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August 1, 2025

A Hawaiian epic made in NZ: why Jason Momoa’s Chief of War wasn’t filmed in its star’s homeland

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Duncan Caillard, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Communication Studies, Auckland University of Technology

Jason Momoa’s historical epic Chief of War, launching August 1 on Apple TV+, is a triumph of Hawaiians telling their own stories – despite the fact their film and TV production industry now struggles to be viable.

The series stars Momoa (Aquaman, Game of Thrones) as Kaʻaina, an ali’i (chief) who fights for – and later rises against – King Kamehameha I during the bloody reunification of Hawaii.

Already receiving advance praise, the nine-episode first season co-stars New Zealand actors Temeura Morrison, Cliff Curtis and Luciane Buchanan, alongside Hawaiian actors Kaina Makua, Brandon Finn and Moses Goods.

A passion project for Momoa, the Hawaiian star co-created the series with writer Thomas Pa’a Sibbett after years in development. With a reported budget of US$340 million, it is one of the most expensive television series ever produced.

It is also a milestone in Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) representation onscreen. Controversially, however, the production only spent a month in Hawaiʻi, and was mostly shot in New Zealand with non-Hawaiian crews.

Momoa has even expressed an interest in New Zealand citizenship, but the choice of location is more a reflection of the troubled state of the film industry in Hawaiʻi. On the other hand, it is a measure of the success of the New Zealand screen industry, with potential lessons for other countries in the Pacific.

Ea o Moʻolelo – story sovereignty

Set at the turn of the 19th century, Chief of War tells the moʻolelo (story, history) of King Kamehameha I’s conquest of the archipelago.

Hawaiʻi was historically governed by aliʻi nui (high chiefs), and each island was ruled independently. Motivated by the threat of European colonisation and empowered by Western weaponry, Kamehameha established the Hawaiian Kingdom, culminating in full unification in 1810.

The series is an important example of what authors Dean Hamer and Kumu Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu have called “Ea o Moʻolelo”, or story sovereignty, which emphasises Indigenous peoples’ right to control their own narrative by respecting the “the inalienable right of a story to its own unique contents, style and purpose”.

Chief of War is also the biggest Hawaiian television series ever produced. Although Hawaiʻi remains a popular setting onscreen, these productions have rarely involved Hawaiians in key decision-making roles.

Sea of troubles

The series hits screens at a time of major disruption in Hollywood, with streaming services upending established business models.

“Linear” network television faces declining viewership and advertising revenue. Movie studios struggle to draw audiences to theatres. The consequences for workers in the the industry have been severe, as the 2023 writers strike showed.

Those changes have had a catastrophic impact on the Hawaiʻi film industry, too.

Long a popular location – Hawaii Five-O (1968-1980, 2010-2020), Magnum P.I. (1980-1988, 2018-2024) and Lost (2004-2010) were all shot on location in Hawaiʻi – it is an expensive place to film.

Actors, crew and production equipment often have to be flown in from the continental United States, and producers compete with tourism for costly accommodation.

Kaina Makua as King Kamehameha and New Zealand actor Luciane Buchanan as Ka’ahumanu in Chief of War.
Apple TV+

An industry in transition

These are not uncommon problems in distant locations, and many governments try to attract screen productions through tax incentives and rebates on portions of the production costs.

New Zealand, for example, offers a 20-25% rebate for international productions and 40% for local productions. Hawaiʻi offers a 22-27% rebate.

But this is less than other US states offer, such as Georgia (30%), Louisiana (40%) and New Mexico (40%). Hawaiʻi also has an annual cap of US$50 million on rebates.

To make things even harder, Hawaiʻi offers only limited support for Indigenous filmmakers. Governments in Australia and New Zealand provide targeted funding and support for Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori filmmakers.

By contrast, the Hawaiʻi Film Commission doesn’t provide direct grants to local filmmakers or producers (Indigenous or otherwise). Small amounts of government funding have been administered through the Public Broadcasting Service, but this is now in jeopardy after US President Donald Trump recently cut federal funding.

The Hawaiʻi screen industry faces a perfect storm. For the first time since 2004, film and TV production has ground to a halt. Many workers now doubt the long-term sustainability of their careers.

Lessons from Aotearoa NZ

While there are lessons Hawaiʻi legislators and industry leaders could learn from New Zealand’s example, there should also be a measure of caution.

The Hawaiʻi tax credit system is out of date. But despite industry lobbying, legislation to update it failed to reach the floor of the legislature earlier this year. New tax settings would help make local production viable again.

Secondly, decades of investment in Māori cinema have seen it become diverse, engaging and creatively accomplished. Hawaiʻi could benefit from greater direct investment in Hawaiian storytelling, respecting its cultural value even if it doesn’t turn a commercial profit.

On the other hand, New Zealand has a favourable currency exchange rate with the US which can’t be replicated in Hawaiʻi. And New Zealand film production workers have seen their rights to unionise watered down compared to their American peers.

But if Hawaiʻi can get its settings right, a possible second season of Chief of War may yet be filmed there, which could mark a genuine rejuvenation of its own film industry.

Duncan Caillard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. A Hawaiian epic made in NZ: why Jason Momoa’s Chief of War wasn’t filmed in its star’s homeland – https://theconversation.com/a-hawaiian-epic-made-in-nz-why-jason-momoas-chief-of-war-wasnt-filmed-in-its-stars-homeland-261742

August 1, 2025

Rockabye baby: the ‘love songs’ of lonely leopard seals resemble human nursery rhymes

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Lucinda Chambers, PhD Candidate in Marine Bioacoustics, UNSW Sydney

Late in the evening, the Antarctic sky flushes pink. The male leopard seal wakes and slips from the ice into the water. There, he’ll spend the night singing underwater amongst the floating ice floes.

For the next two months he sings every night. He will sing so loudly, the ice around him vibrates. Each song is a sequence of trills and hoots, performed in a particular pattern.

In a world first, we analysed leopard seal songs and found the predictability of their patterns was remarkably similar to the nursery rhymes humans sing.

We think this is a deliberate strategy. While leopard seals are solitary animals, the males need their call to carry clearly across vast stretches of icy ocean, to woo a mate.

A seal on an ice floe in Antarctica — Solitary leopard seals want their call to carry.
Ozge Elif Kizil/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A season of underwater solos

Leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) are named after their spotted coats. They live on ice and surrounding waters in Antarctica.

Leopard seals are especially vocal during breeding season, which lasts from late October to early January. A female leopard seal sings for a few hours on the days she is in heat. But the males are the real showstoppers.

Each night, the males perform underwater solos for up to 13 hours. They dive into the sea, singing underwater for about two minutes before returning to the water’s surface to breathe and rest. This demanding routine continues for weeks.

A male leopard seal weighs about 320 kilograms, but produces surprisingly high-pitched trills, similar to those of a tiny cricket.

Within a leopard seal population, the sounds themselves don’t vary much in pitch or duration. But the order and pattern in which the sounds are produced varies considerably between individuals.

Our research examined these individual songs. We compared them to that of other vocal animals, and to human music.

Listening to songs from the sea

The data used in the study was collected by one author of this article, Tracey Rogers, in the 1990s.

Rogers rode her quad bike across the Antarctic ice to the edge of the sea and marked 26 individual male seals with dye as they slept. Then she returned to record their songs at night.

The new research involved analysing these recordings, to better understand their structure and patterns. We did this by measuring the “entropy” of their sequences. Entropy measures how predictable or random a sequence is.

We found the songs are composed of five key “notes” or call types. Listen to each one below.

