Back to the Cultural Revolution?
Rules about what is and is not permissible online in China are vague. So is what is online. Maybe there's a reason for that.
68 Things You Cannot Say on China’s Internet
Song Jie, a writer in central China, knows what she can and cannot write in the romance novels she publishes online. Words that describe explicit sexual acts are out, of course. So are those for sexual organs. Even euphemisms like “behind” or “bottom” can trigger censorship by automatic software filters or a website’s employees…
Other prohibitions inside China’s Great Firewall, the country’s system of internet filters and controls, are trickier to navigate, in part because they are subjective and even contradictory…
While China has long sought to block access to political material online, a flurry of new regulatory actions aims to establish a more expansive blockade, recalling an earlier era of public morality enforced by the ruling Communist Party.
In a directive circulated this summer, the state-controlled association that polices China’s fast-growing digital media sector set out 68 categories of material that should be censored…
The guidelines ban material that depicts excessive drinking or gambling; that sensationalizes “bizarre or grotesque” criminal cases; that ridicules China’s historical revolutionary leaders, or current members of the army, police or judiciary; or that “publicizes the luxury life.” …
Despite the efforts of censors, the internet has long been the most freewheeling of China’s mass media, a platform where authors and artists — as well as entertainment studios — could reach audiences largely free of the Propaganda Department’s traditional controls on broadcasting, publishing, cinema and stage.
But the new restrictions — which expanded and updated a set of prohibitions issued five years ago — reflect an ambitious effort by President Xi Jinping’s government to impose discipline and rein in the web…
In June, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television announced a new rating system for online bookstores and publishers based on criteria that included upholding moral values…
The directive also ordered online producers to submit plans for creating new dramas between now and 2021 that “praise the party, the nation and heroes so as to set a good example.”…
China’s censorship agencies exercise overlapping jurisdiction over the internet and often employ policies that create confusion. The result has been a layered system of control that begins with self-censorship by those who create online content, followed by policing by web platforms, which are often private enterprises, and finally, when necessary, intervention by government regulators or the police.
Some regulations are explicit — no depiction of killing endangered species or underage drinking, for example. Others are imprecise. One, for example, prohibits blurring the lines between “truth and falsity, good and evil, beauty and ugliness.”
Critics say the rules are meant to be so vague that the authorities can justify blocking anything, as circumstances dictate.
“The tightening of content censorship is the general trend, but for content creators, they never know where exactly the lines lie,” said Gao Ming, who until recently produced a satirical podcast on current affairs called Radio HiLight…
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Labels: censorship, China
China's Communist Party integrated with society
The idea of a Communist Party cell as a legitimate part of civil society has been seen in the West simply as a tool of dictatorship. In China, the view is very different.
Xinhua Insight: Anatomy of grassroots CPC cells
Many people visit Shanghai Tower to admire what is the tallest building in China, but few people know that it is home to one of the smallest cells of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in the country…
It had five CPC members from five different companies when it was launched in February. Now its membership has grown to ten…
Under CPC regulations, such a joint branch can be set up for companies with less than three Party members, as they are not qualified to form an independent branch…
A large "gold-collar lounge" on the tower's 22nd floor has been reserved for Party members to study Party policies and principles.
"This is a library, a gym, a teahouse and a place to meet new friends," [Lu Jiawei the head of the cell] said. "We hold various activities of the Party organiz,ations, including sessions of criticism and self-criticism."…
"If the Shanghai Tower can be regarded as a mark for the physical altitude of China's economic development, the building of Party organizations within it marks the spiritual altitude of economic and social development," said Shao Zhuqing, deputy Party committee secretary of Shanghai Tower Construction and Development…
Not far away from the tower, functional CPC cells are vibrant in Shanghai Disney Resort…
"Some of my colleagues are surprised to know there is a Party committee within the company," said Murray King, vice president of public affairs for the Shanghai Disney Resort.
"The Party committee is a normal part of our business, a normal part of our operations, in fact it is a very helpful part," he said…
Nearly 1,000 kilometers away from Shanghai, grassroots Party organizations are leading villagers toward a better life in Jinggangshan, home to CPC's first rural revolutionary base…
The committee is responsible not only for enabling the villagers to get to know CPC policies and goals such as poverty eradication, but helping ensure they are carried out and achieved in the village.
