Politics Archives - Page 62 of 105

Poland Slouches On

After a noxious and underhanded campaign, Poland’s incumbent president, representing the country’s illiberal ruling party, has clinched a narrow re-election victory. That gives the government three more years to dismantle the country’s democracy.

July 17, 2020 • by Sławomir Sierakowski

WARSAW -- In the second round of Poland’s presidential election, incumbent Andrzej Duda narrowly defeated Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski. Though he carried just six provinces in eastern Poland, compared to Trzaskowski’s ten, and lost in medium and large cities, Duda’s support in villages and small towns was just enough to push him over the ...

Democracy

Why the Harper’s Letter Got It Wrong

The most serious threats to protest and open debate come not from the left or the right but from the state and powerful political institutions

July 16, 2020 • by Nicole Hemmer

So I took a new job in a new city and began again. I have been thinking about my decision to speak up, and its costs, in light of The Letter. You know the one: the open letter in Harper’s magazine that praises the “needed reckoning” of the past few months ...

Why the <em>Harper’s </em>Letter Got It Wrong

Power and Crisis

Why I Didn’t Sign the Harper’s Letter

Meeting our Black Lives Matters moment — and what the letter gets right

July 16, 2020 • by Robert Boyers

The now famous Harper's letter signed by 153 intellectuals has understandably stirred furious debate. Though I declined to sign it when asked, I disagreed with nothing in the letter, and I knew that I would continue to have misgivings about my decision. After all, the letter is informed by a concern ...

Why I Didn’t Sign the <em>Harper’s </em>Letter

Democracy

The Politics of Small Things Before, During and After the Pandemic

From the Kitchen Table to the Kitchen Cabinet

July 16, 2020 • by Jeffrey C. Goldfarb

Between 1973 and 1989, I intensively studied public life behind “The Iron Curtain.” I researched and wrote my dissertation on student theater in Poland. In the late 70s and the 80s, I observed the emergence of an autonomous cultural and political life, and the development of a democratic opposition there ...

Activism

Their Violence and Ours

Attacks on property do not always undermine a political cause

July 16, 2020 • by William E. Scheuerman

How should we make sense of the political violence that has sometimes accompanied Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests? What about the state’s violent response to peaceful protest, or the dangerous acts committed by right-wing counter-protestors? Speaking on Canadian radio in the wake of 160 riots that shook U.S. cities during the ...

Climate & Ecology

Empire and Ecology in the Bengal Delta: The Making of Calcutta

A webinar view, featuring author Debjani Bhattacharyya and commenter Kasia Paprocki

July 15, 2020 • by Claire Potter

The event was hosted and moderated by Claire Potter, co-executive editor at Public Seminar & professor of history at The New School for Social Research. Save the date: our next Public Seminar book talk is on Wednesday, July 22, featuring Ted Widmer, author of Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to ...

Empire and Ecology in the Bengal Delta: The Making of Calcutta

Democracy

The NGO Sector in Slovakia as a Subject of Conspirators

July 15, 2020 • by Ján Orlovský

Overnight, on Monday, February 26th, 2018, Slovakia became a very different country. The news of the brutal murder of a young investigative journalist and his fiancée in their village house at the outskitrts of the capital shattered all illusions about corruption in the country being remote and harmless. The deaths ...

The NGO Sector in Slovakia as a Subject of Conspirators

Politics

What Roger Stone’s Commuted Sentence Tells Us About Trump’s Commitment to Conspiracy

The president is covering up the cover-up of a crime

July 14, 2020 • by John Stoehr

It’s hard to know where to begin discussing the president’s commutation of Roger Stone’s sentence. So let’s start with what it means. It’s not a pardon. Donald Trump’s goombah is still a felon convicted of witness tampering and lying to the U.S. Congress. He plans to appeal the guilty verdict. “Commutation” ...

What Roger Stone’s Commuted Sentence Tells Us About Trump’s Commitment to Conspiracy

Democracy

Torn Mask of Social Solidarity

Law and Justice response to the economic downturn

July 14, 2020 • by Paweł Marczewski

Although Family 500+ did contribute to a substantial reduction in poverty among Polish families, its extension in 2019 to every child (initially firstborn children, except those from the poorest families, were excluded) not only multiplied costs of the program, but also severely reduced its redistributive effects. Economists from the Polish ...

Politics

Instead of Focusing on Russian Bounties to the Taliban, Why Doesn’t the U.S. End the Afghan War?

Lawmakers are outraged over a recent story alleging that Vladimir Putin may be paying off Taliban soldiers to kill U.S. troops. But why are those troops still in Afghanistan?

July 14, 2020 • by Sonali Kolhatkar

Unfortunately, this crucial point has been lost amidst the frenzied responses to the story about Russian bounties. Instead, the revelations have fed the tempting narrative that Trump is a stooge of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah -- who is now apparently a stalwart of the ...

Politics

The U.S. and UK Are a Wrecking Ball Crew Against the Pillars of Internationalism

They have undermined the sovereignty of nations and mutilated international law

July 13, 2020 • by Vijay Prashad

Ambassador Kelly Craft, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, spoke at the same meeting. She praised the charter and called upon the member states of the UN to bring its values into the world. However, Ambassador Craft said, “On far too many occasions, we have seen nations that are parties ...

The U.S. and UK Are a Wrecking Ball Crew Against the Pillars of Internationalism

Democracy

Domestic Violence as Pandemic

July 13, 2020 • by Maria Bucur

The resources available for victims of domestic violence vary greatly from place to place. Democracies generally tend to provide greater support to victims. This has changed with the pandemic. Implementation of national emergencies have resulted in the suspension of regular public services, and shelter-in-place orders have confined people to their ...

Politics

Poland Slouches On

After a noxious and underhanded campaign, Poland’s incumbent president, representing the country’s illiberal ruling party, has clinched a narrow re-election victory. That gives the government three more years to dismantle the country’s democracy.

Why the Harper’s Letter Got It Wrong

The most serious threats to protest and open debate come not from the left or the right but from the state and powerful political institutions

Why I Didn’t Sign the Harper’s Letter

Meeting our Black Lives Matters moment — and what the letter gets right

The Politics of Small Things Before, During and After the Pandemic

From the Kitchen Table to the Kitchen Cabinet

Their Violence and Ours

Attacks on property do not always undermine a political cause

Empire and Ecology in the Bengal Delta: The Making of Calcutta

A webinar view, featuring author Debjani Bhattacharyya and commenter Kasia Paprocki

The NGO Sector in Slovakia as a Subject of Conspirators

What Roger Stone’s Commuted Sentence Tells Us About Trump’s Commitment to Conspiracy

The president is covering up the cover-up of a crime

Torn Mask of Social Solidarity

Law and Justice response to the economic downturn

Instead of Focusing on Russian Bounties to the Taliban, Why Doesn’t the U.S. End the Afghan War?

Lawmakers are outraged over a recent story alleging that Vladimir Putin may be paying off Taliban soldiers to kill U.S. troops. But why are those troops still in Afghanistan?

The U.S. and UK Are a Wrecking Ball Crew Against the Pillars of Internationalism

They have undermined the sovereignty of nations and mutilated international law

Domestic Violence as Pandemic

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