A low double trill.
Tracey Rogers UNSW Sydney, CC BY-SA28.5 KB (download)

A hoot with low single trill.
Tracey Rogers UNSW Sydney, CC BY-SA53.8 KB (download)

High double trill.
Tracey Rogers UNSW Sydney, CC BY-SA29.7 KB (download)

Low descending single trill.
Tracey Rogers UNSW Sydney, CC BY-SA49 KB (download)

Medium single trill.
Tracey Rogers UNSW Sydney, CC BY-SA22.7 KB (download)

A remarkably predictable pattern

We then compared the songs of the male leopard seals with several styles of human music: baroque, classical, romantic and contemporary, as well as songs by The Beatles and nursery rhymes.

What stood out was the similarity between the predictability of human nursery rhymes and leopard seal calls. Nursery rhymes are simple, repetitive and easy to remember — and that’s what we heard in the leopard seal songs.

The range of “entropy” was similar to the 39 nursery rhymes from the Golden Song Book, a collection of words and sheet music for classic children’s songs, which was first published in 1945. It includes classics such:

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Frère Jacques
Ring Around a Rosy
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
Humpty Dumpty
Three Blind Mice
Rockabye Baby.

For humans, the predictable structure of a nursery rhyme melody helps make it simple enough for a child to learn. For a leopard seal, this predictability may enable the individual to learn its song and keep singing it over multiple days. This consistency is important, because changes in pitch or frequency can create miscommunication.

Like sperm whales, leopard seals may also use song to set themselves apart from others and signal their fitness to reproduce. The greater structure in the songs helps ensure listeners accurately receive the message and identify who is singing.

Male leopard seals produce high-pitched cricket-like trills.

An evolving song?

Leopard seals sound very different to humans. But our research shows the complexity and structure of their songs is remarkably similar to our own nursery rhymes.

Communication through song is a very common animal behaviour. However, structure and predictability in mammal song has only been studied in a handful of species. We know very little about what drives it.

Understanding animal communication is important. It can improve conservation efforts and animal welfare, and provide important information about animal cognition and evolution.

Technology has advanced rapidly since our recordings were made in the 1990s. In future, we hope to revisit Antarctica to record and study further, to better understand if new call types have emerged, and if patterns of leopard seal song evolve from generation to generation.

Tracey Rogers receives funding from ARC.

Lucinda Chambers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Rockabye baby: the ‘love songs’ of lonely leopard seals resemble human nursery rhymes – https://theconversation.com/rockabye-baby-the-love-songs-of-lonely-leopard-seals-resemble-human-nursery-rhymes-262113

July 31, 2025

Accessible, high-quality summer programs and Black joy support Black children’s return to school

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ardavan Eizadirad, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Wilfrid Laurier University

Summer is popularly imagined as bringing joy to all young people. Yet it is not an equal break or of the same quality for all students.

Learning loss is the decline in academic skills and knowledge that can occur when students are not engaged in structured learning, especially during extended breaks like summer.

It disproportionately impacts Black and low-income students who face greater systemic disadvantages within the education system.

Black families face challenges in accessing culturally relevant and affirming summer opportunities. As work by education researcher Obianuju Juliet Bushi and others has documented, for many Black families, the question isn’t just “what will my child do this summer?” It’s “where can my child go to be safe, affirmed and supported?”

Without access to affordable enrichment programs during the summmer, many students fall behind in reading and math, further widening the opportunity gap when school resumes in September.

As the manager of research with the charitable, Black-led non-profit organization Youth Association for Academics, Athletics and Character Education (YAAACE) in the Jane Finch area of Toronto, I share insights about how culturally responsive community programs can address opportunity gaps, and how parents in Black families can support their kids’ successful transition back to school.

This article draws on insights from conversations I have had with various YAAACE program participants, parents and educators, as well as leadership, including Devon Jones, Nene, and Dave Mitchell.

Anti-Black racism in education

Despite Canada’s reputation for multiculturalism, systemic anti-Black racism remains deeply embedded in the education system, contributing to unequal opportunities for students.

The opportunity gap refers to the unequal access to resources, supports and learning experiences that affect students’ ability to succeed, often based on race, income and geography.

In March 2025, the Ontario Human Rights Commission released a report, “Dreams Delayed: Addressing Systemic Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Ontario’s Public Education System.”

The findings confirmed that Ontario’s schools are saturated with systemic barriers for Black children and their families. These barriers include: disproportionate discipline; being streamed into non-academic tracks; lack of Black leadership in schools; Eurocentric curriculum; insufficient disaggregated identity-based data collection; and lack of access to culturally affirming environments.

The cost is devastating and contributes to academic underachievement, racial trauma, disengagement and the reproduction of the school-to-prison pipeline.

This is particularly the case in low-income communities.

Centring Black excellence

Black youth often face higher exposure to poverty, systemic underemployment, community violence and the emotional weight of intergenerational trauma and racism.

While these experiences shape the mental health and academic outcomes of students, schools often lack culturally relevant supports or trauma-informed responses.

Summer programs are one important part of countering anti-Black racism in schools. These can support student transitions by mitigating learning loss and helping to close the opportunity gap.

Programs that centre Africentricity and Black excellence led by staff with lived experiences provide culturally responsive and emotionally supportive environments that affirm Black identities.

This builds confidence in Black students and ensures students return to school in the fall better prepared to thrive academically, socially, emotionally and culturally.

Community-driven youth programs

Since 2007, YAAACE has provided academic, athletic, family supports, employment and mentorship to more than 1,000 children and families annually across Toronto. Its programs are led by Black educators and mentors who reflect the community and understand the lived experiences of the youth they serve in low-income communities like the Jane and Finch neighbourhood.

YAAACE’s seven-week Summer Institute offers a model that affirms identity, cultivates belonging and accelerates achievement. Each summer, approximately 300 students from grades 3 through 12 attend the institute, which blends literacy and numeracy instruction with culturally responsive learning, arts-based programming, robotics, mentorship and athletics.

Students are taught by Ontario certified teachers and supported by Black staff and practitioners trained in trauma-informed care. For families who can’t afford camp fees, the program is free or subsidized.

This is a results-based, community-driven intervention that mitigates the opportunity gap for Black students from low-income communities by creating access to experiential learning opportunities. It’s also violence prevention and intervention that builds character and supports students, with a focus on the early years.

Cycle of empowerment

YAAACE’s Inspire Academy Mathematics Program provides early access to high school math courses. Grade 8 graduates earn a high school math credit through an intensive summer course led by a team of teachers and teacher assistants in a supportive, inclusive environment. In cases where students are behind provincial standards, they receive additional supports with low staff-to-student ratios.

Based on assessments administered by the teachers and reports provided to all the parents, students leave the institute more confident in their academics, better prepared to return to school and grounded culturally in who they are. Families report higher levels of engagement and lower levels of stress knowing their children are in safer, affirming spaces.

Many of YAAACE’s youth return as peer leaders and mentors, reinforcing a cycle of empowerment.

Programs like YAAACE do not just help kids do better in school. They also reduce long-term costs to the health-care, justice and social service systems by interrupting cycles of trauma and marginalization before they escalate.

Tips for parents

Summer is a crucial time to support children’s learning and well-being, especially for Black families navigating systems that often overlook their strengths.

Below are three practical ways to support your child during the summer break and when school starts in September.

Centre empowering examples of Black identity and culture: Expose your children to books, films, music and conversations that celebrate Black history and excellence, Africentricity and positive role models. Affirming cultural roots builds pride, resilience and a sense of belonging in systems that too often erase or distort those narratives from stereotypical perspectives.

Create routines that balance learning and Black joy: Set daily routines that include reading, writing or problem solving but just as much make space for rest, play, creativity and movement rooted in Black joy. Learning should be holistic and joyful. It’s important as parents, guardians and community leaders that we not only talk about this but more importantly model it.

