Russia: A Continuation to Undermine Democracy

By Alec

Over the past decade, the Russian Federation has cracked down on the human rights of its citizens in an effort to maintain power. For example, Russia has killed countless journalists who have either written critically of Russian President Vladimir Putin or who have openly questioned the Russian Federation’s government. For example, journalist Boris Nemtsov was gunned down in the shadow of the Kremlin. Another example of Russia’s violation of rights are the oppression of religious and ethnic minorities. For instance, Russia’s Checnynan population is blamed oftentimes without evidence for terrorist activities in Russia.

The most threatening actions the Russian Federation has taken are the attempted interference in United States elections. Putin earned international attention, in particular, for Russian attempted interference in the 2016 Presidential election. Russian hackers released information -- some of it factual and some of it false -- about Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The goal of Putin was to have Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election because he felt Trump would be less harsh on Russia than the Obama Administration.


There is a lot of discussion as to how the new administration is going to handle Putin and his attempts to seize more power. The conflict between Russia and America is not as simplified as it was during the Cold War: Capitalism vs Communism and good vs evil. Russia and America do have common interests in stopping terrorism and maintaining peace in the Middle East. However, an administration cannot give Putin too much leeway for Russia to expand its influence in countries such as Ukraine like the Obama Administration. However, an administration cannot openly turn a blind eye to the attacks on Democracy, which Trump repeatedly did. Biden must be on alert for Russia to undermine democracy given how they have destroyed the post Soviet democratic state.


https://time.com/5565991/russia-influence-2016-election/
https://www.mccaininstitute.org/working-group-making-the-case-for-human-rights-in-russia/
https://www.dw.com/en/boris-nemtsov-the-man-who-dared-to-criticize-vladimir-putin/a-52561085

Myanmar Coup: How Free are the People?

 The context for Myanmar Government

The country of Myanmar was once ruled by Britain and did not gain freedom until 1948. Although the new country was free, they still barred certain people from holding rights due to being part of minority groups. After a military coup that formed a military social democracy from 1962 to 2008, the country held its first election that would approve the constitution. The constitution would split the government from social democracy to a democratic government with a judicial, legislative, and executive branch (Pariona). In 2016, the National League for Democracy (NLD) won the election and appointed U Htin Kyaw as the new president of Myanmar. He took the spot from Aung San Suu Kyi, an “icon for democracy” who has been barred from holding presidential power in government because of her power against the government's militaristic regime (Rieffel).  

POOL New / Reuters

2021 Coup

On February 1st, many members of the NLD, including Aung San Suu Kyi and current president Win Myint were arrested in a raid. They were removed by the junta, a military group that takes power by force. These people arrested a total of 24 members and added 11 replacements to what was previously a democratic elected government. (Reuters). A notable replacement is Myanmar’s Chief, General Min Aung Hlaing has been appointed the leader of the country under the state of emergency. This was done as a response to what the army called “election fraud,” and for replacing elected members of the government with the military intervention (Reuters). A yearlong state of emergency was declared and caused major unrest after Kyi urged the public to protest in a letter administered by the NLD. This has caused major unrest that has continued throughout the country for about a week now. 

AP Photo

Government and Civilian Response

The country has responded to the protests by an attempt to wipe out any communication both nationally and internationally. The government ordered that many social media apps such as Facebook, Messenger, and Whatsapp be blocked for “safety precautions” (Reuters). Nonetheless, many have still found other ways to protest, such as protesting the streets and with doctors, teachers, and other essential workers pulling out in order to protest against the arrests of NLD leaders. The people of Myanmar have used red ribbons as a sign of protest, with some calling it the “Red Ribbon Revolution” (MyanmarMix). 

Importance

The country of Myanmar has demonstrated that military governments can be arbitrary in their form of governing. The people elected leaders of the NLD party, and these people were removed immediately. A unitary militaristic government is dangerous, as power can be usurped multiple times and cause civil unrest. It is unknown where Myanmar is headed as this is still developing, but it will cause major rifts in future elections and could undermine the government's power in the long run. 

Pariona, Amber. World Atlas. “What Type Of Government Does Myanmar Have?” 1 Aug. 2017.

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-type-of-government-does-myanmar-have.html

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2016/03/30/aung-san-suu-kyis-new-government-what-to-look-for-in-myanmar/

“Timeline: The Week since Myanmar's Military Coup.” CNA, 7 Feb. 2021, www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/timeline-myanmar-military-coup-aung-saan-suu-kyi-protests-14132388. 

“Myanmar's Military Removes 24 Ministers and Deputies, Names 11 Replacements in New Administration.” CNA, 3 Feb. 2021, www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/myanmar-military-replaces-aung-san-suu-kyi-ministers-coup-14089900. 

