Leviathan

The title of this issue—Against the Grain—aptly embodies the ethos of Leviathan. As a fully student-run undergraduate publication, we believe that students, at any point in their educational journey, are not simply passive recipients of long-held knowledge. Rather, we are a community of eager minds, actively contributing to the most important academic conversations. We bring original ideas and newly articulated concepts to the table to challenge conventional understandings of our world and push political thinking to new heights. The imaginings that start here matter and reflect the burgeoning ideas of the up-and-coming generation of political leaders, diplomats, human rights advocates, behind-the-scenes staffers, policy researchers, as well as many changemakers outside the political realm. At Leviathan, we do not simply want to reproduce the status quo; we strive to use our ideas and voices to go Against the Grain. We hope that, in reading this issue, the spirit of change is contagious and galvanising.

Opening this issue, Ornela Beqa challenges conventional assumptions about sexual violence in wartime, shining a light on hegemonic masculinity in the Yugoslav Wars. Subsequently, Leviathan Editor-in-Chief Grace Hitchcock deepens our understanding of gender and authoritarianism, analysing female authoritarian leaders’ reliance on their male counterparts’ cults of personality for legitimacy; Senior Content Editor Milly Mason Holt unpacks the supposedly ‘pro-woman’ narratives directed at women in incarceration by anti-abortion groups in the US. Continuing the examination of US Politics, Evie Booth assesses the different dynamics of collective mobilisation in the Civil Rights Movement compared to Black Lives Matter, and Chase Waldheim critiques the application of the Median Voter Theorem to the US political landscape. Taking a psychological angle on current US public behaviour, Anna Myroshnychenko argues against the historical assumption regarding the rise of consumerism in the US in the 1920s, positing that consumerism’s rise is owed to the deliberate psychoanalytical work of Edward Bernays, rather than organic development. Moving toward US foreign policy, Serina Bonada assesses how Venezuela’s relative resilience and adaptation in light of US sanctions challenges US dollar hegemony, and Oscar Bates analyses US President Donald Trump’s turn away from European alliances in his second administration. 

Shifting deeper into European politics, Felix Crawford investigates the determinants of public trust in the EU in France and Denmark. Moving East, Ilenia Willmert analyses Ukrainian media’s portrayal of Russian Buryat soldiers in the ongoing war and its links to Ukrainian national identity; Artūrs Taube argues that Latvia’s attempts at language convergence have alienated Russian-speaking citizens at the expense of trust and national unity. Continuing the linguistic theme, Laken Evans criticises the overuse of lingua francas in conflict resolution, arguing that lingua francas detract from successful peace negotiations, and Rose Stewart Young critiques the Scottish Government’s attempts to preserve Scottish Gàidhlig. Staying in the UK, Matthew Begg investigates the desecuritisation of Sinn Féin in the lead up to the Good Friday Agreement, and Jonathan Vickers reorients the typically dichotomous debate around UK constitutionalism in favour of a non-positivist, non-dichotomous view. Adopting a comparative perspective, Nick Bacon compares the mobilisation of anger and its relationship to justice in the xenophobic protests in Epping, England, and the Idle No More protests in Canada. Moving from anger to hope, Leviathan Deputy Editor-in-Chief Lucy Barrett, criticises the use of hope in Children in Need’s annual charity telethon, arguing that such forms of hope do not challenge structural ableism. Focusing on another political emotion, Lara Crorie argues that the 2008 Canadian Indian Residential School Apology proves insincere and insufficient at transforming Indigenous-Canadian relations.

Diving into an exploration of different utopian visions, Theo Westcott examines neocolonial utopia in South Africa, in light of diverging visions for the rainbow nation.  Further using Utopia to underpin their analysis, Agnes Tyley examines the rise of meat substitutes and envisages a more just and environmentally friendly food future. Also centering the relationship between humans and the earth, Luca Freeman makes the case for a political apology to the earth as a possible tool for achieving ecological justice. Max Huberty reframes our understanding of environmental, social and governance investment metrics as polycentric governance systems, not merely financial mechanisms.

