LSE Blogs

Monuments to survival – anti-nuclear resistance through art - LSE Review of Books 80 years after the Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombs Resisting the Nuclear: Art & Activism Across the Pacific explores anti-nuclear art, activism & survivor testimony.

Resisting the Nuclear: Art and Activism Across the Pacific edited by @elyssafaison.bsky.social and Alison Fields @uwapress.bsky.social explores #AntiNuclear resistance through #art, #activism and #survival.

#Review by Oliver Thomas on @lsereviewofbooks.bsky.social

#Hiroshima80 #Nagasaki80

In a new review of a 2022 report about menopause in the workplace, Professor Catherine Rottenberg @mediacomgold.bsky.social and colleagues at LSE call into question the report's stand-out statistic👇

Why is GDPR compliance still so difficult? - LSE Business Review The EU’s data protection legislation raised the bar for how to manage personal data. For many businesses, compliance has been anything but easy.

The #EU’s legislation on #DataProtection raised the bar for how organisations manage personal data.

But for small businesses, complying with the rules has presented big challenges.

Yelena Smirnova & Victoriano Travieso Morales on the hidden difficulties of #GDPR, seven years on @lsebr.bsky.social.

Young dancers performing on Yhyakh festival in Sangar, Kobyaysky district, Yakutia.

#Russia’s ethnic minorities – including Arctic Indigenous ethnicities Chukchi, Inuit, Itelmen, Koryak, Nenets, Nganasan, Udege & Saami – are vastly overrepresented in the death toll of the #war in #Ukraine.

Read more 👉 blogs.lse.ac.uk/crp/2025/08/...

Maria Vyushkova @demsecinstitute.bsky.social

Only public ownership of the water system will solve its crisis - British Politics and Policy at LSE The recent report by the Independent Water Commission led by Sir John Cunliffe recommends the abolition of Ofwat and deeper regulatory reforms. But further regulation won't resolve the fundamental…

The #water system in England and Wales is in crisis.

A recent report recommends the abolition of the regulator #Ofwat to be replaced by deeper regulatory reforms.

But @kbayliss.bsky.social and Gwyn Bevan argue public ownership is the only solution on @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social

What do we mean by “transdisciplinary research”? - Impact of Social Sciences Like most complex concepts, there is no one single definition of “transdisciplinary research”. But, Helen Buckley Woods writes, all definitions share three common elements: partnerships, values and…

What do we mean by “transdisciplinary research”?

There are varying definitions, but Helen Buckley Woods @rorinstitute.bsky.social writes @lseimpactblog.bsky.social all of them share three common elements: partnerships, values and impact.

The 2026 Midterms: Speaker Mike Johnson’s religious rhetoric will continue to shape how Republicans speak to their constituents | USAPP As we move towards the 2026 midterms, religious rhetoric will likely remain part of the political toolkit, especially for Republicans seeking to mobilize evangelical and culturally conservative…

As the 2026 #Midterm elections in the #US draw nearer, speaker Mike Johnson’s #religious rhetoric will continue to shape how Republicans speak to their constituents.

@alenasmith13.bsky.social @stanford.edu and @julthomson.bsky.social @georgemasonu.bsky.social for @lseusablog.bsky.social.

Only public ownership of the water system will solve its crisis - British Politics and Policy at LSE The recent report by the Independent Water Commission led by Sir John Cunliffe recommends the abolition of Ofwat and deeper regulatory reforms. But further regulation won't resolve the fundamental ten...

Only public ownership of the water system will solve its crisis - British Politics and Policy at LSE

blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

The ‘us’ and ‘them’ that old age can create - LSE Review of Books Didier Eribon's The Life, Old Age, and Death of a Working-Class Woman interrogates how class and gender interact to shape a person's experience of old age.

NEW✨ The ‘us’ and ‘them’ that old age can create

Mary Evans @lsegender.bsky.social reviews The Life, Old Age, and Death of a Working-Class Woman by Didier Eribon, translated by @michaellucey.bsky.social @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofb...

Humanitarians and the Truth in Afghanistan - Activism Influence and Change On August 15 it will be four years since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. In this long-form essay, Hugo Slim argues that humanitarian agencies are suppressing the truth about the…

On 15 August it will be four years since the Taliban reclaimed power in #Afghanistan.

Hugo Slim argues #humanitarian agencies are suppressing the truth about the Taliban’s persecution of women and girls and that it's time for them to speak out.