There are 19 Party members in the village, with the eldest born during the war against Japanese aggression and the youngest in 1993…
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More specifics on the political results of disaster
A few days after the previous article appeared in the Los Angeles Times, this article was published in the New York Times. The authors agree that Mexicans might be making political decisions based on their experiences after the earthquakes. Are political memories long enough to affect the next presidential election?
Mexico City’s People Power
When the earthquake rattled this mountain capital on Tuesday, a five-story office and apartment block round the corner from my home collapsed into a mountain of rubble, burying computer programmers, salesmen, secretaries. Right away, a handful of neighbors approached the wreckage, calling to see if anyone was alive and removing debris. Within hours, the group had swelled into the hundreds, joined by volunteers from across the city arriving by foot, truck and bicycle…
 |
| Rescuing earthquake victims |
This immense human effort, shown in the pictures of ordinary men and women sweating with spades, running with wheelbarrows, passing stretchers over their heads will surely be the lasting image of the 7.1 magnitude tremor that struck Mexico less than two weeks after a more distant 8.1 earthquake. It is a story of tragedy, but also of solidarity and hope…
Similar scenes were repeated at dozens of collapsed buildings across the battered capital as thousands of volunteers worked nonstop. Their efforts paid off, with more than 50 people rescued by the end of Wednesday…
The brigades of 1985 had an impact on Mexican politics, Dr. Lorenzo Meyer, a politics professor and author,said. Angry with a government they saw as uncaring, these empowered volunteers sought change. Many became activists fighting to end the hegemonic rule of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or P.R.I. The capital became a bastion of opposition, and the P.R.I. lost political control of it in 1997, before losing the presidency in 2000, after seven decades.
The latest mass mobilization may also have a lasting political effect. The country now has multiparty democracy, and more open media and civil society. But people are angry about officials embezzling millions of dollars… The P.R.I. returned to power in 2012 under President Enrique Peña Nieto, but he has suffered his own corruption scandals…
A heightened awareness of people power could favor the presidential hopeful Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who trumpets a populist anti-establishment discourse from the left. A former Mexico City mayor, he already leads many opinion polls for the 2018 election as he calls for “el pueblo” to defeat a “mafia of power.”…
It could also strengthen Mexico’s resolve against the aggressive stance of the Trump administration, Dr. Meyer said. Around the rubble, the armies of volunteers often raise their fists and shout in unison, “Viva México.” “When we shout this, there is an implication that we are standing up to the hostile policies of the United States,” Dr. Meyer said. “After all of the recent insults, the humiliations, it is a way of reaffirming our pride.”
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Labels: Mexico, politics, state capacity
State capacity and legitimacy
How much does the ability (capacity) of the state contribute to legitimacy of a regime or a government?
Mexicans aren't counting on the government to rescue them. They're saving themselves
In the moments after the earthquake, they didn’t cower, they mobilized.
 |
| Seeking donations on a street corner |
By the tens of thousands, volunteers streamed toward the Mexico City neighborhoods most damaged by Tuesday’s violent temblor. Some carried shovels, others hauled donations of food and water. Many simply offered up two good hands.
They weren’t public authorities or professionals. They were ordinary Mexicans who knew from experience that during a crisis such as an earthquake, it’s better to do things yourself than to rely on the government for help…
Many Mexicans remember the 1985 earthquake not only for its destruction but also for the government’s lackluster response…
“The government pretty much disappeared for the first 24 hours,” said Alejandro Hope, a political and security analyst…
With scores trapped beneath the rubble and many more in need of other assistance, “the army was just blocking the streets, not helping particularly,” he said. It was days before then-President Miguel de la Madrid visited a rescue site, he said…
If ordinary Mexicans learned a lesson from the disaster, so too did Mexico’s politicians. Anger about the government’s response — it refused to accept international aid for several days, and it suppressed estimates of the number of dead — helped turn opinion against De la Madrid’s Institutional Revolutionary Party [PRI].
The response of current President Enrique Peña Nieto, who deployed more than 3,000 soldiers to help and visited a rescue site the first day of the earthquake, shows that politicians learned “that the only thing you cannot do during a disaster is hide,” Hope said.
