McG Comparative Government

On Christmas day, Qian Yunhui was rolled over by a truck in the middle of a busy street in Yuequing, China. Although the Chinese police and state media reported that the incident was a traffic accident, their strong front has not been able to silence suspicions. The internet has allowed Chinese citizens to voice their [...]

Gorbachev Says Putin Obstructs Democracy One of Putin’s predecessors, Mikahil Gorbachev, is now openly voicing his opinion of Russia’s current leader, saying that Putin has had a negative effect on Russia’s road to democracy. While in office, Gorbchev, the last leader of the Communist party in the Soviet Union and last president of the USSR, [...]

For this week’s Hawk’s Eye, I read an article in the Economist about the pending Labour election results and the effects they will have on the party. Since the general election in May, campaigning has been fierce by the five candidates for Labour Party leader. Of all five (Ed Miliband, David Miliband, Ed Balls, Diane [...]

The Russian government’s latest tactic to suppress governmental opposition is to arrest and confiscate computers on the basis of software piracy. The Russian government recently discovered an environment group’s, Baikal Environment Wave, plans for a protest advocating in opposition to Putin’s decision to reopen a paper factory that polluted a source of fresh water. In [...]

Thomas Friedman’s editorial in the New York Times caught my attention for several reasons. First, it uses much of the vocabulary that we’ve been using in recent weeks. Second, and much more important, it compares China and the United States and raises a question that near and dear to the comparative course: which state is best prepared [...]

“Putin and Medvedev won’t be burned by Russia fires” By: Michael Stott http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6792O920100810 Over the course of this summer Russia has been engaged in a prolonged battle against the wildfires that have frequented its lands. The wildfires were brought on by the extreme heat wave that has plagued Russia for the last few months. Not [...]

“Calm Academic Tries to Tame Nigeria” Adam Nossiter http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/world/africa/01nigeria.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa known for being an illiberal democracy, is due for a presidential election. The only problem is there is no election date, no candidate list, and no list of registered voters. What is Nigeria to do? Who is going to [...]

David Brooks strikes again. This is a great op-ed placing the continuing crisis in the gulf into a much broader context. This context revolves around the appropriate role of government and the way that different nations answer that question. Brooks makes an excellent distinction between democratic capitalism and state capitalism. Definitely worth a read: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/opinion/15brooks.html?hp

So which form of government produces the best economy? That’s debatable when you consider China and India. As David Kestenbaum writes, “Democracy moves slowly. People debate things. Infrastructure — roads, water, power — remains underdeveloped. The Chinese government doesn’t have endless parliamentary debates and legal battles. It doesn’t ask a lot of questions. It does [...]

By Tori http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/12/20091230104542881809.html (from al jazeera) Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Iran for pro-government rallies. Protestors fill the squares of Qom, Tehran, Shiraz, and Arak. These demonstrations were not only designed by the state to show the strength of the government, but also to rally against the Iran’s political opposition, which had [...]