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Exploring Ethics of AI and Algorithmic Bias in Gemini's Songwriting
Maya Lorigiola Introduction Recently, when I logged onto Gemini for the usual everyday productivity tasks, I noticed a new “Create Music” feature. After some research I understood it was a brand-new feature added in Feb 2026. Powered by DeepMind's Lyria 3 music-generation model (TechCrunch, 2026; Google, 2026a), users simply have to describe a song in plain language and Gemini returns a 30-second track with vocals, lyrics, and AI-generated cover art. As someone passionate abo
Maya Lorigiola
May 27
Less is More: Japan's Creative Edge Depends on Saying No to IP Harmonization
Maya Lorigiola Every summer, over half a million people descend on Tokyo Big Sight for Comiket, the world's largest self-published comic market, which technically infringes copyright (Muthusi, 2025). In most Western countries, these creators would face cease-and-desist letters. In Japan, this copyright grey area is what makes its animation industry so vibrant: what seems like a legal loophole is actually the “strategic ignorance” that helps sustain the country's $25 billion a
Maya Lorigiola
May 27
Coercive Diplomacy and the Limits of Credible Bargaining in the U.S.–Iran Standoff
Disclaimer: This article was written before 28 February, 2026 Lou Cardot is a third-year student at the University of Toronto, pursuing a double major in Law and Political Science, with a minor in European Affairs. She came to UCL on exchange this year. Raised in Paris and Washington, D.C., Lou’s interests include human rights, gender equality, and immigration policy. This summer, she interned for Deloitte in Compliance. She also writes as a freelancer for the French Ministry
Lou E. Cardot
Mar 23
Climate Justice as the New Human Rights Diplomacy
Introduction For most of the twentieth century, climate change was treated as a problem for scientists and economists to solve. Governments negotiated emissions targets, debated carbon pricing, and argued over the cost of transitioning away from fossil fuels. The language was technocratic, and deliberately so — framing climate change as a technical challenge kept it at arm's length from messier questions about fairness, history, and who actually owes what to whom. That framin
The International Abandonment of Afghan Women
Yacout Benmansour is a first-year Politics and International Relations student. (Connect: LinkedIn: Yacout Benmansour ) Introduction On January 4, 2026, the Taliban unveiled what it termed the “Criminal Procedural Regulations for Courts”, a legal code that represents arguably the most comprehensive architecture of state-sponsored gender persecution in modern history [1][2]. As the regime meticulously codified the absolute erasure of Afghan women from public life, an intense l
Frozen Russian Assets and Ukraine’s Reconstruction
Viktoriia Fylymonova is a first-year Philosophy, Politics and Economics student (viktoriia.fylymonova.25@ucl.ac.uk). Introduction In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In response, the European Union deployed a range of economic and political measures aimed at weakening Russia’s war machine. A particularly significant measure was the freezing of Russian Central Bank assets held in European jurisdictions. With approximately £200bn of Russian state
Viktoriia Fylymonova
Mar 13
Ukraine’s Winter Crisis: Russia’s Energy War
Veronika Seredenko is a first year Philosophy, Politics and Economics student. (veronika.seredenko.25@ucl.ac.uk / www.linkedin.com/in/veronika-seredenko) Introduction After four years of the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukrainians have become accustomed to the hardships of war. But the fourth winter of the war was the most difficult for Ukrainians. This was due both to significantly colder subzero temperatures than in previous winters and to more destructive Russian attacks.
Veronika Seredenko
Mar 13
Rise and Fall of Kurdish Autonomy in Syria
Vasil Atanasov is a second-year Politics and International Relations student. Passionate about interstate conflict, with a particular interest in understanding the process of conflict resolution and sustainable peacebuilding. (linkedin.com/in/vasil-atanasov-/) Introduction In January 2026, after being in control of Syria’s northeastern region for more than a decade, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) would suddenly lose most of the territory due to a government of
Vasil Atanasov
Mar 13
Central Asia’s Strategic Rebalancing
Taissiya Shegay is a first-year Global Humanitarian Studies student at UCL, with research interests in geopolitics, foreign policy, and Eurasian regional dynamics. (LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taissiya-s-8500a129b/) Introduction Central Asia has long been viewed as a peripheral region in global politics, but with the development of an increasingly multipolar world, its strategic importance has grown significantly. Particularly, the region's geographic location, reso
Taissiya Shegay
Mar 13
Is the Middle East Becoming More Stable?
Syed Bukhari is an International Management student, interested in global affairs and political economy. He is a member of Chatham House. [www.linkedin.com/in/syed-qamar-bukhari] Introduction At first glance, the Middle East and North Africa appears calmer as it enters 2026. Large-scale wars have slowed, ceasefires are formally in place, and regional leaders often speak about de-escalation and economic reform rather than open confrontation. Diplomatic channels remain active,
Syed Bukhari
Mar 13
Rare Earths: A New Trade Battlefield
Olivier Weidenmann is a first year Politics and International relations student at UCL. Introduction October 30th, 2025, the press cabin of Air Force One outside of Busan, President Donald J. Trump triumphantly claims that the talks he had with the head of the Chinese state were “on a scale from zero to 10, with 10 being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12." [1]. The reason behind this joy? Xi Jinping just accepted in principle to temporarily stop export controls on ra
Olivier Weidenmann
Mar 13
Competition in the Red Sea: Israel’s Recognition of Somaliland
Natalia Modla is a second-year Politics, Sociology and Eastern European Studies student at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at UCL. (Email: nataliamodla29@gmail.com/LinkedIn: Natalia Modla) Introduction On 26 December 2025, Israel recognised Somaliland, the self-declared state in northern Somalia that has functioned with de facto autonomy since 1991 [1], becoming the first country to do so. The announcement was immediately contentious. Somalia’s President, Has
Natalia Modla
Mar 13
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