Jiwon Hwang continues analysis of our relationship with the natural world, arguing that the digitisation of the agriculture industry produces a ‘Smart Farm Trap’. Continuing the theme of technological analysis, Theo Harding argues that traditional definitions of nationhood insufficiently prepare for climate statelessness, arguing instead for a definition which encompasses Tuvalu’s digitisation efforts. Ben Law tackles the structural inequalities and injustices embedded within artificial intelligence, urging us to understand the AI industry through a Marxist lens. The harmful side of technology is further highlighted by returning author Leo Rosenthal, who advocates for US anti-terrorism policy to shift to prioritise positive peace, ahead of the unreliable negative peace claimed to be achieved by drone warfare.

Next, we launch into a Leviathan tradition, of articles on the same subject taking vastly different perspectives, and we encourage you to read them in tandem, embracing the academic debate the authors have interceded in throughout the term.  Nuclear policy is the focus for Ruby McIntee and Arabella Faroppa. While Ruby argues that the threat of Iran possessing nuclear weapons has been misestimated, with technical capabilities and expertise under-accounted for, Arabella argues that the prevailing global attitude of nuclear alarmism overstates the threat, stimulating a counter-productive shift from management to eradication. A second pair discuss the use of human rights as justificatory mechanisms in international interventions, with Maria Ribeiro arguing that humanitarian intervention is never a neutral endeavour, and has many hidden harms. Tessa Protopapa meanwhile focuses on state-intervention, arguing specifically that the Western intervention in Libya used the right to protect and a veil of human rights  to launch a self-serving and damaging military operation.

Continuing in the stage of war, Amelia Powell argues that international humanitarian law insufficiently accounts for the needs of women, applying a formal equality framework where substantive equality would better achieve the aim of protection. Also considering international law, Alex Daniels argues that the territory of Somaliland should be recognised as a state, and a recognition system which prioritises declaratory recognition over constitutive is not fit for purpose. Lucy Cho furthers the discussion of statehood and independence, examining post-colonial nationalisms in Vietnam and Korea, to adeptly highlight the idiosyncratic manifestations of nationalism around the world. In this vein, Giulia Mazar Corcos argues that the over-application of postcolonial theory to orientalist photography has been to the detriment of Indigenous resistance against colonial, orientalist photographic methods.

Delving into how history shapes the present, Owen Longstreth analyses the role of collective memory and pre-existing civil society institutions in facilitating a return to totalitarianism in Eritrea and Turkmenistan. Mariela Brown analyses the positive impacts of grassroots religious movements in peace-building efforts following the Guatemalan Civil War. Kagan Efe Ozcetin goes against the grain of Eurocentric, linear theories of history, instead positing that Hikmet Kıvılcımlı’s history thesis more accurately reflects historical trends. Last but certainly not least, Thea Matterson concludes this issue by arguing that memoirs—specifically those of two Egyptian feminists, Doria Shafik and Nawal El Saadawi—are forms of resistance against the state and state-driven narratives about women and feminism.

As this is my final issue with Leviathan after four years working on this publication, I owe an immense debt of gratitude to everyone who has contributed to this journal over the last four years and especially to Lucy Barrett who has been an indispensable partner-in-crime and an invaluable friend. In these four years, I have come to feel like Leviathan carries a certain type of magic. Together, we have built something incredible: a community of students who dedicate their free time to researching, writing, editing, and illustrating these articles and, first and foremost, to helping each other learn and grow. It truly feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have worked alongside such a smart, thoughtful team of students who approach every challenge with ingenuity and compassion and who teach me something new every day. Leviathan has undoubtedly been the highlight of my university experience, and I will forever remember all that I have learned as an editor, manager, and author with this journal. As my invaluable Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Lucy Barrett, always says: five brains put together are better than one; Leviathan would not be what it is today without every single person who has contributed to this journal.

I can’t wait to see what the next generation of leaders, editors, and authors create, and it has been a great privilege to see this journal come to life over the last four years. In particular, I would like to commend our incoming Editor-in-Chief, Macy Johns, for an impeccable tenure as Chief Copy Editor; I have no doubt Macy will be an excellent leader and steward of this community. I know future graduating Leviathan classes will, like us, move forward with warm memories and valued lessons from our time, and we encourage any students who have yet to participate in Leviathan to put themselves forward.

Sincerely,

Grace Hitchcock

Editor-in-Chief