Tag Archives: Democracy

20 years on, George W. Bush’s promise of democracy in Iraq and Middle East falls short

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An Iraqi person walks down a road blocked by burning tires in Basra in August 2002.
Hussein Faleh/AFP via Getty Images

 

Brian Urlacher, University of North Dakota

President George W. Bush and his administration put forward a variety of reasons to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

In the months before the U.S. invasion, Bush said the looming conflict was about eradicating terrorism and seizing weapons of mass destruction – but also because of a “freedom deficit” in the Middle East, a reference to the perceived lag in participatory government in the region.

Many of these arguments would emerge as poorly grounded, given later events. Continue reading →

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Ukraine war: Does Putin have his eye on the 2024 US presidential election?

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A pro-Russian president in the White House would shift the outcome of a prolonged war in Putin’s favour

By Paul Rogers  Published 3-4-2023 by openDemocracy

Putin’s choice for US president: Donald Trump or someone like him. Photo: Trump White House Archived/flickr/CC

n the past few weeks, Russian forces in Ukraine have been attempting to take territory in intensive combat, but their progress has been minimal. This is adding to the sense that Russia is in difficulty and Ukraine is making progress in winning the war, with considerable support from the United States.

In its determination to consolidate this apparent advantage, Washington is warning forcefully of the actions it will take to counter countries willing to aid Russia. The G7 has also recently announced specific actions against some 200 companies and individuals across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, with part of the aim being to discourage those that have not yet been involved in sanctions-busting but are in a position to do so. Continue reading →

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People Fighting Back Against Rising Autocracy Offers Hope, Says Report

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“The level of democracy enjoyed by the average world citizen in 2022 is back to 1986 levels. This means that 72% of the world’s population, 5.7 billion people, live under authoritarian rule,” said V-Dem’s director.

By Jessica Corbett  Published 3-2-2023 by Common Dreams

Lula’s campaign moves through São Paolo, Oct. 2022. Photo credit: Midia Ninja/CC

An annual report released Thursday by researchers in Sweden sounds the alarm about countries that are “undergoing autocratization” but also highlights how people around the world “have reclaimed democracy and stopped negative trends.”

The Varieties of Democracy Institute (V-Dem) at the University of Gothenburg produces the world’s largest dataset on democracy, with over 31 million data points for 202 nations from 1789 to 2022. Its new report focuses on the state of countries last year. Continue reading →

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Turkish President Erdoğan’s grip on power threatened by devastating earthquake

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Erdoğan is facing criticism over his handling of the disaster.
Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images)

 

Ahmet T. Kuru, San Diego State University

The earthquake that struck Turkey on Feb. 6, 2023, is first and foremost a human tragedy, one that has taken the lives of at least 45,000 people to date.

The disaster also has major implications for the country’s economy – the financial loss from the damage is estimated to be US$84 billion – and its politics.

Analyzing this human tragedy and its long-term implications for Turkey is difficult for me. I am a scholar of Turkish politics. But I also grew up in the affected region and lost relatives and friends in the cities of Antakya and Iskenderun. Nevertheless, I believe it is important to examine the implications of the earthquake on Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – not for reasons of political intrigue, but because it is crucial in determining how Turkey recovers from the disaster and better prepares itself in the future. Continue reading →

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Civil rights legislation sparked powerful backlash that’s still shaping American politics

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A group of voters lining up outside the polling station, a small Sugar Shack store, on May 3, 1966, in Peachtree, Ala., after the Voting Rights Act was passed the previous year.
MPI/Getty Images

 

Julian Maxwell Hayter, University of Richmond

For nearly 60 years, conservatives have been trying to gut the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the crowning achievement of the civil rights movement. As a scholar of American voting rights, I believe their long game is finally bearing fruit.

The 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder seemed to be the death knell for the Voting Rights Act. Continue reading →

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Bolsonaro Requests Six-Month US Tourist Visa to Prolong Florida Trip as Brazilian Probes Mount

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Brazil’s far-right ex-president has applied for a visa to remain in the U.S. amid worsening legal troubles in his home country, where he is facing multiple investigations.