“As Myanmar Erupts Again, 'Call It the Red Ribbon Revolution' Says Protester.” Myanmar Mix, 8 Feb. 2021, myanmarmix.com/en/articles/as-myanmar-erupts-again-call-it-the-red-ribbon-revolution-says-protester. 

Protests in Russia: Is there hope for the democratic model?

    President Putin has been in power (either as the Russian president or prime minister) for over 20 years. The constitutional changes made in 2020 allow him to run for reelection two more times and if he is reelected, he will remain Russia’s president until 2036 (Reuters 2020). One of the biggest critics of Putin and an opposition leader is Alexei Navalny who was severely poisoned last year with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent (BBC 2020). Many, including Navalny, believe that Putin is behind the poisoning of the prominent opposition leader. After receiving medical treatment in Germany, Navalny returned to Moscow on January 17th, 2021 when he was immediately arrested. He was sentenced to nearly three years of prison time for failing to report to the police for his suspended sentence from 2014. Navalny’s team argued that these charges were absurd because he had reported to the police twice a month before his poisoning and it was impossible to do so after the Novichok attack since he was being treated in Germany and in a coma for a period of time (BBC 2021). The accused argued that the sentence was fabricated in order to silence him, saying that “[s]omeone did not want [him] to take a single step on the territory of Russia, and we know why. The reason is the fear of the man in the bunker” (Ray 2021).

Macdougall, J. (2020). https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/09/02/novichok-use-shows-only-state-could-have-poisoned-navalny-aide-a71326

    Navalny has been challenging the Kremlin and calling for anti-corruption for years. His most recent criticism of President Putin is the video exposé - “Putin's palace. History of world's largest bribe”. In it Navalny explains the history of Putin’s corruption schemes and his rise to power, and he describes the extremely expensive palace by the Black Sea, which Navalny claims was built for President Putin. Navalny’s arrest together with his continued criticism of Putin and work for anti-corruption in Russia has inspired millions of people to protest his arrest and call for a better Russia. Not all protesters fully support Navalny, but they nonetheless risked being subjected to violence because they don’t want to live in a country where people are scared to speak out and they strongly believe Russians deserve better (Roache 2021). Thousands of people are being arrested and authorities are using violence and brutality against the protesters. Amnesty International’s Moscow Office Director, Natalia Zviagina, says that “Russian authorities have arrested so many people in recent weeks that detention centres in Moscow have run out of space, and peaceful protesters are being held in deportation facilities” (Amnesty International 2021). The fact that Russia is a centralized state with a high degree of autonomy and its history as a communist state offer some clarity as to why the government would have a strong reaction to protesters. The Kremlin's response to these peaceful protesters and the use of force to silence critics serve as a reminder of what those in power are willing to do to remain in power, completely disregarding what their citizens demand.

Shemetov, M. (2021). Law enforcement officers detain a man during a rally in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Russia [Photo]. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/russia-detains-thousands-at-protests-aga-idUSRTX8SS94

    Russia’s demand for less corruption and a better future is not an isolated case. Many parallels can be drawn between the Russian protests and the protests in Belarus against the electoral fraud in the presidential elections that pronounced a landslide victory for Lukashenko in 2020. Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus for 26 years and the opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, was exiled from her country. Like in Russia, authorities in Belarus have used violence against peaceful protesters. The government has subjected many journalists to intimidation, violence and jail, actively trying to silence everybody who would speak against Lukashenko (Bushuev 2021). Last August Lukashenko said that Putin had promised to help him in case he needed assistance to ensure control in Belarus. Both men have been in power for a long time and clearly signal to their citizens that they will not tolerate criticism and opposition. Both countries are facing major challenges with their governments which trying to hold on to power by enforcing means to silence those who voice their discontent.

Fedosenko, V. (2020). An injured man smokes a cigarette as he attends a rally following the presidential election in Minsk, Belarus [Photo]. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/street-protests-in-belarus-after-contest-idUSRTX7OMH7 

    We are yet to see what the protests both in Russia and Belarus result in - whether the vast number of people speaking up and demanding justice will awaken a greater democratic future or if the appalling use of brutality by the government will erase any such hope. Judging from the Russian government’s desire to once again be considered a super power (after loosing that status following the end of the Cold War) and the fact that it seems to be unbothered by threats of sanctions, we may expect authorities to continue to employ violence and for the country to move further and further away from the democratic model. 

Link to relevant information regarding the protests in Russia - https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/01/russia-appalling-use-of-force-and-arrests-of-peaceful-protesters/


References:

Reuters. 2020. “Constitutional changes are the ‘right thing’ for Russia: Putin.” https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-putin-constitution-idUSKBN2460OD (February 7, 2021).

