News & Blogs

Latest news and views from NZCGS experts and contributors.

Reform of the UN Security Council:

by Pooran Pandey | Aug 11, 2020 | Guests

India was recently elected to the Security Council for the two-year period, 2021-22. What does this portend for the UN – and for India? As a serious player within the UN system and also as an active participant in UN peace keeping activities, a respected voice in...

Trans-national River Issues

by Mia Kidston | Jun 29, 2020 | Board

The Australian bushfires and the Indian floods, both of 2019, are just a glimpse into some disproportionate consequences of the global climate crisis that is upon us. Current international law systems have proven to be limited as a tool for securing justice to those...

Global Peacemaking or Peacebuilding?

by Abbas Nazari | Jun 21, 2020 | Young Global Scholars Group

The weak-kneed efforts at strengthening global security in recent decades are desperately in need of a reset. Nowhere is this more palpably obvious than in Afghanistan, along of course with Syria, Yemen and Libya. But let me focus on Afghanistan, which is my country...

Aviation and Global Sustainability, Pt II

by Claire Waghorn | Jun 19, 2020 | Board

Aviation is a force for good. It broadens the mind. It connects people with new cultures, experiences, places and opportunities; and it underpins the global economy. Yet, its dependency on fossil fuel is harmful. What, then, to do? Aviation currently...

Aviation and Global Sustainability, Pt I

by Claire Waghorn | Jun 18, 2020 | Board

International aviation has landed – abruptly. The global COVID-19 pandemic has seen closed borders, on-going travel restrictions, decreasing passenger demand, airline lay-offs and bankruptcy. It is undoubtedly the biggest challenge the aviation industry has faced, to...

How Should the Global Community Deal with Extremism?

by Abbas Nazari | May 28, 2020 | Young Global Scholars Group

Extremism, in all its forms – political, religious, ethnic, gender, generational – is, in short, an extreme version of a belief system. It can be promoted peacefully, and within the normal bounds of freedom of speech. And it can, of course, spill over into hate...

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

by Ashutosh Misra | May 17, 2020 | Guests

The title-phrase derives from Hindu scripture. It is found in the Upanishads, and the full verse remains engraved on the entrance to the Parliament of India. Essentially, the world is one family. For centuries, the phrase has shaped India’s spiritual and egalitarian...

Systemic Global Change: Two Ingredients

by Sundeep Waslekar | May 8, 2020 | Guests

The international community of states, today, is so heavily engaged in deadly rivalry and competition that we have forgotten the idea of global unity and cooperation. The latter is, however, a precondition of human survival. The year 2020 began with Avangard finding...

Global Responses to the Pandemic, Pt II

by Tapio Kanninen and Georgios Kostakos | May 7, 2020 | International Advisory Panel

In Part I, we focused primarily on the effort of the UN and WHO, and its relationship with some of the major member states. In this part, we explore in more depth the internal dynamics of those powerful countries. National responses – ideological and political...

Global Responses to the Pandemic, Pt I

by Tapio Kanninen and Georgios Kostakos | May 6, 2020 | International Advisory Panel

How have the UN and other international organizations – and indeed the whole global governance system – responded to the COVID-19 outbreak? What are we learning from this response? Back in 2010 we examined (Journal of International Organizations Studies)...