It took the excitement generated by the political campaign of a self-described socialist, Bernie Sanders, to put into stark relief the extent to which the United States political system fails to reflect and respond to the aspirations of most Americans.
The upcoming general elections in Myanmar raise the question of religion’s role in democratisation processes. Previously Buddhism has been an important force in favour of democracy, but in the 2015 election campaign strong Buddhist forces are supporting the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). This is their democratic right, but it may hinder further political reforms and democratisation in Myanmar.
Republican presidential candidates debated a range of economic issues in their third debate, from what to do about Medicare and social security to tax policy and even a brief exchange on daily fantasy sports. The moderators became part of the scrum, and Hillary Clinton and her fellow Democrats took a few bashes, as GOP contenders strove to stand out. Here is an instant analysis from three scholars.
Candidates and media spar, but Americans get their moment
– Thomas Kochan, MIT Sloan School of Management
At Tuesday’s Democratic debate, they asked candidates to name the enemies they are most proud of making. Front-runner Hillary Clinton’s answer? Drug companies (along with the National Rifle Association, “the Iranians” and Republicans).
Indian governments spend enormous resources to collect data — including 12 billion and 22 billion rupees on decennial censuses in 2001 and 2011, respectively. Yet they appear reluctant to release it. The latest decennial census data on religion, for example, which were released on 25 August 2015, were collected almost half a decade ago in 2011.
During Pope Francis’ visit to the United States next week, he will insist that the church transcends partisan politics, and I am sure he means this sincerely. However, that will not prevent his visit from having political ramifications.
Another year of presidential campaigns, another round of China bashing. In the wake of China’s stock market crash in August 2015, Republican presidential candidates have turned their attention towards China. Citing China’s ‘active manipulation’ of its economy as contributing to its own ‘Black Monday’, candidate Scott Walker demanded US President Barack Obama cancel Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming state visit.
In December 2014, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) returned to government after a snap election. At that time, Abe positioned himself to continue as prime minister for another four years until the end of 2018, giving him the prospect of six years in office since he regained the prime ministership in December 2012. Abe must now face a September 2015 LDP presidential election, but he is likely to remain leader of the LDP, and Japan.
In order to improve the effectiveness of development strategies in Indonesia’s Papua province, trust between the central government in Jakarta and the Papua provincial government in Jayapura needs strengthening. The PNPM-RESPEK initiative is a case in point.
On 11 June 2015, Zhou Yongkang was found guilty of corruption, among other things, and sentenced to life imprisonment. He appeared before a national broadcast to listen to his guilty verdict, express his responsibility in doing harm to the country and relinquish his right to appeal.