Ray, Siladitya. 2021. “‘I Was In A Coma’: Navalny Ridicules Allegation He Failed To Meet Parole Officers In Moscow Court Hearing.” Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/02/02/i-was-in-a-coma-navalny-ridicules-allegation-he-failed-to-meet-parole-officers-in-moscow-court-hearing/?sh=51bd24323771 (February 7, 2021).

BBC. 2021. “Alexei Navalny: Russia’s Vociferous Putin Critic.“ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-16057045 (February 7, 2021).

BBC. 2020. “Navalny ‘poisoned’: What are Novichok agents and what do they do.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43377698 (February 7, 2021).

Bushuev, Mikhail. 2021. “The Lukashenko regime’s persecution of Belarus journalists.” DW. https://www.dw.com/en/the-lukashenko-regimes-persecution-of-belarus-journalists/a-56377758 (February 7, 2021).

Roache, Madeline. 2021. “‘The Whole System Needs Changing.’ The Russia Protests Are About More Than Just Alexei Navalny.” Time. https://time.com/5936827/russia-protests-alexey-navalny-inequality/ (February 7, 2021).

Amnesty International. 2021. “Russia: Appalling use of force and arrests of peaceful protesters.” https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/01/russia-appalling-use-of-force-and-arrests-of-peaceful-protesters/ (February 7, 2021).

Навальный, Алексей. (2021). “Putin’s Palace. History of world’s largest bribe.” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipAnwilMncI&t=1578s (February 7, 2021).

Indira: Government Sets up Small Farmers for Failure

By Drew B.

India, specifically New Delhi, has been in turmoil since late last year due to the recently implemented acts reforming previous agriculture laws. The Indian government stated that these were applied to benefit the farming industry. However the small time private farmers feel it is a ploy to assist larger farming corporations. Currently 60% of India's 1.3 billion population rely on agriculture as their source of income and livelihood (Mogul, 2021). These upset farmers have taken to the streets and are rebelling against these new bills passed. They are currently in the 7th month of protesting and are firm that they will not stop until their needs are met.




The Laws

The Bills were passed by the Prime Minister of India, Nerendra Modi and other supporting legislative members. These were intended to allow more freedom of trade and enlarge their markets. The farmers feel this reform was rather disrespectful and bestows all power within corporate walls leaving private farmers in shambles. These new laws consist of “The Farmers Trade and Commerce Act” along with “Farmers Agreement on Price Assurance Act” and the “Essential Commodities Act”. These laws revolve around global electronic trading which most private farmers in India can not afford. (Park, 2021)

The Outcome

The farmers openly have stated that they will not halt protests until these laws are repealed outright. The government has attempted to negotiate with the farmers and protest leaders but they refuse negotiations unless their needs are met, which once again is an outright appeal.





Havoc at the Capital

The protests sparked August 9th, 2020 and are still ongoing today. They began consisting of 200 farm unions throughout 22 different states and have grown to be much bigger over the past few months. The farmers refuse to leave the area and many have been even sleeping there for the past four months (Zargar, 2021). The protests started off fairly moderate and peaceful up until January 26, when a group of farmers stormed India’s historic Red Fort building. This attack left many protesters and police officers injured. In response to the farmer's ambush, the police officers were seemingly forced to use violence back. Prior to the charge, the government was actively trying to put an end to the farmers peaceful protests (Mashal, 2021).



Internet Shutdown

Recently many celebrities and influencers took to twitter to raise awareness for the events. Amongst those two were R&B singer Rihanna and environmental activist, Greata Thunberg (both pictured below). Indian government officials reacted by saying that “the temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted to by celebrities and others, is neither accurate nor responsible” (Mogul, 2021). In response to the internet traction and statements that were released, the government temporarily dismantled internet connection. These hubs were being used as an outlet for the protesters to publicize the ongoing acts.





References

Zargar, Arshad R. “Greta Thunberg Reiterates Support for India Farmers' Protest despite ‘Threats.’” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 4 Feb. 2021, www.cbsnews.com/news/india-farmers-protest-greta-thunberg-threats-rihanna-meena-harris-modi-government/.

Mogul, Rhea. “Indian Farmers' Protests: Rihanna, Greta Thunberg Lead Growing Support and Draw Furious Backlash.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 4 Feb. 2021, www.nbcnews.com/news/world/rihanna-greta-thunberg-lead-growing-support-india-s-farmers-draw-n1256700.

Mashal, Mujib, et al. “India's Farmer Protests Explained.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Jan. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/world/asia/india-farmer-protest.html.


Park, Andrea. “India's Farmers Have Been Protesting New Agriculture Laws for Months-Here's Why.” Marie Claire, Marie Claire, 3 Feb. 2021, www.marieclaire.com/politics/a35397911/indian-farmers-protest/.

