Investors unhappy at Dilma Rouseff’s re-election

On Monday 27 October, Brazil’s shares and currency fell drastically. The reason for this was the re-election of President Dilma Rouseff. The election proved to be the closest Brazil has seen for decades, with Rouseff only beating her opponent Aécio Neves by 3.3 percent of the vote. In her victory speech, Rouseff recognised the need […]

United Nations and the role of Sovereignty of Member States

United Nations created in 1945 following the conflict against Axis powers in World War Two plays a vital role in securing peace in complex situations which affect the lives of millions of people today. However the situations in Iraq, Syria, Gaza and Ukraine has highlighted fundamental problems within the organisation as it seeks to resolve […]

The social and political ramifications of the Brazilian World Cup

In the months preceding the Brazilian World Cup, our television screens were plastered with images of protests, riots and burnt out cars on the streets of Rio De Janerio, Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte. The cause of the violence was attributed to social discontent with protesters captured carrying banners with potentially threatening messages such as […]

Brazil and China Relations

While attending the BRICS summit in July this year, President Xi made a state visit to Brazil where he met with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. This was Xi’s first visit to the country since becoming president (he previously visited as Vice President in 2009), and comes as China and Brazil celebrate their 40th anniversary of bilateral ties. Before […]

The Implications of the BRICS New Development Bank

In 2016, the world’s fastest growing economies, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, commonly abbreviated as the ‘BRICS’ countries, with South Africa being the latest addition to the group, will set up their own Development Bank. The Development Bank will focus on BRICS infrastructure projects and will serve to support the blocs’ economies. The […]

Global Deterioration of Peace

The latest Global Peace Index has found that this year, the world became slightly less peaceful, continuing a 7-year trend. The decline was driven by global events that include tensions in the Ukraine, the ongoing conflict in Syria, civil war in South Sudan and a broadening and increased intensity of terrorist activity in many countries […]