‘Refresh, Revive, Thrive: Black Joy in Education’ with Andrew B. Campbell, assistant professor at the University of Toronto.

Stay engaged and be an advocate: Get to know your child’s teachers and school administrators, review school policies to be familiar with how to navigate them (for example, getting accommodations for your child’s needs) and request culturally affirming resources. Don’t hesitate to raise concerns, as your advocacy helps create more supportive learning environments and shows your child that their success is worth fighting for.

Partnerships with Black-led organizations

Trauma-informed, culturally responsive education must become a system-wide standard.

This becomes a reality by building long-term partnerships with Black-led community organizations. It means embedding mental health supports and curriculum content that reflect the cultural identities and lived realities of Black diasporas. And it means collecting disaggregated race-based data to track progress and guide informed decision-making.

It starts by funding proven data-driven programs, training educators and holding systems accountable to measurable outcomes.

Ardavan Eizadirad receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

– ref. Accessible, high-quality summer programs and Black joy support Black children’s return to school – https://theconversation.com/accessible-high-quality-summer-programs-and-black-joy-support-black-childrens-return-to-school-261908

July 31, 2025

Here’s how you can make your garden a safe and biodiverse space for urban wildlife

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ann Dale, Professor Emerita, Environment & Sustainability, Royal Roads University

Simple things like avoiding chemical pesticides and leaving leaves where they fall can help make your garden a more welcoming environment for wildlife and support biodiversity. (Jeffrey Hamilton/Unsplash)

Biodiversity is essential to mitigating and adapting to climate change, enhancing the resilience of ecosystems and safeguarding the ecological functions that all living beings depend on for survival.

There is little doubt that we are at a critical point in the loss of biodiversity in Canada with thousands of species currently in danger of disappearing, while global experts continue to warn about Earth’s ongoing sixth mass extinction.

As a response to the cascading climate crisis, wildlife habitat gardens have grown in popularity. These are spaces designed to attract and sustain local wildlife, and include efforts such as rewilded meadows, pollinator patches, rain gardens, naturalized lawns and others.

Cultivating a garden for biodiversity is not an all-in or nothing task. In fact, there is a wide range of simple actions anyone can take to regenerate and conserve biodiversity right at home.

We are currently organizing a biodiversity public literacy campaign at the National Environmental Treasure, a people’s trust fund devoted to funding Canadian environmental organizations.

Last year, we partnered with Prof. Nina-Marie Lister and the Ecological Design Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University on their Bylaws for Biodiversity research, along with Nature Canada and FLAP Canada, to develop Gardening for Biodiversity resources.

Supporting biodiversity in your garden

flowers and green plants around a sign reading habitat garden — Educational, ecologically informed signage can help interpret the garden for visitors. These signs serve as a practical tool to share gardening practices and highlight the garden’s environmental benefits with the community.
(Nina Marie Lister)

Together, we’ve created a series of free, fact-based guides to help people learn how to cultivate biodiversity and support for wildlife habitat in private gardens.

This series currently includes four comprehensive booklets, each focusing on key aspects of biodiversity gardening:

While there are plenty of great garden practices out there, these are five easy and impactful ways to boost biodiversity and cultivate a garden safe for urban wildlife, taken directly from our booklets.

Use alternatives to pesticides

Pesticides in your garden can harm beneficial insects and can be detrimental to the environment, wildlife and human health. Instead of using chemical-based pesticides, try natural alternatives like biopesticides, horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps that can be just as effective.

Likewise, attracting predatory insects and wildlife into your garden who will actively feed on the harmful pest is also an effective starting point as this is a process of pest-control that occurs naturally in healthy ecosystems.

There are also DIY pesticides, such as sea salt spray, water-vinegar mixtures and coffee grounds.

yellow flowers in a garden — A rewilded habitat meadow featuring a selection of native wildflowers and habitat logs left to enrich the soil, support pollinators and offer seating for visitors.
(Nina Marie Lister)

Leave the leaves

Decomposing plant litter, like fallen dead leaves, tree bark, needles and twigs, is an important component of maintaining soil health, nutrient cycling and biodiversity.

By choosing to leave the leaves in your garden, you will support the variety of species who overwinter in them, from bees and caterpillars, to butterflies, spiders and more.

Prioritize pollinator-attractive plants

In addition to pollination, insects are beneficial for a variety of other reasons including for pest control, seed dispersal and decomposition.

The best way to attract insects largely depends on which insect you are trying to attract. But as a general rule, it is always a good practice to source plants locally and prioritize native species.

Next best to native plants are benign ornamentals and non-natives. Cultivating a diverse range of flowers, especially native plants and herbs, promotes a resilient ecosystem. It also helps natives out-compete invasive species and to reverse the downward trends of mass species decline.

Make your garden safe for birds

Birds contribute to healthy ecosystems: they pollinate plants, disperse seeds and prey on insects. Unfortunately, North American bird populations are experiencing a rapid decline due to habitat loss, degradation and other global pressures.

Aadopting bird-safe gardening practices offers a powerful way to combat these threats and support biodiversity conservation on a local scale. Beyond core habitat elements, additional practices can enhance the garden’s appeal to birds.

Organic gardening without pesticides or herbicides, keeping cats indoors, removing potential entanglement hazards and using bird-collision prevention markers on reflective surfaces can not only attract birds, but also ensure their safety as well.

A small chubby bird with an orange breast standing on a stone ledge in a garden — Birds contribute to healthy ecosystems: they pollinate plants, disperse seeds and prey on insects.
(Unsplash/Richard Bell)

Advocate for biodiversity

Although there’s been a growing movement toward more biodiversity-supporting practices, outdated municipal bylaws and enforcement policies continue to limit the potential of habitat gardens.

These disputes over the scope and application of bylaws have brought attention to various legal contradictions and outcomes that negatively impact progress on biodiversity recovery, all the while undermining and negating related environmental objectives on private land.

By advocating and encouraging your municipal leaders to adopt science-based biodiversity-supportive bylaws, you help to establish the legal frameworks and political agendas that directly impact long-term ecological health and promote sustainable development and the regeneration of biodiversity.

Ann Dale receives funding from the CRC Secretariat, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Hewlett Foundation.

Sabrina Careri does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Here’s how you can make your garden a safe and biodiverse space for urban wildlife – https://theconversation.com/heres-how-you-can-make-your-garden-a-safe-and-biodiverse-space-for-urban-wildlife-261151

July 31, 2025

European gloom over the Trump deal is misplaced. It’s probably the best the EU could have achieved

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Maha Rafi Atal, Adam Smith Senior Lecturer in Political Economy, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow

The trade deal between the US and the European Union, squeezed in days before the re-introduction of Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs, is reflective of the new politics of global trade. Faced with the threat of 30% baseline tariffs from Washington, as well as additional levies on specific sectors, the EU has secured a partial reprieve of a flat 15% tariff on all goods.

Was this the best the bloc could have achieved? In the time available, it may well have been. The 15% rate is higher than the UK secured earlier this year, but it’s significantly below the level applied to China and Mexico, and on par with Japan.

The EU has also managed a “zero-for-zero” tariffs deal on some hi-tech goods, notably semiconductors vital for products like phones and laptops. This is something the UK did not push for or secure in its own framework agreed with the US president.

What’s more, EU leaders have argued that agreeing to the deal has security benefits in protecting dwindling US support for European defence. The urgency of Europe’s security concerns in Ukraine made these talks different from trade negotiations in the first Trump administration, when Europe could afford to be more aggressive.