Coronavirus & Hungary: The New Way History Repeats Itself

“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.” ― Aldous Huxley, Collected Essays.

Viktor Orbán, Hungarian Prime Minister. Photo courtesy of https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/04/12/viktor-orban-is-just-getting-started-hungary/

        Since the onset of the Coronavirus Pandemic, governments worldwide have enacted strict measures to contain the spread of the virus–but not without infringing on their citizen’s individual freedoms, equality, and democracy itself. Aspiring autocratic leaders around the world have not let the Pandemic go to waste; they’ve taken advantage of it–seized control of their governments and implemented draconian legislation to expand their power. As per usual, during times of crisis, laws passed are often rapidly voted on without much reflection and almost always outlive the crisis they were supposed to solve. For example, the Patriot Act of 2001, drafted in response to the Terrorist Attacks of 9/11, expanded American government surveillance on American citizens, citing an increased need to intercept terrorism. Now, in 2021, twenty years later, the Patriot Act is still active. While many countries granted political elites emergency powers that would be unreasonable pre-Covid, nothing is as disturbing as the increasingly authoritarian regime of Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán. Since being elected in 2010, Orbán and his party have slowly dismantled the systems of democracy within Hungary by rewriting the constitution, redrawing parliamentary districts, expanding the constitutional court’s size, and buying 90% of private media, among many other tactics. Emergency powers granted to Orbán due to the Coronavirus Pandemic have aided him in successfully dragging his country into authoritarianism; the Hungarian Prime Minister now has the power to suspend existing laws, bypass Hungarian parliament on new laws that he disagrees with, limit freedom of speech, suspend all Hungarian elections, and imprison anyone who’s distributed “distorted” or “false” information, as defined by Orbán and his party–and, these emergency powers are indefinite. After a little more than a decade in power, Orbán has now become the democratically elected dictator of Hungary.

Hungarian Parliament. Photo courtesy of https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/13/17823488/hungary-democracy-authoritarianism-trump

        Like that of Hungary, the regression towards a more authoritarian-like state is, unfortunately, common during times of calamity. Specifically, during Covid; Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has granted his intelligence agencies the power to track citizens with their mobile phone data; President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has been granted extraordinary powers, such as assuming ownership of private companies that “unjustifiably refuse or signify that they are no longer able to operate due to the outbreak,” as defined by President Duterte himself; Thailand Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, has been granted the authority to censor the media if they spread “disinformation,” as defined by Chan-o-cha himself; and, the United States just barely dodged legislation that would’ve allowed the indefinite detaining of citizens without trial–directly opposing the Sixth Amendment.

The Fall of the Roman Empire. Photo courtesy of https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszjvq

        While we need to take immediate, drastic measures to contain the Coronavirus, we must not forget that those in power will take advantage of the crisis for their own benefit. While the Coronavirus itself may be new, its history has been playing on repeat since the human species gained sentience. Political elites in Ancient Greece fostered conflict and competition between their city-states to further their own agenda, contributing to the fall of the Athenian democracy. The Roman Empire's political elites used their status to gradually shift their representative democracy to a dictatorship, which contributed to the Roman Empire’s ultimate demise. Hitler used the tragedy of World War 1 and Germany’s severe economic depression to establish the Nazi party, evoke a wave of German nationalism, and establish the harmful myth of Aryan grandiosity. Coronavirus has only modernized these dangerous political tendencies. Fighting for the preservation and expansion of democracy is the moral and ethical obligation of every citizen in every country–not just those on the brink of dictatorship like Hungary. If we do not apply history’s lessons to the present day, we will undoubtedly seal our fate as part of the repeating cycle.

References:

Beauchamp, Zack. “It Happened There: How Democracy Died in Hungary.” Vox, 13 Sept. 2018, 

        www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/13/17823488/hungary-democracy-authoritarianism-trump.

Borbáth, Endre. “How Does the Corona Virus Strengthen Authoritarianism in Hungary?” Berlin Social 

        Science Center, 15 Apr. 2020, www.wzb.eu/en/research/corona-und-die-folgen/how-does-the-corona-

        virus-strengthen-authoritarianism-in-hungary.

Kingsley, Patrick. “As West Fears the Rise of Autocrats, Hungary Shows What's Possible.” The New York 

        Times, The New York Times, 10 Feb. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/world/europe/hungary-

        orban-democracy-far-right.html.

Guerra, Gustavo. “Global Legal Monitor.” Philippines: President Granted Temporary Extraordinary 

        Powers to Combat COVID-19 | Global Legal Monitor, 30 Apr. 2020, www.loc.gov/law/foreign-

        news/article/philippines-president-granted-temporary-extraordinary-powers-to-combat-covid-19/.

China’s Belt and Road initiative: Imperialism Through Infrastructure?

