The media in Armenia suffers from the same legacy as in much of the post-communist world. Nareg Seferian argues that although the Internet has shaken things up in the past few years, media independence is still in the making.
As China’s role in Africa grows, people are becoming increasingly concerned. Richard King explores the question: Is China’s role on the continent that of a development partner, an economic competitor or a colonizer?
ON APRIL 20, 2012, a shootout leading to two deaths occurred in my mother’s hometown of Saltillo, Mexico. These types of incidences have become a common occurrence in Mexico but rarely appear in international headlines. While the United States is engaged in two major wars in far-off lands, it would seem to the careful observer that the United States has lost sight of the importance of watching out for weakening states along its borders. Especially as the Drug War in Mexico broils on, rocking the very foundations of democratic institutions.
Since the wave of demonstrations and popular uprisings known as the ‘Arab Spring’ began in December 2010, one regime after another has fallen, most notably in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Pundits have been forthcoming in painting pictures of democratic change sweeping over the Arab world, bringing hope to disenfranchised and disillusioned citizens that a better world is possible. The conflict in Libya ended in UN intervention before Muammar Gaddafi was finally toppled. The chain of events in Syria has however turned out quite differently since the demonstrations started last spring. At the confluence of revolutionary movements and great power politics, Ruben Angell argues that the real losers are the Syrian people.
There’s talk of change but views differ on how much we need and how to bring it about. Catharine-Sophie Eibl asks whether direct democracy could be the answer to all our woes.
In the wake of the French Presidential Elections, Ruth Jones considers the results and their implications for Europe.
In the January 2012 issue of Polemics (Vol. II, Issue II), Alexander Whitcomb examined the Republican field of candidates and the possible repercussions for American foreign policy and stability. In this issue, Joseph (Trey) Meeks evaluates the evolution of the Republican Party, looking at the legacies of well-known presidents like Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan. The author contends that the course of the Republican Party has shifted over time from a successful and largely popular liberal stance towards an increasingly radical and evangelical conservative trend. What is responsible for this shift in politics?
Intransparent bureaucracy and a lack of solidarity pose a threat to the European project. For Igor Kovač the only solution is going back to the roots and to reconfigure the Union in a way adequate for the current global situation.
Is it not remarkable when a stranger knows about a private trip to Israel you had planned only a few days ago? And is it not remarkable when somebody tells you about this trip, even though, that person should not be supposed to know? What if you are absolutely sure that there is no person in your neighborhood that could possibly know about your travel plans only to find out that this was not the case? Matthias Richardt looks closer on such a mystery in the Egyptian security state.
Mr Putin’s comeback to the Russian Presidency and his prospects for keeping the Presidency until 2020 bears clear political implications for the country’s external relations. The EU, which has promoted the country’s efforts for modernization and openness in trade and the economy, remains committed to establish ever-closer relations with the Federation. Nicolae Stefanuta argues that the EU and the Russian Federation are natural economic partners and their efforts should lead to the establishment of a common economic area, however recognizing that this process will be sinuous and slowed down by diverging political interests.
The 25th February 2011 was a date that saw fundamental change in Ireland. The ruling coalition which oversaw the €85 million EU-IMF bailout package, was wiped out. The senior partner of the coalition, Fianna Fáil suffered its worst electoral defeat in history and its junior partner, the Greens were practically annihilated. A new government, under Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kennys Fianna Gael, in a coalition with the Labour party takes the reigns in a country desperate for a new direction. Mathew Quinn writes about the significance of this election.
In 1994 a new country rose like a phoenix from the ashes at the southern tip of the African continent. The struggle for democracy had won and the Apartheid regime was abolished. The rainbow nation was closely watched and had high expectations set by its own people. Corruption and inequality were to be put to an end. Looking at South Africa 16 years later, one wonders: have those aims been achieved? The greatest aim, to combat corruption, has utterly failed and prospects of restoring faith in the government are dismal. The arms deal has undermined democratic Enda Kenny, Ireland's new Taoiseach structures and presents a grave step back for the young democratic virtues at the Cape of Good Hope. By Elisabeth Neckel.
As a fresh nuclear crisis unfolds in Japan after the recent devastating earthquake, Tatiana Bushmina looks back on the Chernobyl disaster of 25 years ago. She finds that we may never know the true consequences of the disaster, due to the difficulty of tracing irradiation and the suppression of data. However, it is clear that Chernobyl was an environmental catastrophe, and that the world is not yet diligent enough for the responsible use of nuclear energy.