Despite quick government action, volunteers showed up, in many areas forming human chains to deliver aid supplies or move rubble, or warn pedestrians against getting near dangerous sites…
“We’re normally so divided,” said Jose Funcia, 32, who was waiting in line with a shovel. Those divisions are across economic and cultural lines, he said. “But when it's an emergency, we come together.”
The signs of generosity appeared in more subtle ways too: Restaurants advertised free lunches, while neighbors set up power strips in their windows to allow responders to charge their phones. On Facebook, messages spread inviting the newly homeless to sleep in guest rooms and on couches. Even those directly affected purchased supplies to donate to others in need…
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Labels: concepts, legitimacy, Mexico, politics, state capacity
President returns after speech at UN General Assembly
Normally, such an event wouldn't earn a headline, but if you've been following Nigerian politics, you know why President Buhari's return did earn a headline.
Buhari Returns to Nigeria
 |
| Buhari in Abuja |
President Muhammadu Buhari arrived Nigeria on Monday evening from London.
The president travelled to London from the United States where he went for the 72nd United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, meeting…
The president arrived New York on September 18. He left New york for London on Thursday.
Mr. Buhari had been treated in London for an undisclosed illness for over 100 days earlier in the year.
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Parliamentary trivia
If it helps you remember the outlines of relationships between the head of state and the legislature in the UK, fine. If it doesn't help, it doesn't matter.
Parliament advertises for new Black Rod
Parliament is advertising for a new Black Rod to replace Lieutenant General David Leakey, who is retiring.
Black Rod is best known for a role in the State Opening of Parliament, knocking on the door of the House of Commons to summon MPs for the Queen's Speech.
 |
| Black Rod knocking on Commons' door |
But the post-holder has year-round responsibilities for the security and maintenance of the House of Lords.
The successful applicant can expect to earn up to £93,000 per year…
The famous image of Black Rod has its origins in a tradition dating back to the Civil War.
Black Rod summons MPs to the Lords to hear the Queen's Speech but has the door to the House of Commons slammed in his face, and has to knock three times to gain entry.
 |
| Lieutenant General David Leakey |
He is the Monarch's representative in the House of Lords and the routine is symbolic of the House of Commons' independence from the Crown…
The closing date for applicants is 10 October.
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Labels: history, regime, UK
Buhari at UN
You probably didn't see this on the evening news or on popular American twitter feeds. The president of Nigeria, after all, was only one of many heads of government to speak at the UN. But, Buhari did speak, and he's the man who just recently returned from 6 months of medical treatment in the UK.
Buhari Seeks World Leaders' Help On Anti-Graft War, Assets Recovery
 |
| Buhari |
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday sought the assistance of the global community on his administration's efforts towards fighting corruption and recovering stolen assets.
The president made the demand in his statement at the general debate of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the United States.
"Through our individual national efforts, state institutions are being strengthened to promote accountability, and to combat corruption and asset recovery. These can only be achieved through the international community cooperating and providing critical assistance and material support," he said…
President Buhari assured the international community of Nigeria's firm and unshaken commitment to democracy in the country and the African continent.
He said the frontiers of good governance, democracy including holding free and fair elections, and enthronement of the rule of law were expanding everywhere, especially in Africa.
"Our faith in democracy remains firm and unshaken. Our regional organisation ECOWAS came together to uphold democratic principles in The Gambia - as we had done previously in Cote D'Ivoire," he said…
Buhari described the widening inequalities within societies, and the gap between the rich and the poor nations as part of "the underlining root causes of competition for resources, frustration and anger leading to spiralling instability."
He also stated that "The most pressing threat to international peace and security today is the accelerated nuclear weapons development programme by North Korea…
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Labels: leadership, Nigeria
Not in our name
Even in the highly regulated and followed Chinese Internet, political fraud is possible.
China’s Communist Youth League says Twitter accounts opened in its name are fake
The Communist Party’s youth wing will ask Twitter to close down all accounts recently opened in its name on the social media platform, saying it did not set them up.
 |
| CYL members |
“We reserve the right to take any other legal action against [this infringement],” the Communist Youth League of China’s publicity office said in a statement on Wednesday…
At least two accounts claiming to be run by the youth league were set up earlier this month. Tweets from the accounts written in Chinese began appearing last week…
The accounts were discovered by internet users… both of which appeared to be genuine at first.