@duncangreenlse.bsky.social

Consent in a digital age – rethinking sexting education - British Politics and Policy at LSE Sexting education frames consent in a binary of clear “yes” or “no”, ignoring the nuances of digital communication. Online safety would be imporved by a more contextual and rights-based understanding…

Education around #sexting still frames #consent in a binary of clear yes or no, ignoring the nuances of digital communication.

Kim Ringmar Sylwander writes that education around #OnlineSafety and the law needs to be updated to reflect a rights-based framework on @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social.

What makes politics in the Middle East so unstable? - LSE Review of Books The Great Betrayal by Fawaz Gerges examines political instability in the Middle East over the past century, from colonial influence to authoritarian rule,

What socio-historical factors have made #politics in the #MiddleEast so unstable?

The Great Betrayal: The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East by
@fawazgerges.bsky.social @lseir.bsky.social @princetonupress.bsky.social reviewed by Abidullah Baba on @lsereviewofbooks.bsky.social.

Hard work or inherited (mis)fortune? Young people’s future in an unequal world Renewing analysis from The Spirit Level: how are children and young people’s health, education and employment prospects shaped by household wealth?

#Inequality affects us across all stages of our life, but most prominently during #childhood.

Aini Gauhar @equalitytrust.bsky.social writes that only policies targeted at redistributing wealth and opportunities can level the playing field from the outset @lseinequalities.bsky.social.

How race, environment and capitalist development interact on Colombia’s Magdalena River - LSE Review of Books Artery by Austin Zeiderman identifies the Magdalena River in Colombia as a key site of the expansion of colonial and racial capitalism in the Americas. With a state-backed megaproject poised to…

How do race, environment and capitalist development interact on one of #Colombia's most important waterways?

Wafa Rasheeq reviews Artery: Racial Ecologies on Colombia’s Magdalena River by @azeiderman.bsky.social @dukepress.bsky.social on @lsereviewofbooks.bsky.social.

What is the evidence for the policy impact of evidence or public protest? Pretty thin, actually - Activism Influence and Change Tom Aston reviews what we know about the impact of evidence and public protest in changing government policies and practices and argues that research and mobilization have to be combined with good…

Can evidence and public #protest change government policy?

Tom Aston argues that #research and mobilisation have to be combined with good political understanding to make a difference.

@ids.ac.uk @duncangreenlse.bsky.social

How Spain’s blackout sparked new political currents online Spain’s April 2025 blackout gave a preview of a darker future, where vulnerabilities of the digital public sphere convert disasters into socio-political wars.

Did #Spain’s nationwide blackout in April give us a preview of a darker future?

Kavyanjali Kaushik @ic3jm.bsky.social argues on @lseeuroppblog.bsky.social that the blackout revealed major vulnerabilities, and showed how every crisis risks becoming a digital battleground.

banner image reading LSE Review of Books newsletter A global history of nationalism with an illustration of the French revolution

The LSE Review of Books newsletter is out today 📬 sharing our latest reviews on topics from the history of nationalism to the need for truth in politics and whether inequality is inherent to capitalism.

Read more 👉https://mailchi.mp/2ad2716b69a0/lsereviewofbooks-29-july-2025?e=d5be458df3

The problem of addressing menopause in the workplace without rigorous evidence - LSE Business Review “One in 10 women leave work due to the menopause”. This figure is problematic. Rigorous research is needed on the subject.

A 2022 report shared a stark finding about women experiencing #menopause: 1 in 10 have left work due to menopausal symptoms.

But is it accurate? Shani Orgad @lsemedia.bsky.social Gillian Paull @lse-sticerd-case.bsky.social & Catherine Rottenberg @goldsmithsuol.bsky.social on @lsebr.bsky.social.

Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank speaks onstage at the Adaptation Finance Summit for Africa during UN Climate Change Conference COP28 at Expo City Dubai on December 1, 2023, in Dubai.

Finance Ministers in #Africa must navigate the needs of #climate resilience and development.

Toluwalola Kasali (@lsepublicpolicy.bsky.social alum) on @africaatlse.bsky.social 👉 blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/...

Image: UN Climate Change on Flickr

Why saying “please” to ChatGPT might matter more than you think - Impact of Social Sciences ChatGPT isn’t consciousbut how we speak to AI shapes our habits. Moritz Sahlender argues that treating AI with courtesy helps preserve humanity in our interactions.

Why saying “please” to #ChatGPT might matter more than you think.

