Alex Langer

It's been quite a while since anyone posted here, on Opre Roma. My apologies. While I've been gone, lots has happened relating to the mission of this blog: illuminating the struggles of marginalized peoples against oppression and…
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The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the world’s poorest countries. Despite a huge bounty of natural resources, the DRC falls near the bottom of most measures of economic and human development. Yet, the country is not known…
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Sweden is often seen as a beacon of tolerant social democracy and ethical capitalism. If you ask the Roma though, you might get a different story. Recently, the Swedish government released a white paper on the historical and modern…
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The snow is finally melting and the sun is shining. Finally. Meanwhile, the McGill International Review keeps on publishing excellent student analysis and opinion on international politics. Sarah Firestone reports on IRSAM's delegation…
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March is in full swing and exams are coming. This roundup has a full two weeks of incisive and intriguing writing from the McGill International Review. Check it out! While Thailand's ongoing political crisis seems to be de-escalating,…
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Over the past three months, political turmoil in Thailand has created a major political crisis. The crisis has been triggered by a conflict between two major political factions. The first is the Democrat Party, whose supporters consist…
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February is over, but the McGill International Review is still running strong. A fascinating interview with Oscar-nominated director Sara Ishaq, on the making of her film "Karama Has No Walls," life, and revolution in Yemen. Is…
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Everyone is entitled to have an opinion. Whether left, right; socialist, capitalist; Democrat, Republican; liberal or conservative; that is a different story. However, having an opinion is a right. I have a political inclination; yet, I am…
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As snow melts in Montreal and Canada cleans up at Sochi, the McGill International Review keeps on keeping on. Since the end of the Cold War, Vietnam has abandoned a strict communist system for liberalizing economic reforms. Yet, the…
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On the 3rd of July 2013, after a series of large protests across the country, the first democratically elected president of Egypt was deposed by the military. By some, this was understood as the bitter end to the Egyptian population’s…
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The beginning of a new month, and international politics never stop moving. MIR, as always, is on top of it. Police brutality, uncaring politicians and ghettoizing walls are business at usual for the Roma of Eastern Europe. Reporting…
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As January comes to a close and the bitterness of Montreal's winter seems to recede, MIR continues to publish. This week: Serbia finally officially began negotiations to join the European Union. Progress, right? According to…
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One more week at the McGill International Review, with some very good articles. Has Canadian foreign policy lost its way since Lester Pearson and the Suez Crisis? Nicholas D'Ascanio thinks so. Read more about it here. Part two of two.…
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Another week, another news cycle, and more great analysis and opinion from MIR. Justice is not always clear as we'd like it to be, especially when it comes to human rights abuses and transitions to democracy. Under a religious…
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A new semester for The McGill International Review, but the world keeps on turning. Starting this semester, the editorial board will be posting a weekly roundup of what we publish, to help readers stay up-to-date. This week: On "Ibn…
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This is great news. After the federal government slashed interim healthcare for refugee claimants last year, it looked like a lot of people would go without. Provinces are taking leadership though, and good on them. Hopefully this means the…
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This is a great documentary about the Magyar Guard in Hungary. The Guard is a paramilitary organization linked to the far-right party Jobbik (Movement for a Better Hungary). They have been banned by the Hungarian state and the European…
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The public discourse surrounding Roma refugees is one full of misconceptions about the Canadian refugee system and the status of Roma, both in their countries of origin and the European Union. Here are four frequently cited myths about the…
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Professor Sean Rehaag, of Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, published a paper last year entitled "Judicial Review of Refugee Determinations: The Luck of the Draw?" This paper explained the Canadian refugee claims review process…
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Welcome to Opre Roma, the McGill International Review's blog on the Roma and Roma issues. The who-what? "Roma"? I get this question a lot. “Who are the Roma?” people ask. My response, grudgingly, is “Well, you might know them as…
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African leaders concluded recently that they would not opt out of the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, many of them have demanded reforms. For example, some leaders have called for the ICC to avoid prosecuting sitting…
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In recent years, China has emerged as a significant economic and political player in Africa, committing $75 billion to aid and development projects since 2000 according to AidData. But what is driving China to make these mass…
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Recently speaking before the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama posited that an American disengagement from world affairs would leave a dangerous security vacuum. Whether or not this alleged American withdrawal is real,…
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In May, Governor General David Johnston, led a Canadian delegation to South Africa. There, he warned and called on Canada to fix the declining relationship between the two states. This pointed to the deterioration of an otherwise…
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Just another day on the 38th parallel. Soldiers, separated by North and South, populate the ubiquitously militarized and thus erroneously named Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the only area where one can glare into his enemy’s eyes.  One…
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The recent standoff between Western powers and the Gulf Cooperation Council against the Assad regime’s principle allies, Russia and Iran, over the use of chemical weapons in Syria has polarized the Middle East and the international…
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Canadians, for the most part, have a global reputation as a peace-loving and human-rights-respecting people; there is a reason so many Americans continue to wear the Canadian flag when travelling. Throughout the world though, Canadian…
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In August of 2013, the Syrian opposition accused the Assad government and its affiliates of chemical weapon strikes on the east and southwest towns of Damascus, killing 1,300 civilians. As the Syrian government denied such claims, the…
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There are no easy answers to the questions that dominate contemporary international relations. Each of us brings a unique background and a distinct set of priorities to the conversation, and more often than not, debate only makes matters…
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The subfield of Civil-Military relations, a discipline under the broad umbrella of security studies, starts with somewhat of a paradox; namely, how can society effectively govern those with the guns? More explicitly, how do civilians…
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By now, the Arab Spring of 2011 has become a quintessential case study of popular uprisings in political science classes. Yet, much less has been said about the Turkish and Brazilian protests of the summer of 2013. While neither movement…
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Latin America has long captivated the hearts and souls of North Americans and Europeans with an inexorable, unrelenting and perhaps almost mystical fascination. From the pursuit of the golden city of El Dorado by the Spanish conquistadors,…
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(Amin Meleika is the deputy assistant foreign minister for North American affairs at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is currently Egypt's consul-general for Montreal, holding ambassadorial status and serving communities in…
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Welcome to Loon Calls, the McGill International Review’s blog on Canadian politics! Why Canada?  While Canada and its politics may be less “interesting” than those of most of the rest of the world, it is still an important…
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In his weekly, televised address from the Oval Office on September 7th, President Obama was quick to reassure the American public that his plans for Syria “would not be another Iraq or Afghanistan.” He recognized that the American people…
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Welcome to Majapahit, the McGill International Review’s blog on Southeast Asia!  Why Southeast Asia? Why Majapahit? Southeast Asia is a fascinating part of the world because of its staggering diversity. The Majapahit Confederacy was…
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After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia’s military and economic capabilities were substantially diminished. The navy suffered especially significant decreases in its size and global reach as the new Russian state had few…
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Welcome to Ibn Khaldun (ابن خلدون), the McGill International Review’s blog on the Middle East. This blog will shed light on recent and ongoing developments in the Middle East. Ibn Khaldun thus aims to provide the reader with a…
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