Recruited Men, Breadwinning Women, and the ‘Re-gendering’ of Postwar Societies

Who pays for postwar demobilization? I argue that postwar governments use gender-based labor discrimination to facilitate veteran reintegration, pushing women out of jobs they gained during wartime. While veteran grievances are theorized to reduce class inequality through welfare expansion, I demonstrate an alternative mechanism: gender-based labor discrimination that undermines women’s labor market position. During war, women often benefit from the absence of male labor, gaining expertise in traditionally male sectors.

Geopolitics, the EU, and a Fragmenting World Order

This paper advances a “relational geopolitics” account of the European Union’s foreign policy, arguing that the EU exercises power through standards, markets, conditional finance, citizen-centered and institutional ties – not through classic state coercion (Anghel, 2025). Empirically, it anchors the argument in evidence on rising global risks to EU security, first mapped through expert reviews and now tested with embedded expert-survey experiments (Global Risks to the EU Project, 2025). The risk landscape is concrete – from a potential U.S.

Does Segregation Produce Local Political Leaders? Evidence from White Ethnic Enclaves

Why do some ethnic groups produce local political leaders while others do not? We argue that the spatial distribution of ethnic groups within cities -- particularly their concentration into ethnic enclaves -- shapes political candidate emergence. Ethnic enclaves facilitate leadership by reducing mobilization costs, enabling targeted public goods provision, and fostering dense social and economic networks. Using a novel approach that combines machine learning classification of candidates' ethnic ancestries with spatial measures of ethnic clustering, we analyze data from 638 U.S.

Treason, Terrorism, and Betrayal: Why Individuals Cross the Line

Why do some individuals choose to betray their country, engage in espionage, or commit acts of terrorism? From Kim Philby to Edward Snowden and from agencies to academia, history is full of figures who have willfully jeopardized national security. What compels people to “cross the line”—and can such dangers be detected in time? In Treason, Terrorism, and Betrayal: Why Individuals Cross the Line, William Costanza employs an interdisciplinary lens to explore the psychological, ideological, and situational factors behind acts of betrayal.

Nathanael Illies

I am an MPhil student in European Politics and Society and a member of Somerville College. Before coming to Oxford, I completed two bachelor’s degrees: a BA in Philosophy and Economics from the University of Bayreuth, Germany, and a BA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from Charles University in Prague.

My academic interests are broadly in political economy, with a special focus on economic statecraft, financial sanctions, trade, and sustainable finance.

Pahang and the Sea 2-day Workshop: Maritime Networks and Connections between Southeast Asia and Beyond

Muzium Pahang and the Contemporary Islamic Studies programme at St Antony's College Oxford present a two-day workshop to explore the fascinating maritime history of the Malay world. The workshop, ‘Pahang and the Sea’ will explore the maritime history of Pahang, Malaysia and its connections with the Islamic world, China and Europe. We have a fantastic line up of experts in the field from the US, UK, Europe and Malaysia who will be sharing their knowledge and research with us. Join us for a unique opportunity to network, exchange and learn about the maritime history of Southeast Asia.
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