Moritz Sahlender on @lseimpactblog.bsky.social

People walking and carrying basins on their heads at Rhino Refugee Camp, Arua, Uganda

The number of displaced people is growing, and so are the costs for host countries.

But allowing refugees to work they can save the state money and contribute to economic growth, writes Yinebeb Bahru on the @africaatlse.bsky.social

Read more 👉 blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/...

Narrative CVs are rewriting academic stories and identities - Impact of Social Sciences A new study explores how narrative CVs are reshaping research evaluation and academic representation

The #NarrativeCV is gaining ground as part of academic job and funding applications.

On @lseimpactblog.bsky.social Judit Varga and Wolfgang Kaltenbrunner @unileiden.bsky.social analyse how narrative CVs are reshaping academic values and self-presentation.

Grassroots Peacebuilding Approaches in the Context of Israel-Palestine - Middle East Centre by Nicola H. In May 2025, Israeli finance minister Bezalzel Smotrich, who has recently been sanctioned by the UK government, vowed that Gaza would be ‘entirely destroyed’ and that its Palestinian…

Though the prospect of a just peace in the context of Israel-Palestine appears distant, the work of bi-national, Israeli-Palestinian NGO Combatants for Peace (CfP) embraces community-driven, grassroots peacebuilding.

Nicola H. for the @lsemiddleeast.bsky.social blog.

US x Brazil in the era of coercive geoeconomics - LSE Business Review President Trump's threat of a 50 per cent tariff on Brazil represents an act of geostrategic coercion that threatens the legacy of Brazil-US cooperation.

Trump's threat of a 50% #tariff on #Brazil is an act of geostrategic coercion, encouraging Brazil to further strengthen its trade links to #China.

The future of Brazil-US cooperation is at risk, writes Trinh Nguyen @georgemasonu.bsky.social on @lsebr.bsky.social

Banner with pictures of magazines and the words LSE Blogs newsletter 25 July Why does politics seem so chaotic?

Why does politics seem so chaotic?

The LSE Blogs newsletter is out today, with analysis on this question and more, from whether UK interest rates will fall to the trade war between the US and Brazil.

Read it here 👉 mailchi.mp/lse/lse-blog...

Subscribe 👉 lse.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...

Can the EU and UK forge closer cooperation on internal security? The reset deal announced on 19 May between the EU and the UK left many unanswered questions in relation to internal security.

Can the EU and UK forge closer cooperation on internal security?

Improving microdynamics rather than producing grand, sweeping agreements is the way forward, writes Christine Andreeva Gajo @univie.ac.at
@lseeuroppblog.bsky.social

Does democracy need truth to survive? - LSE Review of Books Michael Patrick Lynch's On Truth in Politics explores different philosophical interpretations of truth and argues that truth is essential to democracy.

Can democracy survive without truth?

On Truth in Politics by philosopher @michael-p-lynch.bsky.social @princetonupress.bsky.social makes the case for why #truth is essential to #democracy and needs to be rehabilitated in the "post-truth" era.

Jeff Roquen @lsereviewofbooks.bsky.social

Well designed paternity leave makes Spain a model of success - LSE Business Review When paternity leave is mandatory, non-transferable and fully paid, more fathers take it. This shows how policy design matters for gender equality.

#Spain recently equalised #ParentalLeave, so that paternity and maternity leave are now both 16 weeks.

But did fathers take advantage of the new policy? The answer is a resounding yes.

#Policy design matters for #GenderEquality.

@lsebr.bsky.social @cep-lse.bsky.social

Uneven Ground: Inequality and Planetary Health Can we afford the consumption patterns of the super-rich? Or does human and planetary wellbeing require us to drastically reduce inequality?

How do we promote human #wellbeing while also safeguarding our planet?

To achieve both, we must drastically reduce #inequality, writes @profkepickett.bsky.social @equalitytrust.bsky.social on @lseinequalities.bsky.social.

Put simply, we cannot afford the consumption patterns of the #SuperRich.

Why does politics seem so chaotic? - British Politics and Policy at LSE A communications strategy inspired by First World War battleship camouflage, and adopted by the likes of Donald Trump, has made politics feel chaotic.

Why does politics seem so chaotic?

@nickanstead.bsky.social @lsemedia.bsky.social offers an explanation on @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social: the ascendance of a scattergun approach to political communication that aims to dazzle the media and opponents, adopted by the likes of #DonaldTrump.