Olivia D

The Silk Road was a web of trade routes connecting China and the Far East with the
Middle East and Europe. The network spread culture and trade across the world with China as its center and eventually died after succumbing to economic pressure from the Ottoman Empire.

Five hundred years later, the “rise of China” began. Today, China is considered an authoritarian state with significant power on the world stage, which it only hopes to expand. One way China is doing this is through a “new silk road.”

Mark, Joshua. “Silk Road.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, 16 Oct. 2020, www.ancient.eu/Silk_Road.

In 2013, the president of China, Xi Jinping, mentioned in a speech in Kazakhstan that he wanted to build an economic belt along the former routes of the Silk Road. The initiative would essentially build roads, bridges, ports, and other infrastructure in other countries financed by the Chinese government. The plan is two pronged: a “silk road” on land and a maritime “silk road.”

The plan is called the Belt and Road Initiative and has already attracted the attention of over 60 countries representing ⅔ of the world population. One of the largest projects in the initiative includes a $60 billion investment in a China-Pakistan economic corridor connecting China to the Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea. Morgan Stanley predicts this project could cost China roughly $1.2-1.3 trillion by 2027.

What does China hope to achieve from this major investment? The answer is unsettling for countries aiming to promote democracy abroad. China has both geopolitical and economic motivations for this project. Slower economic growth in recent years and the “pivot to Asia,” which aimed to expand U.S. economic relations with countries except China, have pressured Xi Jingping to look for new markets elsewhere. China has since financed the creation of ports along the Indian Ocean in Djibouti, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Experts believe China intends to create ports in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Hong Kong as well. These “ports” would in reality serve as naval bases created to protect Chinese interests in the Indian Ocean.
Vox. “China’s Trillion Dollar Plan to Dominate Global Trade.” YouTube, uploaded by VOX, 5 Apr. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvXROXiIpvQ

How has China been able to finance this? China is a unitary state where all of the power lies in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party led by Xi Jingping. Xi is able to act with significant authority due to China’s high capacity and autonomy. China’s rise since the 1970s has turned it into an economic powerhouse with a high capacity to implement massive infrastructure projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative. China’s political system is authoritarian which provides it significant autonomy as political leaders are not very worried about being reelected based on public opinion of their actions.

How does this project compare to other countries? No other country in the world is doing anything similar to China. Other countries have undergone massive infrastructure projects, notably India and The United Arab Emirates. However, none have gone so far as to use infrastructure as a tenet of their foreign and economic policy. Some comparisons have been made between the Marshall Plan and the Belt Road Initiative. The Marshall plan was a policy of the United States which provided relief to European and Asian countries after the destruction caused by World War II. The policy lended money to countries in need and in return, American ideals were promoted rather than the communist values of the Soviet Union. Similarly, China is making relations with countries previously off its radar: Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Djibouti, Kenya, and more. These relationships give China easy access to spread its authoritarian principles to other countries, especially in the wake of decreased investment in the area from democratic countries such as the United States. The Belt Road Initiative is different from the Marshall Plan in two key areas. First, the Belt Road Initiative is limitless while the Marshall Plan was only intended to help rebuild Europe and Asia in the post-war period. Secondly, the Belt Road Initiative is on a much larger scale than the Marshall plan as it has significantly more funding.

“Belt and Road Initiative.” World Bank, 2018, www.worldbank.org/en/topic/regional-integration/brief/belt-and-road-initiative.

What does this mean in the global context? For countries trying to uphold democracy around the world, this project of the Chinese government poses a significant threat. China is making relationships with countries that have been historically less important in western foreign and economic policy. An alliance of authoritarian countries that have significant economic power over the United States and other democracies would not only be bad for democracies across the world, but would also weaken the power of those fighting for civil liberties inside China such as Hong Kongers. Some ways to rival this project would be for the United States or international organizations such as the E.U. to prioritize policy with African countries which seem to be a specific target of the Belt and Road initiative. Some experts say the United States should strengthen trans-atlantic cooperation to take a stand against China’s expanding authoritarianism.

Although covered by a benign banner of infrastructure policy, the Chinese Road and Belt Initiative has proven to be much more than a practical program to improve conditions in countries outside of China. Instead, the Belt and Road Initiative has the potential to create a dangerous power dynamic that rivals the influence of democracy across the world and may make authoritarianism the prominent form of government.

Refrences

Chatzky, Andrew, and James McBride. “China’s Massive Belt and Road Initiative.” Council on

Foreign Relations, 21 Feb. 2019, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative.

History.com Editors. “Silk Road.” HISTORY, 26 Sept. 2019, www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/silk-road.