The biggest winners in this deal are Europe’s carmakers. The US has collapsed various sector-specific duties on goods like aircraft, cars and automotive parts into the 15% ceiling. This effectively reduces tariffs on EU-made cars (from 27.5%).

American automakers, meanwhile, rely heavily on parts from Mexico and China – still subject to higher tariffs at the time of writing. This makes EU vehicles more competitive for US consumers than “American” cars that rely on overseas parts.

Most importantly however, like the UK deal before it, the new EU agreement is a statement of understanding between the White House and the European Commission, rather than a formal treaty. A treaty would be subject to parliamentary ratification on both sides.

But the semi-formal nature of this agreement allows both Trump and European leaders to portray the deal as a “win” by playing fast and loose with what’s actually in it.

For example, the Trump administration will celebrate an EU commitment to buy US$250 billion (£189 billion) in US energy imports annually. Yet the concession holds no legal weight in the EU. The European Commission, which negotiated with Trump, does not buy any energy nor does it manage the power grid inside its 27 member states.

The commission can encourage, but cannot compel, those states to buy American. (Indeed, it might want to do so anyway, since it helps it to pivot away from Russian gas). But ultimately, member states and businesses decide where their energy supply comes from, and they are not direct parties to the deal. Only a formal treaty ratified by the European parliament would compel them.

No guarantees from Trump

The informal nature of this agreement also allows EU member states to protest against what they see as capitulation to Trump’s demands without real consequence. After all, there is not yet a treaty text they would be required to vote on or implement.

The Trump administration similarly imposed its sweeping tariff threats in early spring without a vote from Congress, and has been making ad hoc changes to the rates in the same way.

On the one hand, this means European countries may not ultimately be required to implement some of the deal’s less savoury elements such as the energy purchases or lowering the bloc’s own tariffs on US goods.

On the other hand, this means the Trump administration – notorious for abrupt changes of turn – can also renege at any time. In reality, there is little the EU can do about this. The question of leverage looms large. Trump’s longstanding antipathy towards the EU – seeing it less as an ally and more as a rival – meant that Brussels was never negotiating from a position of strength.

The fact that the EU avoided the worst-case scenario, protected key sectors and secured other sector-specific advantages suggests a deal shaped not by triumph, but by containment of Trump. Since the deal was announced, the picture emerging from many European leaders has been one of gloom. True, the EU didn’t win – but it survived. And that, for now, is probably enough.

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Maha Rafi Atal does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. European gloom over the Trump deal is misplaced. It’s probably the best the EU could have achieved – https://theconversation.com/european-gloom-over-the-trump-deal-is-misplaced-its-probably-the-best-the-eu-could-have-achieved-262369

July 31, 2025

Will the latest diplomatic moves to end the war in Gaza work?

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor, The Conversation

This article was first published in The Conversation UK’s World Affairs Briefing email newsletter. Sign up to receive weekly analysis of the latest developments in international relations, direct to your inbox.

It feels as if things are moving at completely different speeds in Gaza and in the outside world. From the embattled Gaza Strip the narrative is depressingly familiar. Dozens more Palestinian civilians have been killed in the past 24 hours as they try to get hold of scarce supplies of food.

Aid agencies report that despite air drops of supplies and “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting, the amount of food getting through to the starving people of Gaza remains pitifully insufficient.

Two more children are reported to have died of starvation, bringing the total number of hunger-related deaths to 159, according to Palestinian sources quoted by al-Jazeera.

US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Jerusalem for more talks as the US president Donald Trump posted his latest bout of social media diplomacy on his TruthSocial site, a message which appears pretty faithful to the Netanyahu government’s position: “The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!”

Both sides continue to reject the other side’s demands, bringing ceasefire negotiations to an effective standstill.

In the outside world, meanwhile, events seem to be gathering pace. A “high-level conference” at the United Nations in New York brought together representatives of 17 states, the European Union and the Arab League, resulting in “a comprehensive and actionable framework for the implementation of the two-state solution and the achievement of peace and security for all”.

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What first catches the eye about this proposal, which was signed by Saudi Arabia,
Qatar, Egypt and Jordan, is that it links a peace deal with the disarming and disbanding of Hamas. It also condemns the militant group’s savage attack on southern Israel on October 23 2023, which was the catalyst for the latest and arguably most grievous chapter of this eight-decade conflict. It’s the first time the Arab League has taken either of these positions.

The New York declaration, as it has been dubbed, envisages the complete withdrawal of Israeli security forces from Gaza and an end to the displacement of Palestinians. Government will be the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and a conference to be scheduled in Egypt will design a plan for the reconstruction of Gaza, much of which has been destroyed in the 20-month assault by the Israel Defense Forces.

It is, writes Scott Lucas, a “bold initiative” which, “in theory could end the Israeli mass killing in Gaza, remove Hamas from power and begin the implementation of a process for a state of Palestine. The question is whether it has any chance of success.”

Lucas, an expert in US and Middle East politics at the Clinton Institute of University College Dublin, is not particularly sanguine about the short-term prospects for a ceasefire and the alleviation of the desperate conditions for the people of Gaza. But what it represents more than anything else, is “yet another marker of Israel’s increasing isolation”.

He points to recent announcements that France, the UK (subject to conditions) and Canada will recognise the state of Palestine at the UN general assembly in September. The prospect of normalisation between Israel and Arab states, at the top of the agenda a few short years ago, is now very unlikely. And in the US, which remains Israel’s staunchest ally, a Gallup poll recently found that public opinion is turning against Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

But how important are the declarations by France, the UK and Canada of intent to potentially recognise Palestinian statehood, asks Malak Benslama-Dabdoub. As expert in international law at Royal Holloway University of London, who has focused on the question of Palestinian statelessness, Benslama-Dabdoub thinks that the French and British pledges bear closer examination.

The French declaration was made on July 24 on Twitter by the president, Emmanuel Macron. Macron envisages a “demilitarised” state, something Benslama-Dabdoub sees as a serious problem, as it effectively denies the fundamental right of states to self-determination and would rob a future Palestinian state of the necessary right to self-defence.

The declaration by the UK prime minister that Britain may also recognise Palestinian statehood in September is framed as a threat rather than a pledge. Unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire, allows the UN to recommence humanitarian efforts and engages in a long-term sustainable peace process, the UK will go ahead with recognising Palestine at the UN.

You have to consider that the UK government’s statement said that the position has always been that “Palestinian statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people”. So to frame this as a threat rather than a demand is arguably to deny that “inalienable right”.

Paul Rogers also sees serious problems with the pledges to recognise Palestinian statehood. Demands for Hamas to disarm and play no further role in Palestinian government he sees as a non-starter as is the thought of a demilitarised Palestine. “Neither plan has the slightest chance of getting off the ground.”

Rogers, who has researched and written on the Middle East for more than 30 years, also thinks that without the full backing of the US there is very little chance that a peace plan could succeed.

Rogers finds it hard to believe that Washington will change tack on the Palestinian question, “unless the US president somehow gets the idea that his own reputation is being damaged”. There’s always a chance of this. News from the Gaza Strip is relentlessly horrifying and the aforementioned polls suggest many voters are reassessing their views of the conflict. But Trump is heavily indebted for his re-election to the far-right Christian Zionist movement, who wield a great deal of power with the White House.

The other thing that might influence the conflict is if enough of the IDF’s top brass recognise the futility of waging what has always been an unwinnable conflict. This, writes Rogers, is whispered about in Israel’s military circles and one eminent retired general, Itzhak Brik, has come out and said: “Hamas has defeated us.”

These, writes Rogers, are currently the only routes to an end to the conflict.

