Comparative Politics

In an urgent call for a radical transformation of the energy sector before it is too late, UN climate experts said on Thursday that national pledges to reduce harmful emissions offer little hope of preventing a climate catastrophe.

When I see a developing nation with an economy that is based almost entirely off of the oil industry, that is a red flag. Oil is an extremely volatile market, and it will continue to be as altrernative forms of energy are sought out and the demand for oil decreases. You can see even today that an oil-based economy has links to many failed states or authoritative governments, such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Venezuela, and Iraq. This point should be especially concerning for those in Angola looking forward at their economy's future. I would like to learn more about what the government and its people hope to do to adapt to the rapidly changing world.

We'll look at the dilemma of "resource trap countries" later in this course. The basic problem is that the government is accountable (effectively) to the owners of the resource extraction process, which usually are multinational corporations. So what the majority of the population wants and needs is immaterial.

Donbas Region in SE, Luhansk, Donesk, Sevastopol, Black Sea

"Russia Leaves Snake Island; Why It's a Key Site in the Ukraine War | WSJ"

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.

"Lysychansk"

Interesting that Putin has repeatedly accused Ukraine of committing genocide in Donbas- spreading misinformation to the public

Although the UK imports very little gas from Russia, gas prices are set globally and are now approximately 450% higher than they were this time last year.

At the end of this article, links to "Better Understand the Russia-Ukraine War History: Here's what to know about Russia and Ukraine's relationship and the causes behind the conflict. On the Ground: Russian and Ukrainian forces are using a bevy of weapons as a deadly war of attrition grinds on in eastern Ukraine."

Also has info about Brazil's voting system.

Why do bonds suffer when interest rates rise? Is it still a good idea for the Federal Reserve Bank to raise interest rates? Why or why not? Good for who? These are all examples of questions that revolve around political economy.

Woot!

Good idea? Bad Idea?