Teaching Comparative

What if everyone went on strike?

Indications emerged, [Monday], that organised labour will, Thursday, commence a nationwide strike to force the Federal Government to announce its figure and ensure the completion of work on the new national minimum wage.

Vanguard gathered last night that it was a decision reached by leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC; Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, and United Labour Congress of Nigeria, ULC, after an emergency meeting in Lagos.

It was gathered that it will be formerly announced in Abuja…

Earlier in the day, leaders of United Labour Congress of Nigeria, ULC, urged Nigerians to stockpile foodstuff and other necessities, saying a nationwide strike appeared now inevitable…

Labels: Nigeria, politics, unions

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Someone studied comparative government and politics.

[W]hen Andrés Manuel López Obrador declared that he would be the first Mexican president since 1910 to use the [National Palace] as his workplace, he was making a statement that was both political and historical. Mr López Obrador (known as AMLO to Mexicans), who won a landslide victory in a presidential election on July 1st, promises a “fourth transformation”, after those of political independence, Juárez’s assertion of national sovereignty and the revolution in 1910-17. “This is a change of regime, not just of government,” says Lorenzo Meyer, a historian sympathetic to AMLO.

Although he does not take office until December 1st, some of the contours of this change are already clear… Mr López Obrador is steeped in a particular version of Mexican history (about which he has written several books), from which he derives his inspirations and world-view.

His first hero is Juárez, a liberal but one in whom the new president sees a leader who “proposed a new Mexico based on honesty and republican values”… Second is Lázaro Cárdenas, who in the 1930s nationalised the oil industry and carried out a state-controlled agrarian reform. He stands… “for bringing social justice to a society that still has colonial characteristics”, of racism for example…

What all this means is that AMLO will be economically moderate, socially bold and politically centralising— but not necessarily democratic…

He thinks he can fund a big increase in public investment, mainly for transport projects in the poorer south, by eliminating waste. The first law approved by the new congress (in which AMLO has a majority) involves a swingeing cut in the salaries of senior officials. Federal “delegates” will police spending by state governors…

Like Juárez, AMLO is personally austere. His recipe for fighting corruption and crime seems to be to restore the authority of the federal government. That may well be popular. Historically, Mexico has floundered when power is dispersed. But the president’s “delegates” look to some like a device to turn his Morena movement into a party of the state. AMLO mistrusts “civil society”, the pressure groups that call for stronger checks and balances. Even some of his supporters worry that his aim may be to strengthen the state rather than democracy…

[AMLO's] vision of history may not accord with a country which many Mexicans do not think is still “colonial”, but who voted for him out of despair at crime and corruption. It is still unclear whether Mexico wants a change of regime, or just of government.

Labels: concepts, government, leadership, Mexico, regime

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Cattle herders versus farmers in Nigeria

Across parts of Nigeria, conflicts that mirror the 20th Century range wars in the American West have broken out between farmers and herdsmen vying for land, leading to bloody battles.

In the first six months of this year, these clashes killed an estimated 1,300 people –- six times the number who died in the war with the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram in the same period, the International Crisis Group says.

About 300,000 people have been forced from their homes because of violence between farmers and herders, conflicts that are often exacerbated by religion, ethnicity and even the erratic weather patterns that accompany climate change and create competition between humans and cattle for water.

Herder in Nigeria

Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Kenya and other areas across the continent where populations are rising struggle with the problem as well. Here in Nigeria, where the population has quadrupled in the past 60 years to nearly 200 million, the fighting has been so fierce that the government deployed the military to contain some of the battles.

Numerous regional bodies, including the Economic Community of West African States, have pledged to protect the rights of herdsmen, but little action has been taken. Nigeria’s federal government has proposed setting aside land for herders, yet the country is also grappling with widespread unemployment. So it is pushing more people into farming, which adds to the tensions.

Some states have banned open grazing entirely. Local laws that aim to address the conflicts are largely unenforced, especially in rural areas where government is virtually nonexistent.