One of them… has been tweeting news from the youth league’s official Weibo account, China’s version of Twitter, and following the Twitter accounts of mainland state media outlets such as CCTV, People’s Daily and Xinhua.
In recent days it has been flooded with criticism of the Chinese authorities.
The second account… has been tweeting news from Hong Kong and Taiwan, including stories about pro-independence banners at Hong Kong universities…
The government has in recent months tightened internet controls including shutting down virtual private networks that allow people to access these websites as it tries to prevent internet users from viewing content it deems inappropriate…
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Labels: censorship, China, politics
Computerized guanxi
The Communist Party in China might have found a shortcut to the personalized
guanxi networks.
CPC introduces new management methods
A big data system to manage Communist Party of China (CPC) cadres has been introduced in the the city of Huai'an in eastern China's Jiangsu Province.
Information on each of the city's 12,000 cadres has been compiled under 356 data fields.
The system will keep confidential data used for cadre selection, covering detailed personal information and work performance history. It was developed by the Huai'an municipal CPC organization department.
"If there is a vacancy, the system is fast to screen all candidates with qualifications matching the position. In the past, people depended on their connections [guanxi] to recommend someone they know," said Zhang Xu, an official with the department.
The database pools information that used to be kept separately by 20 departments…
CPC organizations from both within and without Jiangsu have come to Huai'an to learn from its experiment.
Big data is the latest method used by the CPC to motivate and select outstanding CPC cadres, while punishing those implicated in corruption…
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The persistence of cleavages
The grandchildren of people who fought for the independence of the breakaway state of Biafra 50 years ago are agitating for the independence of Igpo people in southeastern Nigeria. What keeps cleavages alive for such a long time?
Military Declares IPOB 'Terrorist Organisation'
The Nigerian military has declared the pro-Biafra separatist group, IPOB, a "terrorist organisation."
The military made the declaration in a statement on Friday by the Director of Defence Information, John Enenche.
 |
| An IPOB demonstration |
Clashes between soldiers on a military operation and IPOB members in Abia State have left several people wounded. Although there have been reports of deaths particularly of IPOB members, none has been confirmed.
IPOB and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu are campaigning for an independent country of Biafra made up of ethnic Igbos. Although they had said their campaign was non-violent, Mr. Kanu said this week that that stance would be reviewed…
Then again, maybe things are not so clear. I'm certainly unsure about the difference between "pronouncement" and "categorization."
Nigerian Army Denies Declaring IPOB Terrorist Organisation
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, on Monday evening, denied the reports that the military ever tagged the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, a terrorist organisation...
Buratai said the army did not categorize IPOB as terrorist organisation but that the Defence Headquarters just made a pronouncement...
"It is not that we are overstepping our bounds. We are still within the limits. And I ensure you that what the military said was to set the ball rolling and to bring the awareness to the public that this is what this organization is all about. I'm happy that the government has done the right thing right now."
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Labels: Biafra, cleavages, Nigeria, politics
Let's get this right
Xinjiang, the huge northwestern province of China, has long been an outlier. The old proverb "
shan gao, huangdi yuan," meaning the mountains are high and the emperor is far away is often offered as an explanation of why things far from the capital are not the same as they are in the distant countryside.
The Communist rulers of China reemphasized their efforts to include Xinjiang as part of China and Chinese culture (and politics).
China’s new campaign to instil [sic] official historical narrative in Xinjiang
China’s far western Xinjiang is set to roll out an ideological campaign to instil [sic] the official Communist Party narrative of the region’s history in its officials, religious leaders and the masses.
 |
| Xinjiang |
Yu Zhengsheng, the party’s fourth-ranking official who is in charge of religion and ethnic minorities, presided at a high-level meeting in Beijing [last] week to address “several historical issues” regarding the restive region, official news agency Xinhua reported.
The two-day meeting… made clear the party’s stance on these issues to address the “long-standing and deep-seated” ideological problems in Xinjiang, according to Xinhua.