Inside Trumpian diplomacy

We mentioned earlier that the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has also pledged to recognise the state of Palestine in September. This was immediately greeted by Trump with the threat that he does so it will derail a trade deal with the US. Whether this will cut any ice with Carney, who had to make concessions to get the trade deal done in the first place, remains to be seen.

But there’s a broader point here, writes Stefan Wolff. As Wolff reports, this week the foreign ministers of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda got together in Washington to sign a ceasefire deal, brokered by the US. Trump also claims to have successfully ended a conflict between India and Pakistan at the end of May and hostilities between Thailand and Cambodia earlier this month.

Meanwhile his efforts to secure peace deals, or even a lasting ceasefire, in Gaza or Ukraine have been unsuccessful.

Wolff considers why some countries respond to Trump’s diplomatic efforts while others don’t. There are a number of reasons, principally the US president’s ability to apply leverage through trade deals or sanctions and the differing complexity of the conflicts.

He also points to the depleted resources of the US state department, Trump’s use of personal envoys with little foreign affairs experience and the US president’s insistence on making all the important decisions himself. He concludes: “The White House simply may not have the bandwidth for the level of engagement that would be necessary to get to a deal in Ukraine and the Middle East.”

One US government department whose resources haven’t been depleted under Donald Trump is the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as Ice. Part of the Department of Homeland Security, Ice has been responsible for identifying and detaining non-citizens and undocumented migrants.

Their agents carry guns, wear masks and typically operate in plain clothes, although they often wear military kit. The agency received massive funding via Trump’s One Bzig Beautiful Bill Act earlier this month, which will allow the agency to recruit hundreds, if not thousands, of new agents. The number of arrests is increasing steadily, as is the disquiet their operations are prompting in many American cities, where opposition protests are also growing.

Dafydd Townley, an expert in US politics at the University of Portsmouth, explains how Ice operates and where it sits in Donald Trump’s plan to deport millions of illegal migrants from the US.

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– ref. Will the latest diplomatic moves to end the war in Gaza work? – https://theconversation.com/will-the-latest-diplomatic-moves-to-end-the-war-in-gaza-work-262380

July 31, 2025

Craquer pour un prédateur ? Voici des contes qui font l’apologie de l’hybristophilie, à votre insu…

Source: The Conversation – in French – By Sylvie Genest, Professeure titulaire, Faculté des arts, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

L’amour sublimé par la peur n’est jamais une protection contre les crimes d’un assassin. (Image tirée du film Mia et le lion blanc)

Dans cet article, j’examine la portée symbolique de quelques contes familiaux mettant en vedette des animaux prédateurs en relation de proximité physique avec de « jeunes filles au cœur pur » : Mystère de Denis Imbert (2021), Mia et le lion blanc (2018) et Le dernier jaguar (2024) de Gilles de Maistre. À ceux-ci, on pourrait ajouter Le renard et l’enfant (2007), Le loup et le lion (2021) et même Moon le panda (2025) qui met en scène un garçon plutôt qu’une fille.

Je suggère de voir dans ces aventures une ruse symbolique dans laquelle l’animal est l’incarnation métaphorique du tueur en série tandis que l’héroïne, une jeune fille en processus de maturation sexuelle, psychologique et sociale, illustre le cas troublant de l’hybristophilie, une condition qui désigne l’attirance morbide que peuvent éprouver certaines femmes à l’égard de criminels dangereux.

Mon interprétation vise à susciter un regard critique sur les œuvres de l’industrie du divertissement, lesquelles sont trop souvent prises à la légère par un journalisme culturel complaisant. Je fais cette lecture avec tout le sérieux de l’anthroposémiotique, discipline qui a fait ses preuves, notamment au sein des facultés de communication et des programmes de psychologie familiale.

Pour ma part, je m’y exerce dans le cadre de mes travaux à la Faculté des arts de l’UQAM. Mes analyses sont motivées par l’intention féministe d’amortir les effets de la propagande phallocrate là où elle se fait la plus sournoise, comme c’est toujours le cas lorsqu’elle se déguise en histoires amusantes destinées à un public d’enfants à l’aube de la puberté.

Déjà des milliers d’abonnés à l’infolettre de La Conversation. Et vous ? Abonnez-vous gratuitement à notre infolettre pour mieux comprendre les grands enjeux contemporains.

Le mythe originaire de « l’animal-époux »

Tous les contes examinés perpétuent le mythe ancien de l’animal-époux dans lequel la bête est un prince déguisé ou ensorcelé. Pour certains folkloristes, c’est l’archétype des histoires de dévotion féminine alors que pour d’autres, il faut plutôt y voir le mauvais sort de Psyché, mariée de force à un être abject pour assouvir la jalousie de Vénus.

Dans tous les cas, le thème dominant est celui d’une union entre la sexualité divine masculine et la virginité mortelle féminine. Le couple dénaturé qui en résulte prend, dans la littérature moderne, la figure de La Belle et la Bête, une mouture complexifiée du mythe dans laquelle la jeune femme consent au sacrifice de s’accoupler avec un monstre pour sauver son père, lourdement condamné pour avoir « volé une rose », symbole chrétien de la virginité.

En psychologie, une telle abnégation féminine consentie dans l’intérêt d’un criminel s’appelle l’hybristophilie.

La naturalisation du prédateur

Les versions du mythe que j’ai choisi d’examiner ont la particularité de mettre en scène de vrais animaux filmés en prises de vues réelles plutôt que des bêtes créées avec l’assistance de procédés d’animation, de maquillage et de prothèses, de modélisation 3D ou d’effets numériques sophistiqués.

En propulsant au premier rang la bestialité littérale du mâle prédateur plutôt que sa construction imaginaire, ces œuvres parviennent à détourner notre attention de l’histoire d’amour pathologique qu’elles racontent pour mieux nous orienter sur un thème dont la portée éducative est plus susceptible de plaire aux parents : celui de la défense des animaux.

Extrait d’une interview avec le réalisateur Gilles de Maistre.

Dès lors, la logique narrative se renverse. La Bête du conte n’est plus un danger pour la fillette, mais une victime de la méchanceté humaine : c’est un loup persécuté par des fermiers, un lion chassé par des touristes cruels, un jaguar dont l’espèce est menacée d’extinction.

Bien que cet appel à la miséricorde pour la faune soit légitime dans le registre du réel, il devient un moyen fallacieux de disculper la Bête mythique des crimes commis dans le registre symbolique du conte : le rapt, la séquestration et le viol répété de la Belle.

Cette logique troublée nous rapproche de l’hybristophilie.

Un mariage « forcé » par imprégnation

Pour les actrices des trois films étudiés – Shanna Keil, Lumi Pollack et Daniah de Villiers, ayant respectivement 11, 13 et 14 ans au moment des tournages – leur engagement a nécessité de longues périodes d’adaptation avec l’animal : de 2 à 3 mois pour le loup, plus d’un an pour le jaguar, jusqu’à 3 ans pour le lion.

On parle alors d’imprégnation.

Il s’agit, en gros, d’imposer à l’animal une présence humaine constante dès sa naissance, le forçant à s’attacher à un humain au lieu de s’attacher à un membre de sa propre espèce. Cette domination précoce de son instinct permet, par la suite, une proximité sécuritaire avec le prédateur devenu énorme.

Dans le cadre du mythe, ce rapport de domination est inversé : c’est la mortelle Psyché qui se voit imposer, toutes les nuits, la présence de son animal-époux. Sous cet angle symbolique, l’imprégnation revêt une connotation phallocentrique dont le fin mot se trouve dans la théorie de la fécondation humaine telle que conçue de façon erronée au dix-neuvième siècle.