Like the majority of herdsmen, Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, is ethnically Fulani Muslim. And though he has done little to contain the violence or help herdsmen, he is often perceived as siding with Fulanis, who are one of the major ethnic groups of the north…

In much of Nigeria, especially the mostly Christian south, Fulani herdsmen are considered terrorists and compared to Boko Haram, notorious for rapes and beheadings. News reports often focus on killings by herdsmen without mentioning deadly attacks by farmers…

Gombe State… is known for its wide-open spaces and peaceful relations between farmers and herdsmen. Many of the farmers here are also Fulani, like the herders, and ethnic tension is minimal.

But even in this state, open land is being squeezed…

Labels: cleavages, demographics, economics, leadership, Nigeria, politics

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Political meaning of an earthquake

In our series of letters from Africa, Nigerian writer and novelist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani considers why some earth tremors in Nigeria's capital caused such a stir.

Sometime in the early hours of 6 September, I was tucked in bed at home in Abuja when, suddenly, a slight trembling seemed to sway the building from side to side…

Later that day, frantic phone calls from friends checking to make sure that I was fine made me realise that what had simply been a mild trembling in my area was more tremulous in certain parts of the city…

A few days after the earth tremors, which were felt in different parts of Abuja between 5 September and 8 September, the government released a statement to reassure residents that there was nothing to worry about…

The National Space and Research Development Agency (NASRDA) assured Abuja residents that there was no cause for alarm, although confirming that an earthquake had indeed occurred.

Agency head Seidu Mohammed said the magnitude was low and not worrying enough to warrant residents of the affected areas panicking and relocating elsewhere…

While government agencies have aired conflicting conjectures, many Nigerians, who tend to be deeply religious, have drawn their own conclusions.

Some believe it is a sign that God is angry with our country about something.

Some believe that it is a warning to President Muhammadu Buhari; perhaps against his style of leadership or his intention to run for re-election in 2019 despite his lacklustre performance over the past three-and-a-half years.

Yet others believe that the earth tremors are simply a call to more fervent prayer for our nation, lest earthquakes soon join an already long list of headline-stealing tribulations that includes: Farmer-herdsmen clashes, the Boko Haram insurgency, ethnic agitations and the battered economy.

One can hardly imagine how Nigeria might handle earthquakes when the government is still battling to cope with these other disasters that have left millions displaced and in dire need.

Labels: elections, leadership, Nigeria, political culture

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

An unscheduled election may be scheduled in the UK

British Prime Minister Theresa May is planning an early general election in November to save her leadership and to prevent the collapse of talks with European leaders over Britain's exit from the bloc, according to a report by the Sunday Times newspaper.

The report comes just days after EU leaders rejected the Conservative party leader's preferred plan for leaving the EU, the so-called Chequers agreement.

Under that plan, the United Kingdom would enter into a free trade area with the European Union, which would have common rules and standards in several major industries, and maintain customs duties regulations but end freedom of movement between EU member states and the UK.

EU leaders dismissed the proposals as unworkable at a meeting they attended with May in Salzburg earlier this week.

The Sunday Times spoke to two senior aides to May, who said they were planning to announce a new general election to secure public backing for a new negotiating platform with the EU.

Citing a member of her inner circle, the newspaper also said that May was planning to step down from her role next summer.

The prime minister has found herself politically boxed in by the EU abroad and at home by both opponents of Brexit who want a second referendum and 'hard Brexiteers' in her own party who want a clean break with the EU.

Her previous attempt at securing public support for her Brexit negotiating strategy fell flat when the Conservatives lost their majority in the 2017 election…

The UK has until March to secure a deal on the terms of its exit from the EU. Not doing so will result in a 'no deal' Brexit, in which the UK leaves the bloc without an agreement and reverts to World Trade Organisation rules on trade with the EU.

That could lead to a significant rise in prices and declining growth, according to economists.

Labels: Brexit, elections, leadership, politics, UK

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:00 AM 0 comments

British Prime Minister Theresa May is planning an early general election in November to save her leadership and to prevent the collapse of talks with European leaders over Britain's exit from the bloc, according to a report by the Sunday Times newspaper.

The report comes just days after EU leaders rejected the Conservative party leader's preferred plan for leaving the EU, the so-called Chequers agreement.