“LibGuides: Federal, Unitary & Confederate Government Systems: Home.” Skylinecollege.Edu, Skyline College, 2020, guides.skylinecollege.edu/c.php?g=279117

Mills, Fred. “Top 5 Massive Infrastructure Projects.” The B1M,

2017, www.theb1m.com/video/top-5-massive-infrastructure-projects.

NowThis World. “Why Is China Investing Billions in Africa? | NowThis World.” YouTube, uploaded by Now This World, 16 Dec. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HwxDxrKzMk.

Rhodes, Ben. “Missing America” from Crooked Media, 25 August 2020, https://crooked.com/podcast/3-authoritarianism/

Shen, Simon, and Wilson Chan. “A Comparative Study of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Marshall Plan.” Palgrave Communications, vol. 4, no. 1, 2018. Crossref, doi:10.1057/s41599-018-0077-9.

Vox. “China’s Trillion Dollar Plan to Dominate Global Trade.” YouTube, uploaded by VOX, 5 Apr. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvXROXiIpvQ.

Water-related Terrorism in the Middle East

With the effects of water scarcity being magnified by global warming in recent years, terrorist and extremist organizations in the Middle East are more frequently weaponizing water to achieve political and economic objectives by controlling populations of people. The climate crisis has increased the spread of desertification and has prolonged periods of drought and famine in arid regions of the world, creating conflict over water (Bodetti, 2019). Fragile states home to terrorist organizations such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Yemen are among countries most susceptible to water-related terrorism (NewInt, 2020). By taking control of dams, irrigation systems, pipelines, and wells, militant groups are able to suppress communities reliant on those sources for water. Restricting peoples’ access to water has resulted in a humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, displacing millions of people across international borders.

Water scarcity and desertification on the rise due to global warming. Photo: Foreign Policy Research Institute

Impacts of Water Scarcity
By the year 2030, a quarter of the world’s population will live in locations that experience high water stress, such as drought (Dene, 2020). Water scarcity and global warming have increased desertification in dry areas that already deal with water shortages. Essentially, climate change acts as a “force multiplier” that exacerbates the effects environmental issues have on communities (Bodetti, 2019).

Figure 1: Freshwater sources continue to trend downward for Arab countries. (Middle East Institute, 2017)

Syrian Water Crisis
The crisis occurring in Syria today provides an example of how water is being weaponized against a group of people. The Kurdish minority population and rebel groups fighting for independence in Northern Syria have been denied access to water after Turkey, a Syrian ally, dammed the flow of rivers downstream into Syria, shut-down water plants, and bombed water stations. Overall this has reduced nearly 40% of the water flow into Syria and has left 650,000 people without adequate access to water just as the coronavirus pandemic hit (NewInt, 2020).

Syrian refugees must walk miles to neighboring towns in search of freshwater. (UrduPoint, 2020)

A Rise in Terrorism
Terrorist organizations in the Middle East have increasingly turned to water-related terrorism as a means of achieving their goals. It has increased 268 percent from 1970 to 2016 with the highest concentration of events being in the post-9/11 era. Terrorists often target infrastructure as a way to disrupt government facilities and influence populations (Veilleux, 2018). Over the past decade in Iraq and Syria, ISIS has fought the government over control of major dams and water reservoirs. Once in their possession, terrorist groups are then able to exploit populations of people affected by water scarcity (NewInt, 2020). By weaponizing water, terrorists can recruit more members by fulfilling the promise of providing water and other resources. Farmers in agriculture-based economies are most vulnerable to recruitment as a way to support themselves and their families when drought damages crop yield (Bodetti, 2019). Similar tactics are being employed by terrorist organizations all over the world like Al Shabaab in Somalia and Boko Haram in Africa’s Sahel Region (Dene, 2020).

Relation to Comparative Politics
The issue of water-related terrorism relates directly to comparative politics because it occurs on an international scale. Terrorist organizations and oppressive governments have historically been utilizing this war crime, although it has increased in frequency and magnitude over the past few decades. The weaponization of water displaces millions of people across borders into other countries and has created the worst refugee crisis since WWII, with about 5.5 million refugees fleeing from the Syrian crisis alone (Hjelmgaard, 2018). The effects of damming rivers and diverting water flow have long reaching effects across state boundaries. Furthermore, the implications of anthropogenic climate change have worsened the problem of water scarcity for the Middle East. Climate change is a global crisis, and preventative action must occur on an international scale in order to stop environmental degradation in regions that experience it to a greater degree.







