Editor's note

In 2005, President Bush used the word “victory” 15 times in a speech about the Iraq War. Things had changed in 2009, when President Obama sought to get rid of the idea of victory in US strategic discourse, arguing that it evokes crude associations with conquest. But the idea of “winning” wars has very much come to the fore again in Trump’s presidency. Despite this uneven US rhetoric, it is undeniable that wars no longer produce clear-cut victories. Still, as Cian O'Driscoll writes, the ideal of victory still very much guides how we think about war.

Under the Trump administration, there’s been an increase in the number of airstrikes aimed at helping Somali ground forces recapture territory taken by Al-Shabaab. But, as Bryce W. Reeder explains, the strategy has hidden costs.

Josephine Lethbridge

Interdisciplinary Editor

Top Stories

A protester wearing a Guy Fawkes mask flashing a victory sign in Beirut in November 2019. EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH

Can wars no longer be won?

Cian O'Driscoll, University of Glasgow

Wars don't produce winners and losers – they never really did.

America’s military presence in Somalia could be causing more harm than good. Mazen Mahdi/EPA

We set out to uncover the hidden costs of US airstrikes in Somalia

Bryce W. Reeder, University of Missouri-Columbia

The resilience of Al-Shabaab raises questions about the effectiveness of the current US military strategy in Somalia.

Politics + Society

Why some EU countries are struggling to relocate migrants

Raluca Bejan, St. Thomas University (Canada)

The EU's proposals for relocating migrants is inefficient in measuring whether member states actually have the economic capacity to welcome asylum-seekers.

Why does the US pay so much for the defense of its allies? 5 questions answered

Michael E. Flynn, Kansas State University; Carla Martinez Machain, Kansas State University; Michael A. Allen, Boise State University

The Trump administration is demanding that Japan and South Korea pay more for hosting U.S. troops.

Science + Technology

Dopamine fasting: an expert reviews the latest craze in Silicon Valley

Ciara McCabe, University of Reading

There are more efficient ways to stop addictions than fasting from rewards.

Your big brain makes you human – count your neurons when you count your blessings

Suzana Herculano-Houzel, Vanderbilt University

We have more neurons in our cortices than any other species, courtesy of an early technology – and along with them came our long, slow lives, with plenty of chances to gather around the dinner table.

Business + Economy

Banning Huawei could cut off our nose to spite our face. Good 5G matters

Christopher Findlay, Australian National University

Introduced properly, 5G could have an enormous impact. We are placing it at risk.

Blockchain’s first revolutionary product could be online ID

Lucian Tipi, Sheffield Hallam University

PayPal CEO Dan Schulman sees much more potential in blockchain ID than payments at present. He's absolutely right.