Under the plan, the United Kingdom would enter into a free trade area with the European Union, which would have common rules and standards in several major industries, and maintain customs duties regulations but end freedom of movement between EU member states and the UK.

EU leaders dismissed the proposals as unworkable at a meeting they attended with May in Salzburg earlier this week.

The Sunday Times spoke to two senior aides to May, who said they were planning to announce a new general election to secure public backing for a new negotiating platform with the EU.

Citing a member of her inner circle, the newspaper also said that May was planning to step down from her role next summer.

The prime minister has found herself politically boxed in by the EU abroad and at home by both opponents of Brexit who want a second referendum and 'hard Brexiteers' in her own party who want a clean break with the EU.

Her previous attempt at securing public support for her Brexit negotiating strategy fell flat when the Conservatives lost their majority in the 2017 election…

The UK has until March to secure a deal on the terms of its exit from the EU. Not doing so will result in a 'no deal' Brexit, in which the UK leaves the bloc without an agreement and reverts to World Trade Organisation rules on trade with the EU.

That could lead to a significant rise in prices and declining growth, according to economists.

posted by Ken Wedding @ 2:02 PM 0 comments

Where, in China, does political power come from?

Former top Chinese finance officials have called for better enforcement of the law and protection of human rights in China at a top forum to mark the 40th anniversary of the country’s market reforms.

Yang

Addressing the elite Chinese Economists 50 Forum on Sunday, Yang Weimin, who stepped down earlier this year from the secretariat of the Communist Party’s top economic policy panel, said Chinese people now demanded better protection of human rights, rather than just pursuit of economic development.

“We need to build and improve the institutions that protect the people’s democratic rights, protect human rights, are based on law, and have a fair judiciary,” said Yang, a former deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs.

“What people want for a good life is more about this, rather than pure economic issues.”

The forum is a club of serving and former financial officials, as well as top policy advisers and economists, and mainly discusses economic matters…

Critics have said the present administration, in power since 2012, has stalled necessary overhauls of state-owned enterprises, and even pushed back on the mild gains in political liberalisation made over the past four decades.

Yang’s call for better legal protections was echoed by Wu Xiaoling, a former vice-governor of the People’s Bank of China.

Wu said a sound justice system was needed more than ever to help settle disputes as China moved into the next stage of reforms. That system would in turn lead to sustainable social stability, he said…

“Only when we respect a lawyer’s right to mount a defence, a judge’s right to make an independent ruling, and the public and mass media’s right to monitor [the government], will we be able to continue to improve our laws and regulations,” Wu said…

Wu’s remarks contrast with Beijing’s tightening grip on lawyers in recent years, including a government crackdown on rights lawyers and legal activists, as well as an expanded party presence in law firms…

Labels: China, guanxi, rule of law

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

It's not over until all the ballots have been counted

An opposition candidate has gone on hunger strike in the far east of Russia after suddenly losing a key regional election that he was poised to win.

With more than 95% of votes counted in the Primorye region, the communist Andrei Ishchenko had a five-point lead. But during the night his pro-Putin rival Andrei Tarasenko overtook him.

Protest in Vladivostok

On Facebook Mr Ishchenko urged his supporters to protest in Vladivostok, saying "our votes are being stolen".

The communists are taking legal action.

Mr Ishchenko said the party's legal service was preparing formal protests over the results in several districts: Artyom, Ussuriysk, Nakhodka, and Sovietskiy, which is in Vladivostok.

"We won't go away until we see fair election results!" he said.

Russia's best-known opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, also called for a mass protest in Vladivostok…

In a tweet, fair elections campaign group Golos reported that Mr Tarasenko, the current acting governor, had suddenly surged ahead when more than 99% of votes had been counted in Primorye.

The vote was a second-round runoff, because no candidate had passed the 50% threshold in the first round…

Communist officials accused the commission there of falsifying ballot papers and delaying issuing the results.

They said the party's observers in the building had refused to leave, at which point firefighters turned up, saying they had to evacuate people because of a suspected fire on the third floor.

BBC Russian reports that similar "emergencies" happened at some other vote-counting centres.

Police cordoned off the election commission building in Ussuriysk. Politicians were then refused entry.