By Kenny Stancil.  Published 1-30-2023 by Common Dreams

Jair and Michelle Bolsonaro in Jacksonville, FL, 2020 Photo: Alan Santos/PR/flickr/CC

Brazil’s far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro has applied for a six-month visitor visa to remain in the United States amid worsening legal troubles in his home country.

U.S. authorities received Bolsonaro’s application on Friday, The Financial Times reported Monday, citing “his lawyer, Felipe Alexandre, who has advised the former president not to leave the country while it is being processed—a period that could last several months.”

Bolsonaro is facing multiple investigations in Brazil. That includes longstanding probes into alleged wrongdoing committed during his four-year presidential term as well as the Brazilian Supreme Court’s recently launched inquiry aimed at determining whether his incessant lies about electoral fraud are to blame for the coup attempt that his supporters launched in Brasília on January 8. Continue reading →

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How the distortion of Martin Luther King Jr.‘s words enables more, not less, racial division within American society

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The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses a cheering crowd in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 27, 1965.
Bettmann/Getty Images

 

Hajar Yazdiha, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas is just the latest conservative lawmaker to misuse the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to judge a person on character and not race.

In the protracted battle to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House, Roy, a Republican, nominated a Black man, Byron Donalds, a two-term representative from Florida who had little chance of winning the seat. Considered a rising star in the GOP, Donalds has opposed the very things that King fought for and ultimately was assassinated for – nonviolent demonstrations and voting rights protections. Continue reading →

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Peruvian Forces Accused of ‘Massacre’ of 17 Protesters Opposed to Government Takeover

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The governor of Puno province has declared three days of mourning for the victims of the killing in Juliaca, who include a 17-year-old girl.

By Brett Wilkins.  Published 1-10-2023 by Common Dreams

Protest in Lima, Peru on 12-13-2022 Photo: Mayimbú/Wikimedia Commons/CC

At least 17 people were killed by state security forces in southern Peru Monday while protesting the government of unelected President Dina Boluarte and the ouster and imprisonment of former leftist leader Pedro Castillo.

The Peruvian Health Ministry published the names and ages of 17 victims of what’s being called the Juliaca massacre, which took place in the Indigenous Aymara city of Juliaca, the capital of San Román province in the Puno region of southeastern Peru near Lake Titicaca and the Bolivian border. The youngest of the slain protesters is a 17-year-old girl, Nataly Aroquipa, who was reportedly shot in the abdomen. Continue reading →

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Thousands in Israel March Against ‘Fascism and Apartheid’ at Anti-Netanyahu Protests

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“We can see right now many laws being advocated for against LGBTQ, against Palestinians, against larger minorities in Israel,” said one organizer.

By Julia Conley.  Published 1-8-2023 by Common Dreams

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a roundtable dealing with Israeli foreign policy in 2017 Photo: Chatham House/flickr/CC

Carrying signs reading, “Together against fascism and apartheid” and “Democracy in danger,” thousands of Israelis on Saturday marched in protest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition government, which less than a week after being sworn in has already threatened to strip the country’s judiciary of power and announced punitive measures against Palestinian people and leaders.

According to Haaretz, about 20,000 people attended two different marches—one organized by the grassroots group Standing Together and calling for equality and partnership between Palestinians and Israelis, and another focusing on Netanyahu’s threats to the Israeli justice system. Continue reading →

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Federal Court Orders South Carolina to Redraw Racially Gerrymandered Congressional Maps

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“It’s time for the South Carolina Legislature to adopt a map that allows us ALL to fairly participate in our democracy,” the ACLU asserted.

By Brett Wilkins.  Published 1-6-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: Pix4Free.org

A portion of South Carolina’s Republican-drawn congressional map discriminates against Black voters and must be redrawn, federal judges ruled Friday to applause from civil rights groups.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for South Carolina in Columbia found that “race was the predominant motivating factor in the General Assembly’s design of Congressional District No. 1 and that traditional districting principles were subordinated to race.” Continue reading →

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