Politics Archives - Page 52 of 105

Democracy

Is the GOP For or Against America?

Ned Staebler is mad as hell

November 19, 2020 • by John Stoehr

My bullhorn is rather small, but I’ll do what I can to amplify Ned Staebler. He gave public input in the open meeting of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers. Two Republican members, William Hartmann and Monica Palmer, voted Tuesday against certifying the votes of Wayne County, citing irregularities in ...

Democracy

The Democrats’ Four-Year Reprieve

How did Donald Trump manage to win an even larger number of votes than in 2016, despite lies, corruption, and a bungled pandemic response?

November 19, 2020 • by Dani Rodrik

As Joe Biden eked out a victory in the U.S. presidential election after a few suspenseful days, observers of American democracy were left scratching their heads. Buoyed by polls, many expected a landslide for the Democrats, with the party capturing not only the White House but also the Senate. How ...

Democracy

The Mood Has Changed

From confrontation to subversion: the evolution of protest culture in Belarus

November 19, 2020 • by Ingo Petz

————— In a few short summer months, Belarus completely rewrote its role in world history. Became a part of it. This is about far more than who has formal sovereignty. It’s about our own style and our own place. Ihar Babkoŭ, 8.30.2020 ————— In an unprecedented and historic act of collective politicization, the Belarusian population has overcome ...

Democracy

Will the Pandemic Teach Us Democracy?

An interview with Axel Honneth

November 19, 2020 • by Axel Honneth

The more publicly governments articulate their difficulties in controlling the pandemic, the greater its democratic potential, argues Axel Honneth. But if people conclude that government measures have been unjustified, the result will be even greater distrust in democratic decision-making. Esprit: The coronavirus crisis has shown that political power and decision-making involve uncertainty, ...

Democracy

Mini-Trumps in the Wilderness

Trump’s loss of the presidency in 2020 may spell disaster for his fellow populists in Eastern Europe

November 18, 2020 • by Sławomir Sierakowski

Joe Biden’s election as president of the United States has seriously weakened authoritarian and populist governments around the world. For independent global powers like Russia, Brazil, and Turkey, Donald Trump’s departure need not amount to a complete tragedy. But for the current governments of Poland, Hungary, and Serbia -- and ...

Europe & Central Asia

France’s Tale of Two Secularisms

After terrorist attacks rattle France, where will the Republic go from here?

November 18, 2020 • by Hannah Leffingwell

In October, France experienced another spate of terrorist attacks over a span of two weeks. First was the gruesome beheading of an Évreux public-school teacher, Samuel Paty, after he showed a caricature of the prophet Muhammad in his class. The slaying received national attention and the French government responded swiftly, ...

Politics

The Indian Media is Blaming Muslims for the Coronavirus Pandemic

Disease has made a bad situation for India’s ethnic minorities worse

November 16, 2020 • by Vedika Inamdar and Pooja George

In March of 2020, just before the official coronavirus-related lockdown in India, a Tablighi Jamaat religious gathering took place in the Nizamuddin Markaz Mosque in New Delhi. The event was attended by 8000-9000 followers from India and abroad. Less than a month later, nearly 4,300 participants tested positive for COVID-19. The ...

The Indian Media is Blaming Muslims for the Coronavirus Pandemic

Democracy

Europe Reacts to the 2020 US Presidential Election

The resilience of American democracy gives us reason to hope

November 12, 2020 • by Valerio Alfonso Bruno and Parsi Vittorio Emanuele

Europeans have long awaited the outcome of the 2020 US presidential election with conflicting feelings of fear and hope. In Berlin, Paris, and Brussels, leaders have hoped that a Biden presidency might spur a renewal of transatlantic relations, while in Warsaw and Budapest, populist executives hoped for a second Trump ...

Europe Reacts to the 2020 US Presidential Election

Democracy

Why Polls Can’t Satisfy Us

What we want from this troubled industry may be impossible: the ability to know our political future

November 12, 2020 • by Claire Potter

That wasn’t what the polls were saying – but could the polls be wrong? Outlier Quinnipiac had Gideon up by 14. The poll that came closest to what I was hearing was the Bangor Daily News, which had her in a statistical toss-up that Gideon would win with ranked-choice voting. Most gave ...

Democracy

After the Election, New Leadership and Old Cronyism

Joe Biden steps up as the Trump administration manufactures lies in an attempt to hold on — and perhaps profit

November 11, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

I had hoped that the days when the news came like a firehose were over, but so far, no luck. On Monday, the stock market jumped 1200 points in its first day of trading after the announcement of Joe Biden’s victory. Over the course of the day it was up as ...

After the Election, New Leadership and Old Cronyism

Democracy

Will Women Defeat Poland’s Illiberal Regime?

Protests erupt in Poland over abortion restrictions

November 11, 2020 • by Sławomir Sierakowski

After weeks of watching massive peaceful demonstrations against neighboring Belarus's authoritarian regime, Poles have finally taken to the streets to confront their own illiberal government. As in Belarus, Poland's de facto ruler, Jarosław Kaczyński has overplayed his hand – and women have been the first to smack it away. WARSAW – Authoritarian ...

Will Women Defeat Poland’s Illiberal Regime?

Democracy

Poland’s Abortion Ban Protests Are a Harbinger of a Wider Social Movement

Channelling the grievances of women and of the LGBTQ community

November 10, 2020 • by Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer and Roch Dunin-Wąsowicz

The pro-choice protests that started on October 22, 2020 are the beginning of a wider social movement channelling the grievances of women and of the LGBTQ community, as well as other marginalized groups in Poland, write Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer and Roch Dunin-Wąsowicz. What’s more, the protests are not only taking place ...