Tugs of Crisis, from Caracas to Beirut  Dear readers, welcome to your weekly rendez-vous with the Maastricht Diplomat.  US-Venezuela Standoff  Tensions between the United States and Venezuela are becoming increasingly apparent in terms of security. US President Donald Trump has suggested that he would be prepared to authorize ground operations against drug traffickers in Venezuela . This statement comes after multiple visits to US allies in the Caribbean  to secure strong coo

Photo taken from the intro of the YouTube video “ Miu Miu Women's Tales #21 - Shangri-La”. On 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, it is important to remember that sexual abuse and harassment are still too prevalent in our world. While some acts of violence repeated are extremely brutal, others may seem milder but share the same violent essence in nature.  Several short films by the Miu Miu (a luxury brand created by Miuccia Prada) den

The bullet that killed Charlie Kirk did more than end a life. It exposed a nation already bleeding from within. I realized how deep the wound had become last week while standing in the backyard of a house party in Santa Barbara. The music was loud and the conversations drifted from finals to travel plans. Everything felt light until someone mentioned Kirk’s assassination. One guest immediately laughed and celebrated his death as if it were a joke, reenacting the moment Kirk w

Eyes on Chilean Cinema Allende making a speech. Photo taken from the Battle of Chile, The Coup d’Etat by Patricio Guzmán / Atacama Productions / ICAIC - Instituto Cubano de Arte e Industria Cinematográfico. Por la razón o la fuerza. By reason or by force.   This proverb is Chile's national motto, reflecting the Chilean republic's desire to assert its right to exist in the face of the colonising powers of the 19th century. Chile shall defend its rights through diplomacy and re

With the Chilean presidential elections being held tomorrow, November 16 will be an important day for Chile. A Marxist communist president may be elected, the first since Salvador Allende ( 1970-1973 ); his legacy brings back painful memories to the coup d’état before the violent dictatorship . To honor and remember the victims of these frightful years, a museum was created, instilling their legacy in a national one. I will showcase the archives of the Museum of Memory and Hu

‘Blocchiamo Tutto’ Despite the first autumn downpours, the largest Italian cities were still scorching of heat in September. Streets, schools, railway stations and ports became epicenters of anger channeled by masses of twenty-something year olds, rallying for Gaza. The popular movement to bloccare tutto - block everything - spilled over the entire country, resulting in nationwide strikes backed by unions, and large-scale demonstrations, most notably the one on September 22.

Sitting with some friends at the terrace of a GS25 in Hongdae, we were celebrating the end of our midterms with Korean beer and peach soju. Before arriving at a consensus on what to do next - either playing darts at Corner PUB or dancing at MON5 - a Korean man kindly asked to sit with us. Gladly welcoming him, intrigued by the newcomer’s confidence and boldness, we resumed our varied discussions. At first, I didn’t pick up much of what he was saying from across the table, but

It is election day in The Netherlands and I, like many, cannot help but be pessimistic. Only two years ago I found myself in this same place: the voting booth. It was my first time voting for the national elections and, even though I was far from content with the Dutch political situation, I was cautiously optimistic, hoping for improvement. Now I am here again and my cautious optimism has made place for regrettable pessimism. Instead of stability and solutions, we experience

Eyes on Iranian Cinema Source:   IMDb, Still from the film Holy Spider, directed by Ali Abbasi (2022). ز گهواره تا گور دانش بجوی Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave. Directed by Ali Abbasi   and sadly inspired by real events that took place in Iran in the early 2000s. A thriller set in Mashhad , one of Iran's largest holy cities, a series of crimes targeting sex workers who disappear in the streets at night is rampant. Following these disappearances, a journalist from

French government Lecornu II has made it beyond the one-week goalpost! S é bastien Lecornu´s second attempt as head of government is off to a better start than his first mandate, which ended on October 6, given his voluntary abduction and the consequent dissolution of the government (after 14 hours of effective governance). By accepting a second mandate offered by President Macron on  Friday, Oct. 10, and presenting his cabinet on Sunday, Oct. 12,  Lecornu is the first French

The official government building where the President of the Republic of Chile seats. Photo by Eleonore Dlugosz Donnen, September 2025. This November Chile will hold their presidential elections, a decisive vote for the political future of the country. These significant elections will require all Chileans to vote to elect the successor to current President Gabriel Boric of the Socialist Party. For these presidential elections, the three frontrunners include: Jeannette Jara, Jo

Last June the Dutch demissionary cabinet, then still composed of the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB), Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) and the Nieuw Sociaal Contract (NSC), presented a bill  that would criminalise the ‘glorification of terrorism’ as well as any public support shown towards terrorist organisations. Whilst the bill is still in its draft stage and therefore could be amended, dozens of human rights organisations including Amnesty International  and PAX  hav

Last October, in the early days of my exchange program in Washington, D.C., I found myself at a birthday dinner. As the conversation...

On July 29 2024 in Southport, 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana was arrested after repeatedly stabbing three little girls as they left a Taylor...

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has adopted a new Convention against Cybercrime on December 24th 2024. The multiple years of...

Knitting is going through a revival across social media, but in Norway, it was never dead. When I started my exchange in Trondheim,...

As every student has probably deduced from the amount of emails UM has sent out, Dutch universities are not particularly excited about...

The Spanish monarchy  is a subject of significant divide within Spanish society. Indeed, the royal family raises many questions from a...

No Other Land has won the IDFA NPO Doc Audience Award 2024 , the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) public prize...

Trigger warning. This article tackles several difficult topics, including rape and being drugged. More and more people are claiming that...