Elle consiste à imposer à une femme vierge la génétique d’un homme par son empreinte génitale et séminale durable, ce que la féministe Simone de Beauvoir a dénoncé comme un des plus grands « rêves du mâle », celui de marquer la femme de manière qu’elle demeure à jamais sienne.

Les références à l’hybristophilie

Tous les films mentionnés en début d’article contiennent des indices visuels, narratifs ou autres confirmant leur référence à l’hybristophilie. En voici quatre, lesquels évoquent respectivement le caractère obsédant, aphrodisiaque, déviant et même séditieux de l’attirance pathologique pour des criminels.

Dans le film Mystère, la petite Victoria a perdu l’usage de la parole depuis la mort de sa mère. Les premiers mots qu’elle prononce et répète obsessivement devant son père au premier tiers du film sont « tueur en série » : ce passage n’est pas là pour faire avancer le récit, mais plutôt pour confirmer aux cinéphiles avertis la présence d’une référence cachée à l’attirance des femmes pour les grands criminels.

Dans le film Mia et le lion blanc, des images suggèrent une scène de copulation entre l’actrice et un jeune mâle de 80 kilos appelé Charlie. L’obscénité de cette rencontre est accentuée par la réplique à la fois naïve et suggestive de l’adolescente : « Do you love it, Charlie ?… I suppose so ».

Dans le film Le dernier jaguar, l’héroïne affiche une conduite déviante que le scénario justifie par son désir impérieux de sauver son animal chéri. Cette conduite inclut l’isolement social, les problèmes d’opposition, le décrochage scolaire, le vol, la fugue, le vandalisme, la prise de risques et le délire de toute puissance. Tous ces problèmes de comportement suggèrent une forme agressive de l’hybristophilie qui concerne les femmes qui participent activement aux crimes violents de leur partenaire.

Mais c’est dans le film Mia et le lion blanc que l’on découvre la référence la plus claire au Syndrome de Bonnie and Clyde, nom que l’on attribue à l’hybristophilie dans la culture populaire. Dans une scène qui semble emprunter son esthétique à une minisérie de 2013 (ci-dessous), la délinquance juvénile de l’héroïne se transforme soudain en acte grave relevant du droit pénal : prête à tout pour s’échapper avec l’animal qu’elle appelle « son amour », Mia n’hésite pas à braquer un fusil à fléchettes anesthésiantes sur son père. Ce geste évoque les vols à main armée et même les meurtres commis par Bonnie Parker lors de sa cavale suicidaire avec Clyde Barrow.

Des mensonges sur l’amour

Deux faussetés criantes au sujet de l’amour sont répandues impunément par ces contes pour enfants. On en retrace les racines idéologiques dans les affirmations dogmatiques du réalisateur Gilles de Maistre en entrevue avec les médias.

La première concerne le prétendu bien-fondé des crimes commis « par amour » : sur cette question, les contes s’efforcent de nous convaincre qu’il est tout à fait légitime de « désobéir pour sauver celui qu’on aime ».

Extrait d’une interview avec le réalisateur Gilles de Maistre.
Arras Film Festival 2018555 ko (download)

La deuxième concerne les présumés pouvoirs de l’amour contre les assauts d’un partenaire violent : à ce sujet, la réalité des tournages nous invite à croire que l’amour est effectivement « la meilleure protection possible » contre les pulsions d’un prédateur.

Extrait d’une interview avec le réalisateur Gilles de Maistre.

Ces deux contrevérités à propos de l’amour sont non seulement insidieuses et imprudentes, notamment quand on cherche à les inculquer à des mineures. Elles sont également propagandistes dans la mesure où elles plaident pour une soumission idéologique et physique des femmes au bon désir de l’animâle époux, avec les conséquences fatales que l’on connaît.

C’est exactement en cela que ces contes font, à tort et à notre insu, l’apologie de l’hybristophilie.

Sylvie Genest ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

– ref. Craquer pour un prédateur ? Voici des contes qui font l’apologie de l’hybristophilie, à votre insu… – https://theconversation.com/craquer-pour-un-predateur-voici-des-contes-qui-font-lapologie-de-lhybristophilie-a-votre-insu-255693

July 31, 2025

Le retour des rencontres en personne… un défi pour la génération Z

Source: The Conversation – in French – By Treena Orchard, Associate Professor, School of Health Studies, Western University

Avec le déclin des applications de rencontre, on assiste à un retour des activités de rencontre en personne, comme le speed dating, les clubs de course à pied et les raves en journée. (Unsplash)

Avec la chute spectaculaire du nombre d’abonnés, la hausse des coûts et des utilisateurs lassés de « swiper » sans fin, le monde des applications de rencontre traverse une véritable crise.

Les récents licenciements chez Bumble soulèvent des interrogations sur l’avenir du secteur et sur les alternatives pour les personnes qui souhaitent trouver l’amour et nouer des relations hors ligne.

L’une des alternatives les plus en vogue est le retour aux activités de rencontre en personne telles que le speed dating, les clubs de course à pied et les raves en journée.

Pour les millénariaux et les générations précédentes, les rencontres en personne sont un terrain familier, mais si vous faites partie de la génération Z – souvent décrite comme la « génération numérique » – ce n’est pas forcément le cas.

Ce fossé intergénérationnel est apparu clairement lors de la première conférence canadienne sur les technologies sexuelles, où j’ai fait une présentation sur la masculinité, les applications de rencontre et les alternatives au « swiping » en personne. Pendant la séance de questions, une jeune femme est intervenue avec un commentaire qui m’a interpellé : « Vous avez peut-être le privilège d’être extraverti », m’a-t-elle dit.

25-35 ans : vos enjeux, est une série produite par La Conversation/The Conversation.

Chacun vit sa vingtaine et sa trentaine à sa façon. Certains économisent pour contracter un prêt hypothécaire quand d’autres se démènent pour payer leur loyer. Certains passent tout leur temps sur les applications de rencontres quand d’autres essaient de comprendre comment élever un enfant. Notre série sur les 25-35 ans aborde vos défis et enjeux de tous les jours.

Après un moment de flottement, la discussion a repris, mettant en lumière une réalité : pour beaucoup de jeunes, les rencontres en face à face sont difficiles. Nombre d’entre eux sont déçus par les applications de rencontre, mais n’ont pas l’expérience interpersonnelle que les générations plus âgées considèrent comme allant de soi.

Alors, que faire ? Dire à la génération Z de « sortir de chez elle » n’est pas seulement déplacé culturellement, mais cela pourrait également contribuer à accroître le sentiment de solitude et d’inutilité qui touche déjà un grand nombre de jeunes aujourd’hui.

Les rencontres en personne ont le vent en poupe

Si faire des rencontres via les applications vous semble devenu une corvée plutôt qu’une opportunité, vous n’êtes pas seul. Dans un article du New York Times, la journaliste Catherine Pearson encourage la génération Z à créer des communautés authentiques et à s’ouvrir à différents types de relations, en ne se limitant pas à la recherche de « l’âme sœur », une source de pression.

Certaines applications de rencontre ont d’ailleurs rejoint le mouvement. Par exemple, Hinge organise One More Hour, une initiative à impact social visant à aider les gens à nouer des relations en personne. Elle s’adresse à la génération Z, dont beaucoup déclarent ressentir de l’anxiété à l’idée d’interagir en face à face.

Une personne assise sur un lit regarde une femme sur une application de rencontre par swipe — Les utilisateurs des sites de rencontre sont lassés de swiper.
(Unsplash)

À force de vivre dans un environnement ultra-connecté, de plus en plus de jeunes trouvent rafraîchissant de rencontrer quelqu’un dans un parc, un bar ou une bibliothèque.