“[We should] eliminate the influence of incorrect ideas about Xinjiang’s history, culture, ethnicities, religions and other aspects,” the report quoted Yu as saying. He went on to stress the party’s efforts to win public trust and fight separatism…
Xinjiang, home to some 10 million mostly Muslim Uygurs, has been subject to beefed up security measures and a crackdown on religious activities after ethnic violence that has killed hundreds of people in recent years. But the government seems to have opened up a new front in the fight against what it calls “the rise in extremism and separatism” – an ideological campaign around history.
The Xinhua report did not specify exactly what “historical issues” were discussed at the symposium, but it did list what “stances” had been clarified: that Xinjiang has been an inalienable part of Chinese territory since the ancient dynasties; that various ethnic groups in the region are members of the Chinese nation; that the culture of Xinjiang’s ethnic groups is deeply rooted in, and an indivisible part of, Chinese civilisation; and that Xinjiang is a region where a number of religions exist side by side.
The rhetoric is consistent with the party’s official line that was first summarised in a white paper released in 2003…
The official rhetoric also emphasises the multi-ethnic and multi-religious coexistence of the region’s history, and its historical role as a melting pot and Eurasian meeting point.
Such narratives put forward by the party are “a direct rebuttal to those Uygurs who say Xinjiang has always been the heartland of the Uygurs ... and has always been Islamic”, Michael Clarke [an expert on Xinjiang at the National Security College, Australian National University] said…
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Labels: China, cleavages, geography, history, politics
The EU: Maybe if we make things more confusing…
James Kanter, writing in the NYTimes, mentions the reputation problems of the EU when writing about some reform ideas of EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. Prominent among critiques of the EU is its
"democratic deficit." It's a key to understanding the operation of the EU.
E.U. Leader Suggests Simplifying How the Bloc Is Run
Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, laid out plans on Wednesday to simplify the byzantine governance of the European Union…
 |
| Juncker addresses the EU Parliament |
The complexity of the European Union is legendary. It has a plethora of institutions and no single leader, leaving many wondering who is in charge…
Mr. Juncker, of Luxembourg, leads the commission, a mass of powerful bureaucrats. Donald Tusk of Poland leads the European Council, which consists of the leaders of the 28 member nations and sets the union’s overall political direction. Antonio Tajani of Italy is president of the European Parliament.
Then there is the Council of the European Union — not to be confused with the European Council — which is made up of ministers and has a six-month rotating presidency.
The structure of the bloc… contributes to what scholars call a “democratic deficit,” the feeling that structures and officials in Brussels are unaccountable to ordinary people…
“The European landscape would be clearer and more understandable if the European ship was steered by one and the same captain at the helm,” [Juncker] said…
Mr. Juncker’s wide-ranging speech touched on these themes:
- The favorable circumstances and relatively healthy economic growth across much of the bloc…
- A new European minister for economy and finance…
- Proposals in finance, intelligence-gathering and cybersecurity…
- A warning that Britain’s exit from the bloc was “very sad and tragic”…
- A far tougher line with Turkey…
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Labels: democratic deficit, EU, regime
21st century cold war
This verges on a topic for international relations more than on comparative government and politics. But it could be an example of the use of soft power. It gives new meaning to the idea of a cold war.
The article is probably too long for student use, but it's good teacher background.
RT, Sputnik and Russia’s New Theory of War
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| Russia Today |
After RT and Sputnik gave platforms to politicians behind the British vote to leave the European Union, like Nigel Farage, a committee of the British Parliament released a report warning that foreign governments may have tried to interfere with the referendum. Russia and China, the report argued, had an “understanding of mass psychology and of how to exploit individuals” and practiced a kind of cyberwarfare “reaching beyond the digital to influence public opinion.”…
But all of this paled in comparison with the role that Russian information networks are suspected to have played in the American presidential election of 2016. In early January… American intelligence officials released a declassified version of a report — prepared jointly by the Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Security Agency — titled “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections.” It detailed what an Obama-era Pentagon intelligence official, Michael Vickers, described in an interview in June with NBC News as “the political equivalent of 9/11.” “Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election,” the authors wrote. “Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton and harm her electability and potential presidency.” According to the report, “Putin and the Russian government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump.”
