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The STEAR Digital Policy Journal

Our Digital Policy Journal is the beating heart of STEAR, publishing articles on current affairs and foreign policy opinion pieces between 1,000-1,500 words in length. We are looking for original work, offering novel insights and taking a specific and well-argued standpoint that contributes to collaborative and fruitful discussion.

External Submissions

Are you interested in submitting an article to be published on our website? Please fill out this form and the Editors will contact you soon.

Tsagaan Sar: Welcoming the New Lunar Year in Mongolia

Sophie Zwick

Mar 7
7 min

Tsagaan Sar: Welcoming the New Lunar Year in Mongolia

Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian New Year celebration, is an event with its own, unique traditions, customs and, of course, food. From the...

STEAR Book Club Recap: First They Killed My Father

Anniek Sienot

Feb 20
3 min

STEAR Book Club Recap: First They Killed My Father

Image: Angkor Wat, Cambodia, as seen from the west entrance Source: Manfred Werner, Wikimedia Commons On the 5th of February, members of...

An Example of Islamophobia? Analysing the Swiss Ban on Face Coverings

Júlia Rovira Munté

Feb 18
7 min

An Example of Islamophobia? Analysing the Swiss Ban on Face Coverings

With the increasing number of Muslims in the European continent, the rise of Islamophobia has impacted the daily lives of Muslims living on

Human Rights in Eurasia: How Governments Can Be Held Accountable

Koen Donatz

Feb 13
7 min

Human Rights in Eurasia: How Governments Can Be Held Accountable

In this article, Koen Donatz analyses the latest trends in the sphere of human rights policy. Examining the current state of...

Donor Competition in Africa: Comparing China and the EU’s Aid in Ethiopia

Yingxue Wu and Anniek Sienot

Feb 2
8 min

Donor Competition in Africa: Comparing China and the EU’s Aid in Ethiopia

Yingxue Wu and Anniek Sienot analyse the differing approaches of the EU and China regarding aid in Africa, focusing on the case study of...

Freedom of (silent) speech: Lèse-majesté law in Thailand and Spain

Phanmile Rochanawiphat

Jan 29
7 min

Freedom of (silent) speech: Lèse-majesté law in Thailand and Spain

Amidst the current crisis of speech repressions, one of the most crucial but overlooked areas is the lèse-majesté law. Translated from...

Taiwan-Africa Relations: Small Successes, Larger Uncertainty

Tom Abram

Jan 19
8 min

Taiwan-Africa Relations: Small Successes, Larger Uncertainty

Since the inception of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), there has been a riftt between the PRC and the Republic of China (RoC)- Taiwan.

Júlia Rovira Munté

Dec 22, 2022
4 min

Caga Tió: The Most Magical Wooden Log

“This article is a love letter to childhood, innocence, and home”. As the winter holidays are fast approaching, Júlia Rovira Munté...

Tagore’s Talisman for a Fractal World: Tolerance, Brotherhood and Sustained Co-operation

Moksha Pillai

Nov 16, 2022
5 min

Tagore’s Talisman for a Fractal World: Tolerance, Brotherhood and Sustained Co-operation

While discord, crises and wars blight our societies, the teachings of Rabindranath Tagore serve as a guide toward cooperation and...

Maoism: A Look Into its Nature and Religiosity

Júlia Rovira Munté

Nov 10, 2022
9 min

Maoism: A Look Into its Nature and Religiosity

Without a doubt, Mao Zedong has been one of the most influential figures in contemporary Chinese politics. From the Great Leap Forward to...

The Secret of Taiwanese Sect Yiguandao’s Success in Indonesia

Imogen Parsley

Sep 24, 2022
5 min

The Secret of Taiwanese Sect Yiguandao’s Success in Indonesia

Names have been changed upon request of anonymity. 6 months ago, I encountered ‘Yiguandao’, a Taiwanese religious sect currently boasting...

7 Eurasian Hotspots That Could Lead to Major (Nuclear) Wars

Koen Donatz

Sep 14, 2022
9 min

7 Eurasian Hotspots That Could Lead to Major (Nuclear) Wars

Unfortunately, there is no shortage of conflicts in Eurasia (Council on Foreign Relations, n.d.). There are conflicts with a high...

A New ASEAN Way: Beyond the War on Drugs

Guilherme Resende

Sep 8, 2022
9 min

A New ASEAN Way: Beyond the War on Drugs

The Southeast Asian region is the core of a number of geopolitical, climate-related and criminal challenges. Throughout the majority of...

Ideational Populisms in Japan – Reconceptualising “Populism-Free Japan”

Juliette Odolant

Aug 19, 2022
11 min

Ideational Populisms in Japan – Reconceptualising “Populism-Free Japan”

An elusive and contested concept, populism’s thin-centredness makes it difficult to define in specific terms; its application in one...

STEAR Book Club Recap: The Garden of Evening Mists

Leonie Glaser

Aug 17, 2022
3 min

STEAR Book Club Recap: The Garden of Evening Mists

On Sunday 14th of August, the STEAR book club enjoyed a close discussion of the book ‘The Garden of Evening Mists’ by Tan Twan Eng, a...

The Puri Lukisan Museum: A tour through Bali's rich history of art

Pia Heckmann

Jun 23, 2022
4 min

The Puri Lukisan Museum: A tour through Bali's rich history of art

Figure 1. The Puri Lukisan Museum in Ubud, Bali. Photo credits: Pia Heckmann The small island of Bali attracts many tourists over the...

James Farquharson

Jun 6, 2022
8 min

The Longue Durée Of Reconciliation

(Part Two of Two) Read Part One of this article here. In contrast to the goal of the commission as laid out in the original 2017 Act on...

Transitional Justice In Taiwan – Valuing Reconciliation Over Justice?

James Farquharson

Jun 3, 2022
9 min

Transitional Justice In Taiwan – Valuing Reconciliation Over Justice?

(Part One of Two) With the dissolution of Taiwan’s Transitional Justice Commission (TJC) on 30th May after serving a four-year mandate,...

China’s Role in Zimbabwe – A Neo-Colonial Power in Africa?

Pia Heckmann

May 27, 2022
7 min

China’s Role in Zimbabwe – A Neo-Colonial Power in Africa?

As China’s engagement within Africa has increased since the beginning of the 21st century, it is valid to question whether the nation’s...

Kyay Mon

May 6, 2022
8 min

Don't Forget About Myanmar

“How’s the current situation in Myanmar?” “It’s been a while since I last heard about Myanmar in the news. Are things getting better?”...

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