Communist observers declared a hunger strike in the commission building in Artyom, after officials refused to release the results there.

Labels: elections, politics, Russia

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 1 comments

Not just in the Carolinas and Hong Kong

More than 100 people have died in floods after Nigeria's two major rivers burst their banks, authorities say.

Flooding in Nigeria

The National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) says heavy rains caused the Niger River and Benue River to overflow.

It has resulted in a series of floods across the country over two weeks, with rural areas most vulnerable.

The government is urging residents along waterways to relocate to safe places.

Thousands of people have been displaced and vast swathes of farmlands have been destroyed by the floods in central and southern Nigeria, says the BBC's Is'haq Khalid in the capital, Abuja.

Niger State

Worst hit is Niger State, where more than 40 people have died, Nema director Mustapha Yunusa Maihaja told the BBC.

Eleven other states have been affected…

Nigerian authorities are considering declaring a state of emergency, saying more floods could hit in the coming days and weeks as heavy rains continue.

Nigeria faces flooding almost every year.

Analysts blame recurring flood disasters on lack of proper town planning, blocked waterways and poor drainage systems.

Labels: limitations, Nigeria, politics

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Required national service in Nigeria

Nigeria's finance minister has resigned over allegations she used a forged certificate to avoid the country's mandatory one-year youth service scheme.

Kemi Adeosun, who lived in the UK until she was 34, said she had been told she was exempt because she was over 30.

The former investment banker said she was issued with a certificate that she thought was genuine.

But an internal investigation showed that it was forged.

Ms Adeosun's resignation follows months of speculation in local media about whether her National Youth Service Corps certificate was genuine.

The dual Nigerian and British national did not initially comment on the claims, leading to criticism from her opponents.

However in a statement, she said she felt bound to resign after the investigation result became known.

"This has come as a shock to me and I believe that in line with this administration's focus on integrity, I must do the honourable thing and resign," she said.

Ms Adeosun was appointed as finance minister by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. Her main policy was a bid to improve tax collection and crack down on mismanagement by government agencies…

Nigerian university students have to do a year of national service upon graduation as a way of ensuring that graduates contributed to Nigeria's development.

Corp members are posted to states outside their state of origin to encourage national unity.

Nigerian graduates are not eligible for government work or many private jobs until they have completed the mandatory year of service.

Labels: leadership, nationalism, Nigeria, political socialization

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Changing a subculture

In Mexico the police, often poorly paid and poorly trained, are frequently mistrusted or feared. The population sees them not only as incapable of tackling the country’s chronic violence, but also as often being its cause — at best, complicit in routine infractions like demanding bribes at traffic stops, and at worst, co-opted by criminal gangs…

[C]ommunity meeting[s are] part of an effort by Bernardo León, a professor and writer turned police commander, to transform Morelia’s police officers into a qualified force that is welcomed by local residents. Three years into the effort, the program has shown results…

In 2017, the deadliest year in Mexico in decades, the number of deaths also went up in Michoacán. But in Morelia, the state’s capital, the number of homicide victims decreased 18 percent…

[E]xperts argue that Morelia’s experiment with community policing should be part of a broader national security strategy.

The program has made the force more “solid and resilient,” said Rodrigo Canales, a professor at the Yale School of Management who is leading a study on police forces in Mexico along with the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness…

A local police force like Morelia’s “can’t really solve the cartel situation,” said Mr. León, who was appointed to the position in 2015. “What we can do is deal with the issues that regular folks face every day.”

To do so, he recruited psychologists, lawyers and social workers and trained them to mediate neighborhood and domestic conflict. He also inaugurated victims’ centers that offer medical and psychological assistance…

To tackle bureaucratic delays, he introduced new civil courts for misdemeanors. There, citizens charged with noncriminal offenses can pay fines and receive sentences that include performing community service or attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

But perhaps most significant, Mr. León offered citizens the possibility of filing their criminal complaints on the spot to the responding officer instead of having to go in person to the local prosecutor…

Overhauling the police force was an important part of the equation — and that included improving the conditions under which they worked. Mr. León tapped a special federal fund to increase the size of the force to 614 officers, up from 120, and to offer them benefits like retirement funds, scholarships for children and food stamps.