The intelligence assessment detailed some cloak-and-dagger activities, like the murky web of Russian (if not directly government-affiliated or -financed) hackers who infiltrated voting systems and stole gigabytes’ worth of email and other documents from the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign. But most of the assessment concerned machinations that were plainly visible to anyone with a cable subscription or an internet connection: the coordinated activities of the TV and online-media properties and social-media accounts that made up, in the report’s words, “Russia’s state-run propaganda machine.”
The assessment devoted nearly half its pages to a single cable network: RT. The Kremlin started RT — shortened from the original Russia Today — a dozen years ago to improve Russia’s image abroad. It operates in several world capitals and is carried on cable and satellite networks across the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East…
Russia has dismissed the intelligence-community claims as so much Cold War-era Yankee hysteria… Russian officials are remarkably open about the aims of RT and Sputnik: to “break the monopoly of the Anglo-Saxon global information streams,”
Dmitri Peskov, Putin’s press secretary… argued that this was not an information war of Russia’s choosing; it was a “counteraction.” He brought up the “color revolutions” throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which led to the ousters of Russian-friendly governments… But now, Peskov argued, all you might need to shake up the geopolitical order was a Twitter account. “Now you can reach hundreds of millions in a minute,” he said…
One way of looking at the activities of Russia’s information machine is as a resumption of the propaganda fight between the United States and the U.S.S.R. that began immediately following the Second World War…
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Labels: media, Russia, soft power
Roadblock to international judicial cooperation
China's President Xi calls for more judicial cooperation among countries. This is an appropriate place to point out that China (along with Russia, China, and Mexico) uses an
inquisitorial judicial system.
 |
| Chinese procurator badge |
The prosecutor (procurator) investigates cases, makes finding (of guilt or liability) and takes cases to a judge, who declares an appropriate sentence or settlement.
In the
adversarial system most familiar to people in the US (and Britain and Nigeria) a prosecutor goes to court to prove the guilt of an accused criminal. The accused is represented by an attorney (in most cases) and tries to disprove the accusation. (In civil cases, parties are both represented by attorneys trying to prove the case they brought to court or to disprove the case brought against their client.)
Iran uses Sharia law which is different from both inquisitorial and adversarial systems.
Can you describe some ways in which cooperation between judicial officials in the different systems would be difficult?
Xi calls for more international judicial cooperation
The Chinese government attaches great importance to advancing the rule of law, and China is willing to have more judicial cooperation with other countries, according to President Xi Jinping.
Xi made the remarks in a letter of congratulation to the 22nd annual conference and general meeting of the International Association of Prosecutors…
"As representatives of the public interest, prosecutors shoulder important responsibilities," Xi said…
Xi stressed the Chinese government attaches great importance to the rule of law and has continuously pushed forward legislation in a scientific way, with strict law-enforcement, judicial justice and law compliance by all citizens.
"China works to ensure the country, the government and society are all under the rule of law," the president said.
Xi said Chinese procuratorates are important players in protecting the national and public interest, as they have the functions of punishing and preventing crime and supervising litigation.
Xi encouraged prosecutors from all around the world to share their experience in protecting the public interest and advancing the rule of law to deepen judicial cooperation.
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Labels: China, courts, judicial system
Maybe there is an opposition in Russia
Small gains are big news in a regime where political opposition is suppressed.
Liberal coalition deals blow to Putin in Moscow council elections
A coalition of liberal opposition parties has won a series of victories in local council elections in central Moscow, beating candidates from Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party.
The United Democrats movement took 11 out of 12 council seats in the Tverskaya district, a wealthy neighbourhood adjacent to the Kremlin. It also secured 11 out 12 seats in the Gagarinsky district, where Putin cast his vote on Sunday. The opposition likewise upset the odds to triumph in a dozen other districts, the vast majority of them in the very heart of the Russian capital…
The opposition coalition’s breakthrough campaign was masterminded by Dmitry Gudkov, a former MP, and the Yabloko and Parnas opposition parties.