Sources

Barton, A. (2020). Water In Crisis - Spotlight Middle East. The Water Project. https://thewaterproject.org/water-crisis/water-in-crisis-middle-east

Bodetti, A. (2019, July 25). Climate Change Expands the Terrorist Threat | YaleGlobal Online. Yale Global. https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/climate-change-expands-terrorist-threat

Dene, M. (2020, July 26). Rising Tides of Terrorism. Foreign Policy Research Institute. https://www.fpri.org/article/2020/07/rising-tides-of-terrorism/

Hjelmgaard, K. U. T. (2018, December 19). Syria conflict explained: How did we end up here? USA TODAY. https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/04/09/syria-conflict-explained-bashar-assad/498756002/

Veilleux, J. (2018, May 8). New Global Analysis Finds Water-Related Terrorism Is On the Rise. New Security Beat. https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2018/05/global-analysis-finds-water-related-terrorism-rise/

Water as a Weapon of War. (2020, June 12). New Internationalist. https://newint.org/features/2020/06/02/water-weapon-war

Switzerland Referendum: What is the State of Direct Democracy in Our Modern World?

Switzerland is a rare example of direct democracy within our modern world. Their citizens often vote on specific policy issues with referendums. Recently, the nation held a referendum to end an accord with the European Union that allows the free movement of people in and out of the country. Proponents of the bill argued that its passing would give Switzerland greater control over its border by allowing them to only select the immigrants they want. Opponents of this bill argued that its passing would bring uncertainty into a healthy economy during a pandemic, and prevent many Swiss workers from working elsewhere in Europe. The result of the vote was an overwhelming rejection of the new proposal as 62% voted against it and 38% voted for it.


The significance of this referendum is to show the existence of direct democracy in our modern world. Switzerland is considered a direct democracy because their citizens directly vote for many specific issues on the ballot. This is quite different than most western democracies, such as the United States and Great Britain. Both the United States and United Kingdom have instances of direct democracy, but not to the scale that occurs in Switzerland. As the world has recently seen, the United Kingdom left the European Union after a referendum known as Brexit. This was an example of direct democracy, but it does not define the political nature of the United Kingdom. In the UK, all bills must pass both Houses of Parliament, but are not subject to a direct vote from the citizens. However, in Switzerland, the citizens can reject any bill with their optional referendum.

In the modern world, there continues to be a debate regarding the legitimacy of democracy, as many push for the implementation of more direct democracy. While I agree that direct democracy works well in a small nation such as Switzerland, I do not believe that it is applicable to large and diverse nations such as the United Kingdom and the United States. These two sovereignties are defined by different states and nations within them, causing the existence of many factions. Both the states and individual nations within these commonwealths each have individual desires and needs. If direct democracy were to be implemented on a federal level in the U.S. and U.K., it could lead to the tyranny of the majority as policies could be implemented nation-wide that do not fit the needs of individual states.


Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54316316

By Calvin K.

Italy: Dreams of Reformation and the Five Star Movement

Italian Politics

Today, Italy is an economic powerhouse in Europe with an equally sized military. It has seen it's fair share of conflict in the 20th century but now it is seeing its own internal conflict. With such a wide array of ideas in the nation, Italy suffers from having "too many cooks in the kitchen." To break it down, the parliament consists of four different parties and two main coalitions, the center-left and center-right coalitions. In these coalitions exists nine more parties. All-in-all, the country has a complex distribution 13 dominant parties with many smaller regionally-based powers as well ("The Local", 2017). Historically, the parliament has suffered from high-levels of corruption at all levels of government, as well as being slow at implementing change. Italy's youth wants to change this.

Five Star Movement supporters with founder, Beppe Grillo, at a protest. Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP

Virtual to Reality: The Five Star Movement

The Five Star Movement (also called Movimento 5 Stelle or M5S) formed to overcome the problems in the Italian Government through an "online democracy" ideology. M5S was formed in 2009 by comedian Beppe Grillo and web strategist Gianroberto Casaleggio over the internet . They aimed for a political party which could govern via the internet without having to conform to the establishment or any political group. Using Grillo's blog and Meetup.com, M5S soon gained popularity and eventually gained traction through protests. Its initial strengths came from the idea of taking political elites out of office and replacing them with a direct democracy using online voting. Today, the Five Star Movement focuses on anti-establishment, environmentalist, and anti-globalist policies (Newell, 2016). 

The Five Star Movement has definitely shown to have an interesting combination of ideas. Due to the nature of the party, many different ideas are presented. They are descriptively right-wing, however, they do hold some left-wing values such as sustainable energy and legalization of gay marriage. Because of this, Five Star is also referred to as Italy's modern populist party.

Matteo Salvini, The League's hard-right leader. Photo: Reuters

Struggles of the Party

While being a relatively new party in the Italian government, Five Star is facing many issues with opposing parties and from within the party itself. When Five Star ran in the general election Parliament, they won the most votes of any individual party but lost to the coalitions. Today, First Star had joined the center-left Democratic Party, a party which it would have opposed in the past. Struggling to fight against the establishment, the movement is failing to adequately provide for Italy and, in turn, is facing internal fractures. One issue is how First Star side-stepped the League, a hard-right party run by Matteo Salvini, and now faces political scrutiny. Part of the issue arises when the Five Star Movement is forced to work with the establishment, the very group it claims to fight against.

