Group items tagged

This article makes an interesting connection between the Occupy Wall Street protests and the Arab Spring. The author suggests that the Arab Spring and the people's call for greater equality and freedom in the face of oppression have inspired other countries across the globe. Arab Spring shows the power that the young have in the new digital age, and this lesson has in a large part inspired young adults in other countries to protest against the injustices within their own society. IN the U.S. these protests have taken the form aversion and anger with the inequality that has resulted from our capitalist system

I think it is also interesting to note that both the Arab Spring and the Occupy Wall Street movements can in large part be characterized by large groups of people working towards lofty aspirations, but without tangible plans for moving forward. Arab Spring sought to overthrow the dictatorships, but didn't necessarily have a strategy for the new governments. Similarly, Occupy Wall Street protesters want to overthrow the current system, but don't have a realistic solution for the country's economic policy.

From a Turkish newspaper about how the army is acting in Egypt. Concludes saying our analysis of Arab politics is not realistic.

I don't think that this "strategy" that the army is implementing in Egypt will work because it doesn't actually adress or fix anything. Rather, the plan to delay anything political may cause more unrest in the country.

What happened to Tunisia after the Arab Spring (which started there); autocrats in the Middle East hope that Tunisia's democracy will turn to a strongman government.

This is really relevant to our discussion of the definition of terrorism!

Australia's climate commitment as of February 2019. . . major fires burning now, in November (their spring)

MOSCOW - When the Russian authorities began a series of investigations this spring into the business affairs of a prominent opposition lawmaker, it was widely viewed as thinly veiled political retribution. But in a sign of how quickly the tables can now be flipped in such disputes, allies of the politician, Gennady V.

This article concerns attempts by Russian lawmakers to target opposition party members who they believe have violated Duma policy by "engaging in business or other paid activities". The controversy over the hypocrisy present in the aforementioned investigations sheds light on a question that interests me greatly: will Russia's corrupt and billionaire-driven government be sustainable in the long term? This particular case also raises questions about the mechanisms used by the ruling party, United Russia, in maintaining control over the Russian government.

This article also speaks to political culture, a key part of comparative politics analysis. Russia's transition to democracy has been halting, and many CoPo scholars say this is because Russia has a civic (and by extension political) culture that is used to authoritarianism of one sort or another. The notion of rule by democratic law is taking a long time to take hold. Is this explanation adequate? Compared to other countries?

I was shocked (and horrified) to see that such a small group of men could harass and rape over 200 women, including an 80 year old, with UN peacekeepers located up the street. It was equally shocking that the Congo government (police, law enforcement etc) has been unwilling or unable to do anything about this (the article cited them as often "too drunk" to do much about it). It's sad and heart wrenching that the UN has so far been unable to come up with a plan to help these people, and perhaps even more sad that their own government hasn't done anything. It's notable that Congo is being called the "UN's crowning failure" and their greatest failure so far.

This spring I watched a play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival called "Ruined". It was about women in the Congo: a "ruined" or raped woman runs a bar for soldiers and hires girls to show them a "good time". It was a really heart-wrenching play. I assume that "demolished", the word the woman uses, is, like "ruined", just another translation for "raped". It's interesting that they use a word that signifies total destruction, but also fitting. "Ruined" women often cannot find husbands, or are beaten or killed by their families out of shame. It is so bizarre and disgusting that rape has become such a common side-effect in the Congo. I wonder how accepted it is among the soldiers, or if they receive any punishment for their actions (I'm leaning towards no). I feel as though rape has by now become integrated into the military culture in the Congo. It's not just catching individuals, it's trying to thwart a whole mentality. Which will be very difficult to do, since they have much greater force than the UN presence. The description of how people try to stay as close to UN escort trucks as possible and camp outside the UN houses really illustrates the fear and feeling of defenselessness they must feel. It must be terrifying to live in the Congo right now, both as a villager and a UN worker. I understand why there are no women soldiers stationed there.

Syria's street protests may seem unified against Baathist oppression, but the rebel national councils are having trouble compromising with such diverse representation of all of Syria's numerous religious and ethnic groups.