Among the coalition’s advisers was Vitali Shkliarov, a 41-year-old Soviet-born political consultant who worked on Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign last year…
The vote represents a rare electoral success for Russia’s liberal opposition, whose candidates are often barred from standing for public office. This time round, however, the Kremlin decided to relax its grip on election registration procedures, in a bid to hold what Moscow city officials hailed as “the most honest elections ever”…
Although local councillors have little political power, their support is vital for anyone who wants to stand at mayoral elections in Moscow…
Although the electoral victories in central Moscow were greeted with euphoria by opposition supporters, United Russia still managed to secure around 75% of district council seats across the city…
Turnout at Sunday’s elections was low, at around 15% – half the turnout at last year’s parliamentary polls. In other votes across Russia on Sunday, United Russia won every seat in 16 votes for regional governors…
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Labels: elections, political parties, politics, Russia
And if there's no majority?
In the US Congress and the UK Parliament, committee memberships are designed to reflect party balance in the legislature. But, what if the government (administration in the US) does not have a majority in the legislature?
'Power grab' row over committee changes
Jeremy Corbyn… said Theresa May was trying to "grab power" with "no majority and no mandate" by stacking key committees with Tory MPs.
The political composition of committees which scrutinise legislation usually reflects that of the Commons.
But the government's plans would give it a majority on them - despite losing its majority in the general election…
Downing Street has defended the move... saying: "These proposals create the fairest balance between the opposition and government, and will ensure technical, procedural rules do not cause unwarranted delays to the business of Parliament.
"The adjustments provide for maximum scrutiny with minimum disruption and delay, both to parliamentary proceedings and to the governance of the country." …
But Labour MPs joined their leader in condemning the proposals…
And Liberal Democrat chief whip Alistair Carmichael accused the government of trying to "ram through a destructive hard Brexit" by ignoring the election result. He said: "We will fight tooth and nail to ensure parliamentary committees reflect the will of the electorate and do not simply rubber stamp government decisions."…
Without a majority on the committees, it would lose control of an important part of the legislative process.
With a packed programme of Brexit legislation ahead, the government has already been criticised for attempting to give ministers, rather than parliament as a whole, the power to amend a raft of EU laws.
Analysis: By BBC Parliamentary Correspondent Mark D'Arcy
[I]n this Parliament, the government does not have a majority. It is sustained by a deal with 10 MPs from Northern Ireland - and that would normally mean it would not have a guaranteed majority on… committees - and there are so many, the DUP would not be able to put an MP on all of them to top up Tory numbers.
The problem with that is that its minority status leaves the government exposed to the danger of having its legislation re-written in committee, or vital secondary legislation thrown out.
To be sure, it is possible for the government plus the DUP to undo unwelcome changes to bills, when the legislation returns to the Commons for "report stage" consideration. But having to do that regularly could produce gridlock, at a time when ministers will need the process of lawmaking to be smooth and rapid…
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Labels: legislature, parties, politics, UK
Natural disasters and government
Kevin James who teaches at Albany High School has posted a wonderful little essay on cultural limitations of media and the effects of natural disasters on government.
Go read it.
Labels: concepts, ethnocentrism, government, policy
So, what are the Chinese characteristics?
Another pronouncement by a government official: goals without much of a definition
Top legislator stresses socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics
China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang has called for efforts to improve the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics.
 |
| Zhang Dejiang, right |
Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), made the remarks during an inspection tour of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region…
Legislators should have the "four consciousnesses" firmly rooted in their minds and have strong confidence in the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, he said, noting they should uphold the Party's leadership in the process of legislation and ensure every legislation is in compliance with constitutional spirit.
Zhang asked local lawmakers to bring in new legislation in strict accordance with the law, and ensure the full implementation of the central authority's major policies and effective abidance by laws and regulations.
Local legislators should keep close ties with the people to respond positively to their requests, Zhang said.
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Labels: China, ideology, legal systems, politics
Reality strikes: some consequences of electoral defeat
When the Tories lost their Parliamentary majority in the last election, some of their campaign promises had to be abandoned.
Theresa May 'to ditch plans to cut number of MPs
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| PM May and manifesto |
A Conservative manifesto pledge to slash the number of MPs in a bid to save £50m is set to be abandoned, according to reports…
The reform was intended to save £50m over five years and equalise the number of voters in each constituency.
