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Richard Meissner

Associate Professor, University of South Africa
Richard Meissner is an Associate Professor in International Politics at the University of South Africa (UNISA) teaching foreign policy analysis and peace, safety and security focusing on various topics such as civil and international conflict, democracy, ideology, party politics, environmental politics and a range of other issues related to International Relations and Political Science. His graduate studies were in both Political Studies and Philosophy at the universities of Johannesburg and Pretoria. He specialises in the analysis of international politics, political issues, and water governance related to but not limited to the complexities and interactions between and among non-state actors, international organisations, local governments, and other state organs. Prior to joining UNISA, he worked as a Senior Researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) researching water governance and politics.

He has published widely on these and other subjects with numerous publications to his name. These include peer-reviewed journal articles, books, book chapters, popular articles, technical reports as well as co-authored articles and book chapters. He has also presented papers at numerous local and international conferences, seminars, and workshops.

He holds a DPhil in International Politics from the University of Pretoria.

Ideology matters in unravelling Russia's invasion of Ukraine

May 23, 2022 13:54 pm UTC| Insights & Views

In explaining the war on Ukraine, ideology matters as much as interests. This means that we need to factor ideology into our analysis if we want to gain a deeper understanding of interstate violent conflict. If we focus...

Green policies are in place for South Africa's major port city: but a key piece is missing

Apr 23, 2022 08:09 am UTC| Politics

The floods of April 2022 in the South African city of Durban (eThekwini municipality) placed the spotlight on the management of urban areas and their vulnerability to natural disasters. That homes had been built close to...

Economy

Texas is suing Planned Parenthood for $1.8B over $10M in allegedly fraudulent services it rendered – a health care economist explains what's going on

Planned Parenthood no longer provides abortions in Texas, Louisiana and the other 10 states that have essentially banned abortion since the Supreme Court handed down its Dobbs v. Jackson decision in June 2022. But the...

African countries lost control to foreign mining companies – the 3 steps that allowed this to happen

Within a few years of independence, African governments asserted sovereignty over their metal and mineral resources. Prior to this, the resources were exploited by European mining corporations. Since the 1990s,...

Canada’s Fall Economic Statement signals the ‘right to repair’ your tech devices

On Nov. 23, the Government of Canada released the 2023 Fall Economic Statement. In a bold move toward empowering consumers, reducing costs and promoting sustainability, the Canadian government has reiterated its commitment...

Happy birthday AUD: how our Australian dollar was floated, 40 years ago this week

These days, we take for granted that the value of the Australian dollar fluctuates against other currencies, changing thousands of times a day and at times jumping or falling quite a lot in the space of a week. But for...

Nicola Willis warns of fiscal ‘snakes and snails’ – her first mini-budget will be a test of NZ’s no-surprises finance rules

New finance minister Nicola Willis has claimed she was blindsided by the state of the governments books. Days after stepping into the role, she said: The outgoing government has left us with some nasty surprises....

Politics

Argentina's Brexit: why new president Milei is threatening to pull out of South America's common market

Javier Milei, who was elected as Argentinas new president on November 19, has promised to withdraw from the South American common market, Mercosur. This decision could have significant economic and social repercussions...

Government's preventative detention for ex-detainees who pose serious risks set to pass this week

The government on Wednesday will introduce its legislation to enable preventative detention of former immigration detainees judged to pose a high risk of committing serious violent or sexual crimes. The legislation will...

Silencing Sarah Jama diminishes Canadian democracy

Sarah Jama, the MPP for Hamilton Centre, is suing the Ontario government and Legislative Assembly after being censured in the legislature by members of the Progressive Conservative government. On Oct. 23, the Ontario...

Alleged assassination plots in the U.S. and Canada signal a more assertive Indian foreign policy

A recent indictment from the United States Department of Justice has alleged an Indian security official was involved in attempting to assassinate a U.S. and Canadian citizen in New York. The alleged target, Gurpatwant...

Henry Kissinger was a global – and deeply flawed – foreign policy heavyweight

Declarations of the end of an era are made only in exceptional circumstances. Henry Kissingers death is one of them. Kissinger was born into a Jewish family in Germany, and fled to the US in 1938 after the Nazis seized...

Science

Could you move from your biological body to a computer? An expert explains ‘mind uploading’

Imagine brain scanning technology improves greatly in the coming decades, to the point that we can observe how each individual neuron talks to other neurons. Then, imagine we can record all this information to create a...

COP28 president is wrong – science clearly shows fossil fuels must go (and fast)

According to the president of COP28, the latest round of UN climate negotiations in the United Arab Emirates, there is no science indicating that phasing out fossil fuels is necessary to restrict global heating to...

Why isn't there any sound in space? An astronomer explains why in space no one can hear you scream

In space, no one can hear you scream. You may have heard this saying. Its the tagline from the famous 1979 science fiction movie Alien. Its a scary thought, but is it true? The simple answer is yes, no one can hear you...

Hyped and expensive, hydrogen has a place in Australia’s energy transition, but only with urgent government support

If you listen to the dreamers, hydrogen is the magical fuel of the future that can replace everything from the petrol in your car to the coal in a steelworks. Hype around hydrogen has been building in Australia since at...

Massive planet too big for its own sun pushes astronomers to rethink exoplanet formation

Imagine youre a farmer searching for eggs in the chicken coop but instead of a chicken egg, you find an ostrich egg, much larger than anything a chicken could lay. Thats a little how our team of astronomers felt when...

Technology

Alphabet Unveils Gemini AI, Rivaling ChatGPT with Enhanced Video, Audio, Text Processing

Alphabet launched its most advanced artificial intelligence model, Gemini, which can process various forms of information like video, audio, and text. This highly anticipated AI model demonstrates superior reasoning and...

Naver's CHZZK Targets Gaming Streaming Dominance, Twitch Exit Boosts Competition with YouTube, AfreecaTV

Naver Corp. launched its closed beta service for video streaming, CHZZK. With this, the company officially joined the game streaming scene in South Korea. Navers entrance into game streaming is perfect timing as the...

AMD Eyes $45 Billion AI Market, Targets $2B Sales in 2024

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has projected a significant expansion in the market for data center artificial intelligence (AI) processors, estimating the total addressable market at $45 billion for the current year. This...

Google Pixel 8 Pro Unveils First Android with On-Device AI, Gemini Nano

The Google Pixel 8 Pro will be the first Android smartphone powered by Googles next-generation AI model, Gemini. Gemini Nano, a variant of the product optimized for on-device use, such as smartphones, will now use...

WeMade to Set Up WEMIX Play Center in Dubai via Partnership with DIFC

Wemade Co., Ltd., a South Korean video game developer, secured a strategic partnership with the Dubai International Financial Centre Innovation Hub (DIFC). The company plans to build its WEMIX Play Center in Dubai with the...