He also spent $2 million on better-quality uniforms that increased officers’ pride in their appearance. Other actions, like buying patrol cars, were subsidized by federal funds set aside for tourist areas and high-crime cities…

Though experts recognize the model’s effects, some argue that part of Morelia’s recent success cannot be reproduced, as it is in part explained by the military’s role in shielding the city from powerful drug gangs, which have been mostly confined to rural areas…

Mr. León will step down this coming week when a new mayor takes office. It is unclear whether his program will be kept in place. This kind of turnover is common and remains one of Mexico’s biggest problems in establishing a consistent security policy…

Labels: change, Mexico, police, rule of law

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Excuse me

Labels: vacation

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

All is not well in Buhari's party

31 August 2018

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has chosen the modus operandus for the emergence of its presidential candidate following its adoption of direct election for the presidential primary poll. The party, which arrived at this decision during its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting…

Nigeria's main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has concluded discussions with six governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and 27 of its members in the National Assembly to defect to the PDP.

PDP spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the planned defectors have secured the mandates of their constituents to make the move ahead of the 2019 general elections.

If the claims by the PDP turns out to be true, it will be another major setback for the ruling APC after it lost three governors to the PDP between July and August…

6 September 2018

One after the other, state chapters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday announced their decision not to comply with the directive of the party's National Executive Committee (NEC)…

But as the time of going to press, the chapters in Nasarawa, Plateau, Ogun, Borno, Kogi, Ondo, Kebbi, Bauchi and Kaduna had all indicated preference for the 'direct' opposite…

Labels: elections, leadership, Nigeria, parties, politics

posted by Ken Wedding @ 10:06 AM 0 comments

Is economics political? Are politics economic?

Iran’s rial fell to a record low on Wednesday, part of a staggering drop in the currency’s value since the United States pulled out of the nuclear deal only four months ago…

Iranians line up to exchange currencies

Signs of the currency chaos can be seen everywhere in Tehran: Worried residents lined up outside beleaguered money changers, travel agents offered vacation prices only in hard currency, and diapers disappeared from store shelves…

There was no immediate acknowledgement of the drop on state media.

Iran’s economy has faced troubled times in the past, whether from the shah’s overspending on military arms in the 1970s or the Western sanctions that came after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and United States Embassy takeover. Drastic fluctuations in oil prices have also taken a toll.

This time, however, feels different. The currency has crashed along with hope many felt following the 2015 nuclear deal…

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, called the American moves economic “sabotage” this past weekend, and mentioned the diaper shortage. Some 70 percent of material for disposal diapers is imported. As the rial falls, it makes purchasing the material from abroad more expensive.

“Imagine that in Tehran or other major cities, baby diapers suddenly become scarce. This is happening, this is real, this is not make-believe. Baby diapers!” Ayatollah Khamenei said, according to a transcript on his official website. “This makes people angry. On the other side, the enemy wants people to be angry with the government and system. This is one of their ways.”

Labels: economics, Iran, politics

posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:55 AM 0 comments

The "emperor" isn't far away

Officials can lose their jobs or be expelled from the party for failing to apply policies under new rules, as Beijing takes aim at bureaucratic inertia.

After a relentless anti-corruption crusade spooked many officials into inaction, China’s ruling Communist Party is doubling down on efforts to rid the country’s vast bureaucracy of its inertia.

Updated party rules released this week state that failing to implement policies from the top is now officially a breach of discipline that can see cadres lose their jobs or even be expelled from the party.

Those who refuse to implement policy directives from the party’s Central Committee, who run their own agenda, or “are not resolute enough, cut corners or make accommodations” in applying them, will be subject to punishment under the new rules, which took effect on August 18.

It comes after the cabinet earlier this month announced a series of “targeted inspections” in a bid to ensure central government policies are being properly implemented at the local level – especially on priority issues such as reducing poverty, tackling pollution, promoting innovation and revitalising the rural economy…

[D]espite the long-touted efficiency of the authoritarian regime, central government policies have often met resistance at the local level when they go against the interests of authorities.