But concern about getting a Commons majority for the move, which would mean a wide-ranging redrawing of constituency boundaries, has reportedly led to the change of direction…
Labour opposes the reduction, which would cut the number of seats in its urban heartlands and result in the party losing more seats than the Tories. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has previously labelled the plans “gerrymandering”.
The Tory leadership is preparing to abandon the plan and ask the Boundary Commission to redo the review on the basis of keeping all 650 MPs to ensure that all constituencies are of broadly equal size, the Times said.
If abandoned, the plans will be the latest Tory manifesto pledge scrapped in the wake of the snap election in June.
May has already dropped plans to push through social care funding changes dubbed the “dementia tax”, and an expansion of grammar schools since the election.
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Labels: elections, legislature, politics, UK
Best governed countries
Well, isn't this interesting?
I'd like to see the evaluators figure a way to include size of country (population and geography) and ethnic diversity into their rankings. How would your students evaluate these rankings?
Why 17 "best governed?" The USA was ranked #17 last year. Mexico was #65 (out of 149); China was #90; Russia was #95; Iran was #118; Nigeria was #135.
What did the other AP6 countries lack that had them ranked so low?
The 17 best-governed countries in the world
The Legatum Institute, a policy research group, has released its annual "Global Prosperity Index," a major survey that ranks countries based on factors including national wealth, education levels, and safety.
One key factor the survey considers is governance, which is broken down into three categories: effective governance, democracy and political participation, and the rule of law. Legatum measured these variables by considering things like voter turnout, legislative independence, and the number of women in parliament.
While European countries dominate the list, there is also room for a handful of countries on the other side of the Atlantic… [As I look at this list, Japan [#17] is the only really non-European country.]
- Japan, number 17 this year
- Belgium
- Austria
- Ireland
- Australia
- Iceland
- United Kingdom
- Germany
- Canada
- Luxembourg
- Denmark
- Switzerland
- Sweden
- Netherlands
- Norway
- New Zealand
and the top ranked country:
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Labels: concepts, governance, participation, rule of law
Quick, it's progress
Nigeria's economy has been in the doldrums for over a year. A tiny bit of growth, especially in the face of declining oil prices, is something to trumpet.
And what does economic growth have to do with government and politics?
Nigerian Economy 'Out of Recession' - Statistics Bureau
The Nigerian economy is out of recession, the National Bureau of Statistics announced Tuesday.
According to the NBS, in the second quarter of 2017, the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.55% (year-on-year) in real terms, indicating the emergence of the economy from recession after five consecutive quarters of contraction since Q1 2016…
An economy is said to be in recession after contracting for two consecutive quarters.
The Nigerian economy slipped into recession in early 2016.
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Labels: economics, Nigeria
One track of Chinese government
There are two tracks of governing in China: the Communist Party of China and the government of the country. One of those tracks is preparing for a big meeting.
China Sets Date for Major Communist Party Reshuffle
The Chinese Communist Party will hold a once-every-five-years leadership reshuffle in October, the state-run news media reported… confirming the date of a closely watched meeting that will serve as a test of President Xi Jinping’s power.
About 2,300 delegates, including senior officials, will meet in Beijing for a party congress on Oct. 18… They are expected to confirm Mr. Xi for a second five-year term and to appoint a new cohort of officials under him.
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| Xi |
Mr. Xi, already one of the most influential Chinese leaders in decades, is likely to emerge from the meeting even more formidable…
Mr. Xi is poised to win an even broader mandate for his policies and authoritarian style by stacking the party’s most influential bodies with close allies…
At the congress, at least 11 of the 25 members of the Politburo are expected to retire… That includes five of the seven members of the even more powerful Politburo Standing Committee…
The congress will select only party positions. The new government lineup will be appointed by a meeting of the legislature, called the National People’s Congress, which is likely to convene in March. Mr. Xi is then almost certain to be reappointed state president…
Mr. Xi already holds more titles than many of his predecessors. He is general secretary of the Communist Party, chairman of the central military commission, and he is known as China’s “core” leader, a vague but powerful status that puts him on a pedestal with Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin…
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Labels: China, Communist Party, leadership, politics
