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A referendum in Chile just rejected a draft of a new Constitution pushed by the new Chilean President Gabriel Boric and his extremely progressive coalition that would have replaced Augusto Pinochet's Constitution. The Constitution included the right to public health care, abortion, free speech, clean air and water, it would have given the federal government greater control over the Chilean economy, and would have officially recognized the sovereignty of Indigenous groups across the country, making it the third plurinational nation in South America. However, 61% of Chileans opposed the new Constitution, and a new assembly will have to be elected to redraft it. This rejection is interesting; does it highlight the overall mood in Latin American politics right now? Is this a rejection of liberal policies? What will the next few months have in store for Chile; bureaucratic breakdown, or unity around a new Constitution?

Really interesting article, Nick! Keep in mind that "liberal" in the international context means low government intervention and capitalism, so the correct way to phrase the question is "Is this a rejection of social democratic policies?" There was a wave of social democracy in Latin America in the 1990s and early 2000s, so I wonder if this is an effort to move that further, an effort which is contested. https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/chile-could-become-plurinational-what-does-that-mean/ As you know, there are many levels of inclusion and exclusion in different societies, and the indigenous rights movement in South America carries a dimension of racism held over from the colonial era, in addition to neocolonialism and extractive capitalism centered on banks and the owners of land.

This article maps out the Postwar Constitution that Japan drafted and adopted in order to remove Allied occupation. The Postwar Constitution was called a "revision" to the Imperial Constitution that was previously followed in Japan, but it came as more of an Allied Powers overhaul of the monarchical regime that lead Japan throughout the war. The main articles of the Postwar Constitution focus on removing Japanese ability to declare war or have any industry related to arming for war, and granting democratic individual freedoms to the people of Japan (i.e. democratic elections and freedom of speech, to petition, to assemble, religion, thought, etc) Though, there is an article in the Postwar Constitution which allows amendments to be made, the amendments must be pass to through both houses of the bicameral Diet with a ⅔ majority before it is passed to the people. No amendments have been ratified since 1947, but as of late the Liberal Democratic Party have continually made pushes for amendments.

Close to 10,000 protestors lined up outside of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's office building to protest a law changed which would permit the expansion of Japan's military and deployment soldiers overseas. Japan's constitution banned any 'collective self-defense' or aiding any other country under attack. The Japanese military is currently only for defense of Japan. What's more important than the fact that the constitution will be changed, is that the constitution will potentially changed without consultation of the people. The generally accepting citizens of Japan are up in arms at this assault on their democratic freedoms. More than half of the Japanese population is opposed to the change in the constitution, but Abe claims the change is necessary due to rising tensions with China's military expansion and North Korea's missile program growth. Rise in political unrest as of late in the usually peaceful Japan.

Much of Japan's reputation abroad is still heavily impacted by its actions pre- and post-WWII. China and South Korea are still at odds with Japan because they believe Japanese school books overlook the heinous crimes committed by the Japanese military during WWII. Yet, many other countries grew dependent on Japan following WWII. Following WWII and Japan's adoption of a more democratic constitution, it quickly gained some respect as a global aid donor and its booming car and technology industries made it a source of capital and credit for countries all over. Japan was able to make such a quick leap to the top following WWII thanks to the market bubble it could find in the U.S.; Japan maintained this productivity through its traditional social and employment hierarchies that have lead many people to work the same job their entire life. However, Japan's economic growth began to go in the opposite direction in 1990's with growing debt that multiple governments have failed to curtail. Currently, the population of Japan is rapidly aging, but the few young who are around are pushing for more Westernization and the Japanese government is even attempting to find a solution for its debt; not to mention, the Japanese government has made movements to amend the constitution to gain more military power in recent years.

I found this article very interesting not because it necessarily went along with or opposed my beliefs, but rather because it made me wonder how true their information really was. This piece describes the injustice in the lack of privacy of the American. Since the 9/11 attacks, FISA (foreign intelligence surveillance act) has put measures in place intended to "protect" us citizens. The article states that in this new era of "hope" that Obama advocates, it is surprising and unnecessary that our freedoms continue to be suppressed. This I agree with. Although I understand the idea from which this act stemmed, I do not think it is effective in either gathering information or protecting attacks. However, the article continues to describe the secretive nature of this group and how they advertise that we should all be transparent because if we are good we have nothing to hide. Though this may be true, this FISA interjection does indeed serve as a loophole to our constitutional right to privacy. The way the article presented this issue makes me interested in pursueing more information on the topic so that I can be better informed and understand to a great extend what is going on. I'm sorry if this sounds really dumb. I'm half falling asleep

I like how the article starts with the issue of "Islamophobia," and then goes into potential technical (not just emotional) disputes about how sharia can interfere with the constitution-- and what the government should do about that.

