovereign, 'functionally undifferentiated', 'like units', which are motivated by survival, and exist in an anarchic system. Neorealist theory and its notions of self help, internal power cultivation, alliances, security dilemma, and war are examined and it is demonstrated how these concepts describe and explain warbrd international relations. The validity of using the Neorealist approach is tested throughout the thesis in vignette case studies on warlords including the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPLF), the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), and Afghan warlords as well as in two major case studies on Somali warlord relations with the UN and Ethiopia and the Lord's Resistance Army's (LRA) relations with Uganda, Sudan, and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A)

Publishing artificial intelligence research papers: A tale of three journals

With the growth in Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AIM) research and the plethora of informatics journals, there is some confusion where to direct an AIM-related manuscript for peer review and possible pub- lication. As editors for three Elsevier biomedical informatics journals that publish AI-related papers, plus the publisher who oversees all three of these journals, we are aware of such confusion and felt it would be helpful to provide some guidance to prospective authors. Accordingly, we present this joint editorial that is being published in all three of our journals. Although there is some overlap among the types of papers that we publish, we offer here some advice on how best to select a preferred publication venue for your medical AI research papers

Publishing Artificial Intelligence Research Papers: A Tale of Three Journals

With the growth in Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AIM) research and the plethora of informatics journals, there is some confusion where to direct an AIM-related manuscript for peer review and possible publication. As editors for three Elsevier biomedical informatics journals that publish AI-related papers, plus the publisher who oversees all three of these journals, we are aware of such confusion and felt it would be helpful to provide some guidance to prospective authors. Accordingly, we present this joint editorial that is being published in all three of our journals. Although there is some overlap among the types of papers that we publish, we offer here some advice on how best to select a preferred publication venue for your medical AI research papers

Protect, constrain, contest: approaches for coordinated transatlantic economic and technological competition with China

The Biden Presidency offers opportunities for a renewed effort at formulating a coordinated allied approach to technological and economic competition with China. The latest report from China Foresight at LSE IDEAS provides a guiding framework for transatlantic coordination, and offers insights into key elements of future cooperation. While challenges abound, the opportunities for action prove just as great in number

The African warlord revisited

To date, warlordism in Africa has been viewed solely negatively. This has come about, in part, because of the analytical lenses that have been used. Typically, warlordism has been examined at the state level; and behavioural traits, rather than definitionally necessary components, have been the focus. In effect, ‘warlord’ has been confused with other violent actors. I suggest here a reconceptualisation ‘from below’, which takes into account variation in types of warlordism, and which allows for both positive and negative effects of warlordism on society and the state

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries