Is Happiness the Key to the Success of Countries?

Today, the majority of countries around the world rate their success in terms of their economic status, measured by GDP (or GDP per capita). However, surely this is not the only way to define whether a country is successful. This is the thinking behind the forming of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index (GNH), invented by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, of Bhutan, in the 1970s. It is a philosophy that comes from the country’s roots in Buddhism and guides the governing and policy making of Bhutan. It is an index to gauge the collective happiness and wellbeing of a population. In 1972 Bhutan declared it as being more important than GDP, and in a 2011 UN general assembly, members were urged to follow the example of Bhutan, saying happiness was a ‘fundamental human goal’.

Is Happiness the Key to the Success of Countries?

An Exploration of the Gun Laws in America

On 24th May 2022 there was yet another school shooting in the United States, this time occurring at the Robb Elementary School, Uvalde Texas. The atrocity sent shock waves through the media for the murder of so many young children – yet many remain unaware that the Uvalde shooting was the 27th school shooting this year. In a survey from 2018 to the current day, it was discovered that the USA had thirty-eight times more school shootings than Mexico, the country with the second highest rate. In a country that lauds itself ‘the land of the free’ and a cornerstone of the ‘developed world’, it seems impossible that such tragedies have been allowed to continue.

An Exploration of the Gun Laws in America

Child Hepatitis and Internet Rumours: a Call for Free-thinking

The era of technology that we live in is golden; access to incredibly useful information is just beneath your fingertips. Of course, good things come with the bad, and just like everything in life, the internet is a double-edged sword which can easily harm you of you’re not careful. But do not fear, as I’m here to tell you what you need to look out for in an era when disinformation is just as accessible.

Child Hepatitis and Internet Rumours: a Call for Free-thinking

Does female leadership influence global relations

What is labelled as the ‘patriarchy’ in international relations, is the idea that women’s absence in key political positions allows men’s concerns to take precedence and disproportionately influence how society operates. Under the patriarchy, the attribute of ‘masculinity’ has been traditionally associated with dominance and aggression. Arguably, the principle of state sovereignty, highly present in current political structures, is expressed through features that are typically ascribed to men. Features such as strength and power. Therefore, under the premise that ‘femininity’ is likened to being aligned with kindness and empathy, is it fair to predict that if more women were in positions of power, the nature of the global relations would shift?

Does female leadership influence global relations