Recently, Five Star has held a great deal of power in Italy but lacks the ability to use it. Critics argue that Five Star is unable to effectively govern the state and that it has joined the Democratic Coalition out of desperation to prevent the collapse of the country (Horowitz, 2020). Several party members of Five Star have left and joined other groups such as the left coalition or Salvini's League. These departures came from M5S's failure to uphold their promises. The party originally condemned major infrastructure, industrial and energy projects, however, after gaining considerable power they have let these projects go through (Horowitz, 2020). 

Now, the Five Star Movement has become a less and less favored party in Italy. Opinion polls have shown a 19 point drop in the last two years. In 2020, only 15% of the population favor the party (Gilbert, 2020). Some of the biggest issues facing M5S are the threat of the opposition, Salvini's League, and the lack of organization. 

References

An introductory guide to the Italian political system. (2017, May 18). Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://www.thelocal.it/20190828/the-five-star-digital-voting-platform-that-could-threaten-a-government-deal-in-italy

Gilbert, M. (2020, October 09). Italy's 'Incoherent' Coalition Survived Local Elections. Now Can It Govern? Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/29119/in-italy-elections-the-incoherent-coalition-held-its-own-now-can-it-govern

Horowitz, J. (2020, January 18). As Five Star Party Risks Implosion, Italy Fears the Fallout. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/18/world/europe/italy-five-star.html

Newell, J. (2016, December 1). What is Italy's Five Star movement? Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://theconversation.com/what-is-italys-five-star-movement-69596

Conte says to be Italians' defence lawyer in govt of change - English. (2018, May 23). Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://www.ansa.it/english/news/2018/05/23/conte-says-to-be-italians-defence-lawyer-in-govt-of-change_3294ff64-f175-4f2d-8323-c775d270645c.html

Venezuela’s Dim Future: A Democracy or Dictatorship?

Located in the northern coast of South America with a population of over 28 million, Venezuela, a country once seen so prosperous is now is in a political and economic mess.  One of the leading exporters of oil, poor policies as well as poor administration has led to an entire economic collapse.  Once Hugo Chavez became president in 1999, a new Constitution was put into a place in which he proposed an increase in presidential terms and presidential powers.  Before his untimely death in 2013, Chavez was able to name his predecessor in Nicholas Maduro and since then Venezuela’s democracy has taken a major hit as their political future is surely in doubt.

Figure 1. Venezuelans protest Maduro's regime (Rawlins, 2017).

 

President Maduro, the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, has sent the country into the worst recession in their nation’s history as his only goal seems to be expanding his own power.  Under this authoritarian rule, the economy has collapsed, and shortages of basic necessities have plagued the country (Congressional Research Service, 2020).  The biggest issue came in 2019 when Nicholas Maduro illegally claimed the presidency as evidence proves of a rigged and fraudulent election where Maduro manipulated the electoral process towards his own benefit.  These illegal practices include voter suppression, manipulation of votes, and voter intimidation (State.Gov, 2020).  To add on to his illegitimacy, Maduro has also placed bans on the participation of major political parties and their candidates as well as postponing other national elections indefinitely.  As a result citizens are fleeing the state as they search for a new homes and opportunities as the crisis in Venezuela leaves them no more hope (The Heritage Foundation, 2020).  Poverty levels continue to rise and the manipulation of food for support by the government continue to damage their reputation.

Figure 2. Graph shows the increase in inflation levels since Maduro has been president. 

The United States and 57 other nations view Maduro as the illegitimate president of Venezuela and recognize Juan Guaido as the democratically elected president.  Guaido and most citizens seek along with international help, a peaceful transition of power but seems very unlikely as they seek other alternatives.  Although the Maduro regime has yet to give up power even as they face heavy sanctions from the United States puting pressure on Maduro’s circle as their county’s economy continues to tumble.  In a government that features major corruption, mishandles the country’s natural resources for their own expense, and seeks fraudulent elections proves Venezuela is no longer a democracy put a dictatorship under Maduro.

Figure 3. Interim President Juan Guaido speaks to supporters at an event in Caracas (Miller, 2019).

                                   References:

Congressional Research Service, Venezuela: Background and U.S. Relations. (2020, August 26). Retrieved October 25, 2020, from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R44841.pdf

The Heritage Foundation, The Troubling Situation in Venezuela. (2020). Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://www.heritage.org/americas/heritage-explains/the-troubling-situation-venezuela

U.S. Department of State, Venezuela: A Democratic Crisis - United States Department of State. (2020, October 08). Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://www.state.gov/a-democratic-crisis-in-venezuela