That situation has been exacerbated in recent years by President Xi Jinping’s sweeping crackdown on corruption, which has snared more than 1.5 million cadres – including some from the highest ranks of the party and the military.

Apprehensive about drawing unnecessary attention or suspicion to themselves, many local officials have instead kept their heads down, sitting on projects and business deals…

Premier Li Keqiang, for one, has repeatedly scolded procrastinating officials for being slack and lazy in implementing Beijing’s policy directives. In 2015, 249 officials were punished for laziness, evidenced by their failure to spend government funds, delays to projects and idle land earmarked for development, Xinhua reported at the time…

Having become the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, Xi is under increasing pressure to deliver on a series of reforms he has promised, ranging from more sustainable, innovation-driven economic growth and a cleaner environment to better public services such as health care and social welfare – all of which could not be achieved without commitment from local officials…

Under the revised party discipline rules, officials who fail to take action on development policies to do with innovation, coordination, the environment, openness and sharing will be given a heavier punishment.

The regulations also target bureaucratic conduct, such as paying lip service to a policy, or holding meetings and issuing documents that do not translate into action.

Apart from cracking down on inaction, the new rules also prohibit party members from speaking out against central party policies or decisions, and they must not spread “political rumours or damage the party’s unity”. “Two-faced” officials who comply in public but secretly oppose the party’s central leadership will also be punished…

Labels: authority, centralization, China

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

UK-Nigeria agreements

Theresa May has signed a security pact with Nigeria’s president aimed at helping the country combat the militant group Boko Haram through better military training and anti-terrorist propaganda techniques developed in the UK.

PM May and President Buhari

The British prime minister’s agreement with Muhammadu Buhari was announced at a summit between the pair in Abuja…

Billed as the UK’s first security and defence partnership with Nigeria, the pact was the centrepiece of the second day of May’s three-day trip to Africa…

The UK will provide training to the Nigerian military to help it contend with improvised explosive devices used by Boko Haram, and has offered to help train full army units, as opposed to individual soldiers, before they are deployed in the country’s north-east, where the Islamist militant group has its base.

It also hopes to cut the flow of new recruits by working with local communities “to push out counter-narratives” to Boko Haram, drawing on the UK’s experience of “countering terrorist propaganda at home”, according to the pact announcement. An additional £13m will be spent on an education programme for the 100,000 children living in the conflict zone.

May told Buhari the UK wanted to support Nigeria’s stability and said it was important their joint work on security was undertaken in line with international standards on human rights. The prime minister added that she endorsed the country’s efforts to combat illegal migration and modern slavery.

The British prime minister then travelled to Lagos, where she… switched tack to promote Britain’s expertise in financial services while seeking to emphasise future trade possibilities, in a week when she had called for the UK to become the leading G7 investor in Africa by 2020…

Labels: Nigeria, UK

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Generation gap in Russia?

On Aug. 15, thousands of protesters took to Moscow’s streets for the “March of the Mothers,” armed with stuffed animals, seeking the release of teens who were jailed in March. The parents allege that Russian officials entrapped their children, detaining them on false charges of plotting to overthrow the government. What’s going on?

1. Russia has been cracking down on what it calls extremists since 2002

When in 2002 Russia’s Duma first passed anti-extremism laws that banned stopping any religious group from asserting it was superior to any other… [T]he Duma steadily expanded the laws’ scope over the years: in 2014 to track “extremist” bloggers, and in 2015 to include “liking” social media posts the government considers extremist…

2. Russian youths have taken on a growing role in opposition protests

When opposition leader Alexei Navalny posted YouTube videos inviting Russians to protest en masse in 2017, young Russians turned out in large numbers — and the authorities have targeted them particularly…

On March 2, 2017, Navalny posted one of his most incendiary videos on YouTube: an exposé alleging that Prime Minster Dmitry Medvedev funnels public money through his charity organizations for his own use and uses those charities to hide funds and property. Among the memorable allegations was that Medvedev even has luxury accommodations for his ducks.