Ces rencontres spontanées ont aussi l’avantage d’éliminer les pratiques frustrantes des applications, comme le catfishing (l’action de créer une fausse identité en ligne). Il est révélateur que 38 % des membres de la génération Z interrogés dans le cadre d’une récente enquête souhaitent avoir accès à des espaces dédiés aux rencontres et à l’amour de soi au travail.

Comment une organisation repense les rencontres

Bien qu’elle ne cible pas exclusivement la génération Z, l’organisation We Met IRL, fondée en 2022 par l’entrepreneuse Maxine Simone Williams, joue un rôle clé dans ce renouveau des rencontres en personne.

Née d’une frustration vis-à-vis des applications de rencontre et au manque de diversité dans les espaces de rencontre traditionnels, We Met IRL organise des événements de speed dating, des soirées rencontres et des réunions sociales qui encouragent les relations amoureuses ou platoniques dans la vraie vie.

Cette évolution culturelle semble s’ancrer chez les jeunes, du moins aux États-Unis : une enquête récente indique que seuls 23 % des adultes de la génération Z ont rencontré leur partenaire via une application, les réseaux sociaux ou une communauté en ligne.

Si tant de jeunes se tournent vers les rencontres en personne, pourquoi est-ce encore perçu comme si difficile ?

Les rencontres en personne sont difficiles

Les rencontres en personne peuvent être difficiles pour plusieurs raisons. Parmi les principaux facteurs, on retrouve l’aspect performatif ou artificiel des interactions sur les applis, les défis liés au passage à l’âge adulte pendant la pandémie et une évolution des normes qui met moins l’accent sur les relations amoureuses.

Une étude que j’ai menée auprès d’étudiants de la génération Z a également mis en évidence un paradoxe : ils aspirent à des relations sérieuses, mais ont peur d’être trompés, « ghostés » ou blessés émotionnellement.

D’autres facteurs socioculturels entrent aussi en jeu : le recul de l’intimité et de la vulnérabilité chez les hommes affaiblit les structures relationnelles traditionnelles. Résultat : les jeunes générations, et les garçons, en particulier, sont décrits comme « perdus » et moins résilients sur le plan émotionnel.

À cela s’ajoute la montée en puissance des influenceurs misogynes et des politiciens qui dénigrent ouvertement les femmes, alimentant la radicalisation des garçons et des jeunes hommes.

Et oui, une partie de la gêne liée aux rencontres en personne peut s’expliquer par ce fameux « privilège de l’extraversion ». Une étude récente a révélé que la génération Z est plus timide que les autres générations, mais pas sans raison. Ayant grandi immergée dans la technologie des téléphones intélligents et les réseaux sociaux, la génération Z a eu moins d’occasions de développer ses compétences interpersonnelles.

Mais ce n’est pas parce que c’est difficile qu’il y a un problème. La connexion, la confiance et la vulnérabilité… tout cela demande de l’apprentissage et de la pratique dans un monde complexe qui ne crée pas toujours l’espace nécessaire.

Déjà des milliers d’abonnés à l’infolettre de La Conversation. Et vous ? Abonnez-vous gratuitement à notre infolettre pour mieux comprendre les grands enjeux contemporains.

Comment prendre confiance dans les rencontres en personne

En tant qu’ancienne jeune fille terriblement timide, je peux affirmer avec certitude que les catégories « introverti » et « extraverti » ne sont pas immuables. Les jeunes qui manquent de confiance en eux dans le domaine amoureux peuvent apprendre à améliorer leurs compétences en face à face et à réduire leur anxiété lors d’événements sociaux.

Voici sept conseils pour prendre confiance lors de rencontres en personne :

Préparez-vous à l’événement à l’avance, dans la mesure du possible.
Recadrez votre perception et votre ressenti face à l’incertitude : ne la considérez pas comme une menace, mais comme une opportunité de croissance.
Restez fidèle à vous-même.
Entraînez-vous à développer vos compétences sociales pour gagner en confiance.
Soyez attentif à votre langage corporel afin de vous montrer ouvert et accueillant.
Rappelez-vous que vous n’êtes pas le seul à avoir du mal à avoir confiance en vous.
Envisagez de demander l’aide d’un thérapeute si la peur ou l’anxiété sont trop fortes.

L’une des choses les plus utiles que vous puissiez faire est de repenser votre vulnérabilité : au lieu de la voir comme une faiblesse profondément enracinée, envisagez-la comme une porte d’entrée vers une meilleure compréhension de vous-même en tant qu’être relationnel.

Des outils tels que les tableaux de visualisation réflexive ou les exercices d’introspection peuvent vous aider à clarifier vos valeurs, vos objectifs et votre identité de façon plus profonde. Et ces pratiques de réflexion sont encore plus efficaces lorsqu’elles sont soutenues par des écoles, des communautés ou des organisations qui peuvent aider les jeunes à transformer les moments de risque ou de peur en opportunité d’exploration personnelle.

Car la résilience, tout comme un muscle, se développe avec l’entraînement. Il faut l’exercer et la mettre à l’épreuve pour qu’elle devienne une ressource essentielle. Avec un bon accompagnement et un espace sûr pour vous exercer, vous pouvez cultiver une confiance en vous durable et une conscience de soi solide, qui enrichiront tous les aspects de votre vie, bien au-delà des relations amoureuses.

Treena Orchard a reçu des subventions du CRSH, des IRSC et de l’Université Western, mais aucun financement de recherche n’a été accordé ni utilisé pour la rédaction de cet article.

– ref. Le retour des rencontres en personne… un défi pour la génération Z – https://theconversation.com/le-retour-des-rencontres-en-personne-un-defi-pour-la-generation-z-261540

July 31, 2025

By building the world’s biggest dam, China hopes to control more than just its water supply

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tom Harper, Lecturer in International Relations, University of East London

China’s already vast infrastructure programme has entered a new phase as building work starts on the Motuo hydropower project.

The dam will consist of five cascade hydropower stations arranged from upstream to downstream and, once completed, will be the world’s largest source of hydroelectric power. It will be four times larger than China’s previous signature hydropower project, the Three Gorges Dam, which spans the Yangtse river in central China.

The Chinese premier, Li Qiang, has described the proposed mega dam as the “project of the century”. In several ways, Li’s description is apt. The vast scale of the project is a reflection of China’s geopolitical status and ambitions.

Possibly the most controversial aspect of the dam is its location. The site is on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo river on the eastern rim of the Tibetan plateau. This is connected to the Brahmaputra river which flows into the Indian border state of Arunachal Pradesh as well as Bangladesh. It is an important source of water for Bangladesh and India.

Both nations have voiced concerns over the dam, particularly since it can potentially affect their water supplies. The tension with India over the dam is compounded by the fact that Arunachal Pradesh has been a focal point of Sino-Indian tensions. China claims the region, which it refers to as Zangnan, saying it is part of what it calls South Tibet.

At the same time, the dam presents Beijing with a potentially formidable geopolitical tool in its dealings with the Indian government. The location of the dam means that it is possible for Beijing to restrict India’s water supply.

This potential to control downstream water supply to another country has been demonstrated by the effects that earlier dam projects in the region have had on the nations of the Mekong river delta in 2019. As a result, this gives Beijing a significant degree of leverage over its neighbours.

One country restricting water supply to put pressure on another is by no means unprecedented. In fact in April 2025, following a terror attack by Pakistan-based The Resistance Front in Kashmir, which killed 26 people (mainly tourists), India suspended the Indus waters treaty, restricting water supplies to Pakistani farmers in the region. So the potential for China’s dam to disrupt water flows will further compound the already tense geopolitics of southern Asia.

