The Chagos Islands are an Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. They comprise more than 60 individual islands and their sovereignty has long been under dispute. Numerous legal rulings have been made about the sovereignty of the islands, but no resolution has yet been reached. As such, it is a very good example of the soft nature of international law which is one of the fundamental weaknesses of the international legal system.
Continue reading
On the 3rd January 2020 US drone strike in Iraq killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani whilst on the 31st July 2022 a similar such drone strike in Pakistan killed Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Both these attacks had tactical similarities, but more broadly both were stand-out examples of a type of military hard power that few states truly possess. So what happened in these two cases and what was their legal status?
Continue readingUS trade policy in the Trump era is defined by one word: protectionism. Essentially, this ideology argues against free trade and, to a larger extent, globalism. It is the trade aspect of his all-round America First approach. In practice, it is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs. In the US, protectionism has taken the form of tariffs against China. However, before Trump picked a fight with China, he had a bigger enemy – Mexico.
Continue reading