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Nau mai, haere mai.
As luck would have it, my return to work coincided with the second inauguration of Donald Trump as US president. The end of a holiday break was certainly the more predictable.
If I was a betting person, I’d have put good money on living through only one Trump presidency in my lifetime. The extraordinary events of his first tenure, from the pandemic response to an attempted insurrection after he lost in 2020, seemed at the time to guarantee that.
But these are not predictable times, and many old assumptions have been laid to rest in the past months and years. We’re no doubt all taking stock right now, but we do at least have the benefit of recent history as a guide to how Trump 2.0 might behave.
Chris Ogden describes Trump’s instinct for what has been called “weaponised chaos”, and how this manifests as a “political shock doctrine” that is a “blueprint for current and aspiring autocrats across the world”.
And Nicholas Khoo explains why Trump may be unique among US presidents in his potential to “strike greater anxiety in allies than in adversaries”. But in calling out the supposed “free-riding” on defence by traditional US friends, Trump oversimplifies the complex dynamics of alliance networks – and American power.
The 47th president has said “America’s decline is over” and promised a new “golden age”. The next four years will be the judge of those particular predictions, for better or worse.
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Finlay Macdonald
New Zealand Editor
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Chris Ogden, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
The second Trump presidency is likely to foster instability, uncertainty and fear at home and abroad. But other countries can find common cause to counteract his ‘disaster politics’.
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Nicholas Khoo, University of Otago
Donald Trump wants US allies to spend more on defence and has threatened NATO members with coercion. But allies have agency too, and are already planning their responses.
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Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
The Climate Change Commission identified three major changes since 2019: other countries are doing more, impacts are becoming more severe, and delaying action shifts costs to future generations.
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Laura Kranz, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; John Kerr, University of Otago
Even if there’s no acute crisis of trust in science, we shouldn’t minimise the disproportionate impact vocal minorities who distrust science may have on policy and society.
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Eldrede Kahiya, University of Canterbury
Governments regularly focus on doubling exports to improve the economy. While the goal may be aspirational, there are ways to grow the export sector. Here’s how.
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Marta Andhov, PhD, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Visual contracts can make the legal process more accessible. But there are challenges that need to be addressed before they become more widespread and accepted.
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Sarah Whitcombe-Dobbs, University of Canterbury
Despite best intentions, social and family workers say they can feel helpless because of bigger problems such as housing or family violence.
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Ladan Hashemi, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
New research shows kids with more positive experiences – from stable routines to enriching social activities – were significantly less likely to be obese by age eight.
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From our foreign editions
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Emma Shortis, RMIT University
The new US president has moved swiftly - and in familiar form - to outline his priorities for the next four years.
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Mathew Marques, La Trobe University; Niels Mede, University of Zurich; Viktoria Cologna, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich; Zoe Leviston, Australian National University
A global new survey shows there’s no crisis of trust in scientists, as some might claim. But there are some nuances.
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Felix Schilk, University of Tübingen
Ideas about softness and weakness, hardship and strength, have been central to reactionary politics since the beginning of human history.
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Anthony Blazevich, Edith Cowan University
The physics underlying the effect of topspin and backspin are best explained by what’s known as the ‘Magnus effect’.
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Finley Watson, La Trobe University
The ‘fake podcast’ format isn’t just being used to spread misinformation. Many legitimate companies are also using it to sell their products and services.
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Teklehaymanot G. Weldemichel, University of Manchester
Tanzania is using conservation as a pretext for land grabs and human rights violations.
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Matthew Duncombe, University of Nottingham
Ruling is a skilled trade, Plato argues. And like any other trade, not everyone has the talent or the training to be good at it.
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Billy J. Stratton, University of Denver
When Lynch’s films were first released, they seemed to be funhouse-mirror reflections of society. Not so anymore.
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