Joseph Gregory Yu 余尚賢
DPhil, MSc (Oxon), MA (St Andrews)

In politics, compliance and complicity are crucial concepts to evaluate accountability, ethical governance, and the enforcement of just laws. In this paper, I explore the question: when is compliance complicity? To better answer this question, I define compliance as the act of conforming to rules, standards, laws, or requirements set by a higher authority in politics (Leisering, 2024). Complicity, on the other hand, is the act of being involved with others in wrongdoing (Gill

Freedom is a concept as elusive as it is fundamental - a prism through which the human experience is endlessly refracted. Far from being a concept confined to the liberal democratic tradition, freedom can be interpreted through multiple lenses. The two dominant philosophical frameworks - positive and negative freedom - offer contrasting but complementary insights. While positive freedom, often manifested in rules and regulations, encompasses the conditions and capacities that

In an era of democratic anxiety and populist resurgence, the question of whether the "lettered" or "unlettered" best protects democracy has become newly urgent. David Hume, writing in the 18the century, famously praised the "wisdom of unlettered men" (1896: 611), suggesting that ordinary citizens - guided by lived experience and moral instinct - could show more political prudence than detached intellectual elites. Yet, in the modern world, distrust of both expertise and emoti

Democracy is about guiding policies with the opinion of the majority of the population. It can be concluded as methods that let the people themselves decide issues through election of individuals who are capable to carry out the will of the people (Schumpeter 1943: 250). However, there can be instances where the power of the majority leads to negative outcomes, thus consituting what can be termed as 'too much', or excessive democracy. The discussion is particularly relevcant

Diversity has become one of the defining concepts of our time, widely embraced in corporate boardrooms, university campuses, and political rhetoric. From multicultural festivals to diversity and inclusion training in workplaces, the term seems both ubiquitous and broadly positive. Yet behind this enthusiastic celebration lies a more complex question: is diversity merely fashionable, or is it fundamentally valuable? This essay will explore what is meant by diversity, examine t

On 27 January 1967, the United States’ ambitious Apollo programme suffered its first and most devastating tragedy when a fire broke out inside the Apollo 1 command module during a routine ground test at Cape Kennedy, Florida. Astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee were killed within seconds. Although the mission never flew, the Apollo 1 disaster became a defining moment in the history of space exploration, exposing systemic weaknesses within NASA and

92 years ago today, on 26 January 1934, Europe witnessed a diplomatic event that startled chancelleries from London to Moscow. Germany and Poland, long cast as hereditary enemies, signed a Non-Aggression Pact pledging ten years of peace. For a continent conditioned by border disputes and ideological rancor, this was, as one observer quipped, “an invitation to the waltz” no one expected. Yet the dance was real, and its choreography reveals much about the fragility of interwar

It has been eighty years since the Nuremberg trials opened in November 1945, the first international tribunal to prosecute state leaders for aggressive war crimes, and crimes against humanity. At the time, Chief Prosecutor Robert H. Jackson declared that “civilization cannot tolerate [these crimes] being ignored because it cannot survive their being repeated” (Jackson, 1945/ 2019 §2). The proceedings could thus be seen as a moment of moral renewal rather than vengeance. Yet,

This study examines the impact of Quizlet flashcards on knowledge retention & retrieval practices among underperforming Yr10 history student

Recently, political polarization has emerged as a defining characteristic of democratic societies. This article reviews relevant literature.

This literature review explores precarity as a universal experience, drawing on ethnographic studies and theoretical critiques.

"Cognito, ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am), coined by philosopher René Descartes, encapsulates the importance of thinking and...

History, as a critical academic discipline, aims precisely at interrogating memory and the myths it generates (Evans, 2011). But more...

Good behaviour is critical for effective learning: not only does it create positive and nurturing environment pupils for succeed, but it...

Abstract Decolonisation has been on the agenda of educational reform for many years, but there is still much to do for schools to...

Abstract This paper explores the emergence of school history museums in postcolonial Hong Kong through the case of Queen’s College...

On 24 December 2008, the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) Kim Jong-Il “kindled the torch of a new...