I never really knew much about occupy Wall Street, but it's really cool. It's like the "American Spring" or another American Revolution. The protesters seem to have a clear cut plan too. This articles discusses how the new "Demands Working Group" has drafted their own constitution which they've posted online. It demands that there be effort to create more jobs and that politicians be publicly supported in their campaigns rather than receiving money from private businesses. The movement of the "99%" seems strong and it is about time!

This article talks about how despite the Occupy Wall Street movement being relatively disjointed and lacking a single rallying point, it has gained huge success both domestically and worldwide. They have occupied a park just off of Wall Street for nearly a month now, and they are receiving massive amounts of donations. Monetarily, they have raised $300 thousand.

This is a great article. The funniest part was about the packages of swimming goggles and wool that the protesters receive. While it is annoying that the protesters can't seem to make some sort of agreement, this is inherent in a LARGE group of young, politically charged citizens. I wouldn't say it's completely hopeless though, for they've already managed to draft a constitution. I'm glad Obama supports them too.

Both Japan and France rank in the top 50 for Global Peace Rankings-- Japan 8th and France 48th. The biggest difference in their rankings comes from France's possession of heavy and nuclear weapons. The Japanese have limited possession of heavy and nuclear weapons as a result of the pacifist constitution they were forced to adopt following WWII which limited their ability to arm for war. Furthermore, France is involved in more conflicts and exports more weapons than Japan, which is also heavily related to the restrictions placed on Japan following WWII. However, Japan has a worse record when it comes to relations with neighbors which may be related to actions from WWII and rising tensions between Japan, China, and South Korea. Yet, perhaps unrelated to WWII and relating more to culture of society, France has a higher level of violent demonstrations and internal organized conflict than Japan. Japan has a homogenous population that has a main focus of work and a culture that accepts the social and economic hierarchy, but France has a more heterogeneous population with many disenfranchised groups that were once colonized that continue to face discrimination.

France took big hits in WWI and WWII from human and economic standpoints, so following WWII they became big proponents of European integration to build from the ground up. The Franco-German alliance has been a key to the integration of European nations since the 90's, but more recently they have been at odds over the austerity policies regarding France's recent economic recession. The French push for integration is quite ironic given France has more than 26 regions with several territories from its colonial past still belonging to France. Even with a rather diverse population, the majority of the French government is quite centralized with very little devolution of power. The voting turnout has not been very high because average French citizens feel like the power is in the hands of only the French elite. The French social and governmental hierarchy dampens the democratic institutions of France. Furthermore, the French don't only have a strong centralized government, they also have a powerful military and the second largest economy in the eurozone. Though the French struck down the proposed constitution of the European Union in 2005, current socialist President Hollande remains faithful to the European Union and German Chancellor Angel Merkel.

A US Federal judge struck down washington DC's complete handgun carry ban because it was "unconstitutional". Ruling that the right to own a weapon extended outside the home. This is different than Swiss gun culture because the constitution protects the individual's gun rights here in the states.

The article reads as "karma" for the US supporting a number of coups in numerous other countries including Thailand.

I agree with Jalen's sentiment but I believe that the quick switch to certifying the election results by some republicans shows that it was nothing more than an attempt to buy political power with their constitutes.

I doubt that our countries leader's will see the irony in this situation, as most of them believe this attempted insurrection was anti-democracy, and all of the coups the U.S. supports are supposedly democratic.

For the past few weeks there have been student protests calling for 1)a new constitution with less power and 2) resignation of the prime minister who lead the 2014 military coup, and 3) end to persecution of the political opposition. There is talk of a new military coup to bring back stability and protect the monarchy (ending the rallies and protests). The Thai military holds a lot of power in the democracy, it has 1) "attitude adjustment" centers for protesters and 2) appoints all the 250 members of the senate.

Yikes!

A judge recommends that Brazil's government be allowed to set aside a constitutional spending ceiling temporarily so it can spend its way out of the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic

A guest essay, naming Haiti the "kidnapping capital" of the world, and despite failed past interventions, invites international actors to assist the country in its humanitarian crisis, support Haitian law enforcement to combat the gangs, and prevent gang recruitment in marginalized communities, for example. "Until the Haitian government gets crime under control and brings the gangs to justice, the restoration of the constitutional order and the country's humanitarian and economic recovery will remain elusive."