Concrete titans

The Motuo mega dam is an advertisement of China’s prowess when it comes to large-scale infrastructure projects. China’s expertise with massive infrastructure projects is a big part of modern Chinese diplomacy through its massive belt and road initiative.

This involves joint ventures with many developing nations to build large-scale infrastructure, such as ports, rail systems and the like. It has caused much consternation in Washington and Brussels, which view these initiatives as a wider effort to build Chinese influence at their expense.

The completion of the dam will will bring Beijing significant symbolic capital as a demonstration of China’s power and prosperity – an integral feature of the image of China that Beijing is very keen to promote. It can also be seen as a manifestation of both China’s aspiration and its longstanding fears.

Harnessing the rivers

The Motuo hydropower project also represents the latest chapter of China’s long battle for control of its rivers, a key story in the development of Chinese civilisation.

Rivers such as the Yangtze have been at the heart of the prosperity of several Chinese dynasties (the Yangtse is still a major economic driver in modern China) and has devastated others. The massive Yangtse flood of 1441 threatened the stability of the Ming dynasty, while an estimated 2 million people died when the river flooded in 1931.

France 24 report on the construction of the mega dam project.

Such struggles have been embodied in Chinese mythology in the form of the Gun-Yu myth. This tells the story of the way floods displaced the population of ancient China, probably based on an actual flooding at Jishi Gorge on the Yellow River in what is now Qinghai province in 1920BC.

This has led to the common motif of rivers needing human control to abate natural disaster, a theme present in much classical Chinese culture and poetry.

The pursuit of controlling China’s rivers has also been one of the primary influences on the formation of the Chinese state, as characterised by the concept of zhishui 治水 (controlling the rivers). Efforts to control the Yangtze have shaped the centralised system of governance that has characterised China throughout its history. In this sense, the Motuo hydropower project represents the latest chapter in China’s quest to harness the power of its rivers.

Such a quest remains imperative for China and its importance has been further underlined by the challenges of climate change, which has seen natural resources such as water becoming increasingly limited. The Ganges river has already been identified as one of the world’s water scarcity hotspots.

As well as sustaining China’s population, the hydropower provided by the dam is another part of China’s wider push towards self-sufficiency. It’s estimated that the dam could generate 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity every year – about the same about produced by the whole UK. While this will meet the needs of the local population, it also further entrenches China’s ability to produce cheap electricity – something that has enabled China to become and remain a manufacturing superpower.

Construction has only just begun, but Motuo hydropower project has already become a microcosm of China’s wider push towards development. It’s also a gamechanger in the geopolitics of Asia, giving China the potential to exert greater control in shaping the region’s water supplies. This in turn will give it greater power to shape the geopolitics of the region.

At the same time, it is also the latest chapter of China’s longstanding quest to harness its waterways, which now has regional implications beyond anything China’s previous dynasties could imagine.

Tom Harper does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. By building the world’s biggest dam, China hopes to control more than just its water supply – https://theconversation.com/by-building-the-worlds-biggest-dam-china-hopes-to-control-more-than-just-its-water-supply-261984

July 31, 2025

Your dog can read your mind – sort of

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Laura Elin Pigott, Senior Lecturer in Neurosciences and Neurorehabilitation, Course Leader in the College of Health and Life Sciences, London South Bank University

Your dog tilts its head when you cry, paces when you’re stressed, and somehow appears at your side during your worst moments. Coincidence? Not even close.

Thousands of years of co-evolution have given dogs special ways to tune in to our voices, faces and even brain chemistry. From brain regions devoted to processing our speech to the “love hormone” or oxytocin that surges when we lock eyes, your dog’s mind is hardwired to pick up on what you’re feeling.

The evidence for this extraordinary emotional intelligence begins in the brain itself. Dogs’ brains have dedicated areas that are sensitive to voice, similar to those in humans. In a brain imaging study, researchers found that dogs possess voice-processing regions in their temporal cortex that light up in response to vocal sounds.

Dogs respond not just to any sound, but to the emotional tone of your voice. Brain scans reveal that emotionally charged sounds – a laugh, a cry, an angry shout – activate dogs’ auditory cortex and the amygdala – a part of the brain involved in processing emotions.

Dogs are also skilled face readers. When shown images of human faces, dogs exhibit increased brain activity. One study found that seeing a familiar human face activates a dog’s reward centres and emotional centres – meaning your dog’s brain is processing your expressions, perhaps not in words but in feelings.

Dogs don’t just observe your emotions; they can “catch” them too. Researchers call this emotional contagion, a basic form of empathy where one individual mirrors another’s emotional state. A 2019 study found that some dog-human pairs had synchronised cardiac patterns during stressful times, with their heartbeats mirroring each other.

This emotional contagion doesn’t require complex reasoning – it’s more of an automatic empathy arising from close bonding. Your dog’s empathetic yawns or whines are probably due to learned association and emotional attunement rather than literal mind-mirroring.

The oxytocin effect

The most remarkable discovery in canine-human bonding may be the chemical connection we share. When dogs and humans make gentle eye contact, both partners experience a surge of oxytocin, often dubbed the “love hormone”.

In one study, owners who held long mutual gazes with their dogs had significantly higher oxytocin levels afterwards, and so did their dogs.

This oxytocin feedback loop reinforces bonding, much like the gaze between a parent and infant. Astonishingly, this effect is unique to domesticated dogs: hand-raised wolves did not respond the same way to human eye contact. As dogs became domesticated, they evolved this interspecies oxytocin loop as a way to glue them emotionally to their humans. Those soulful eyes your pup gives you are chemically binding you two together.

Beyond eye contact, dogs are surprisingly skilled at reading human body language and facial expressions. Experiments demonstrate that pet dogs can distinguish a smiling face from an angry face, even in photos.

Dogs show a subtle right-hemisphere bias when processing emotional cues, tending to gaze toward the left side of a human’s face when assessing expressions – a pattern also seen in humans and primates.

A woman looking at her cute beagle puppy. — When dogs and humans make eye contact, both experience a surge of oxytocin.
Dmytro Zinkevych/Shutterstock.com

Dogs rely on multiple senses to discern how you’re feeling. A cheerful, high-pitched “Good boy!” with a relaxed posture sends a very different message than a stern shout with rigid body language. Remarkably, they can even sniff out emotions. In a 2018 study, dogs exposed to sweat from scared people exhibited more stress than dogs that smelled “happy” sweat. In essence, your anxiety smells unpleasant to your dog, whereas your relaxed happiness can put them at ease.

Bred for friendship

How did dogs become so remarkably attuned to human emotions? The answer lies in their evolutionary journey alongside us. Dogs have smaller brains than their wild wolf ancestors, but in the process of domestication, their brains may have rewired to enhance social and emotional intelligence.

Clues come from a Russian fox domestication experiment. Foxes bred for tameness showed increased grey matter in regions related to emotion and reward. These results challenge the assumption that domestication makes animals less intelligent. Instead, breeding animals to be friendly and social can enhance the brain pathways that help them form bonds.

In dogs, thousands of years living as our companions have fine-tuned brain pathways for reading human social signals. While your dog’s brain may be smaller than a wolf’s, it may be uniquely optimised to love and understand humans.

Dogs probably aren’t pondering why you’re upset or realising that you have distinct thoughts and intentions. Instead, they excel at picking up on what you’re projecting and respond accordingly.

So dogs may not be able to read our minds, but by reading our behaviour and feelings, they meet us emotionally in a way few other animals can. In our hectic modern world, that cross-species empathy is not just endearing; it’s evolutionary and socially meaningful, reminding us that the language of friendship sometimes transcends words entirely.

Laura Elin Pigott does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Your dog can read your mind – sort of – https://theconversation.com/your-dog-can-read-your-mind-sort-of-261720