Organized protests erupted across 90 cities in Russia after the video was aired. Many people — including young people — took to the streets with yellow rubber duckies…

3. Young people accused of anti-government plots are in jail

Now we come to what triggered the “March of the Mothers.” Ten protesters have been held since March and charged with using social media for “involvement in a terrorist community.” They’re part of a group called Novoe Velichie or New Greatness. Two are young women: Anna Pavlikova was 17 at the time of her arrest, and Maria Dubovik was 19.

The teens argue that they were not interested in overthrowing the government. While they acknowledge they posted comments critical of the government, they argue that they were merely venting, not plotting. On Aug. 16, in response to pressure from the protests, a Moscow court released them on house arrest.

Authorities may have been particularly irritated because the young women were using the chat application Telegram to vent. Telegram is a media app popular because it encrypts messages so that only the sender and receiver can read them. The Russian government has tried to shut down Telegram recently, because whistleblowers have used the platform to send tips to journalists or to Navalny. But Russians have protested the government’s attempts to block the platform.

4. Were Russian security services actually the ones doing the plotting?

The teens’ lawyer insists that the charges are false. According to an investigation by OVD-Info, an organization that monitors politically motivated arrests inside Russia, a Federal Security Service (FSB) agent actually founded New Greatness, fully funded the group, stirred up the members’ emotions, gave youths meeting space and trained selected members on the use of explosive devices.

Because Telegram doesn’t allow children to create their own account, Anna had to use her mother’s account. This gives her mother, Yulia Pavlikova, full access to the records.

Pavlikova describes the entrapment as a step-by-step process. First, the organizer Ruslan D. began by building trust with the youths. Then, she says, after encouraging complaints about the government, he pushed them to move beyond talking, organized a meeting at a McDonald’s, and bought them a printer. Soon they were making fliers and passing them out. None of it would have happened, Pavlikova claims, if this FSB agent had not organized and provoked them.

5. The noose continues to tighten around civil society in Russia

None of this bodes well for the future of civil society. Government repression has proceeded from attacking the free press to politically opposing average citizens’ ability to express discontent with their government — including, now, that of teenagers.

Will this generation, which has grown up under Putin, be subdued by these authoritarian tactics? Or will they react against them, as the Kremlin apparently fears?

Labels: civil society, cleavages, politics, Russia

posted by Ken Wedding @ 5:30 AM 0 comments

Labels: China, concepts, soft power

posted by Ken Wedding @ 10:49 AM 0 comments

Protests in Russia

Further protests against pension reforms have taken place in Russia, despite the recent concessions offered by President Vladimir Putin.

Independent observers say more than 10,000 people took part in rallies in Moscow. Other cities also saw demonstrations.

Communist protesters in Moscow

The initial proposal was to raise the retirement age for women to 63 from 55, and for men to 65 from 60.

On Wednesday he said the pension age for women would only be raised to 60.

Mr Putin has said reform is a financial necessity, but it has been met with a hostile reception and led to a steep fall in his popularity…

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has previously said the decision was motivated by the fact that Russians are living longer and leading more active lives…

In a TV address last week, Mr Putin said the move to raise the retirement age for men and women had been delayed for years and risked causing inflation and increasing poverty.

Postponing it further would threaten the stability and security of Russian society, he said.

"Any further delay would be irresponsible," he said. "Our decisions should be just and well-balanced."

Until his TV address he had attempted to distance himself from the row, and had in the past promised that the pension age would never be raised on his watch.

Tens of thousands have rallied across Russia in recent weeks.

Sunday's Moscow protest saw many carrying the red flags and banners of the Communist Party, the principal organiser of the protest.

A smaller protest was held by the centre-left Just Russia party, which police said attracted some 1,500 people.

Unusually for Russia, protesters against the reforms come from all sides of the political debate…

Most economists and many Russians agree there is a problem. The population is getting older and the state is spending more and more on pensions.

After the economic chaos of the early 1990s, Russia's population plummeted. The birth rate has since shown some signs of improvement, but it is not happening fast enough.

Based on current trends, 20% of Russians will be over 65 by 2050, says the UN…

Labels: demographics, politics, protests, Russia

posted by Ken Wedding @ 4:30 PM 0 comments

Concepts part 7

posted by Ken Wedding @ 3:16 PM 0 comments