Class Blog Instructions

When you are posting your class blog, go to edit pages, find your page (for example, Russia Class Blog 02) and post your stuff. DO NOT just put it as a draft on the main Political Warrior page. I should see all of your team's stuff on your country/class blog. When you are ready to publish (ie: Monday morning for Russia) I will publish. Problems? E-mail me.

Introducing, The International

Kudos to Anagha S. and Zaic H. for publishing a new blog, "The International," that is linked at the right. Focusing on politics, policy and movements in the Middle East, check it out.

Good job, guys!

Remember Russia class blog presentations, due Monday, 2/28.

Gorby: 'Looks are not everything'

Think illiberal democracy and think about how many other regimes are similar.

Mikhail Gorbachev lambasts Vladimir Putin's 'sham' democracy

Russia under prime minister Vladimir Putin is a sham democracy, Mikhail Gorbachev has said in his harshest criticism yet of the ruling regime."We have everything – a parliament, courts, a president, a prime minister and so on. But it's more of an imitation," the last president of the Soviet Union said.

Gorbachev, who oversaw the softening of the communist system and subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union, has become increasingly critical of the modern Russian state, accusing its leaders of rolling back the democratic reforms of the 1990s… Asked how he thought the regime approached human rights, Gorbachev said: "There's a problem there. It's a sign of the state of our democracy."

He was echoing statements made by Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, during a visit to Russia last week. Gorbachev said United Russia, the ruling party founded with the sole goal of supporting Putin's leadership, was a throwback.

"United Russia reminds me of the worst copy of the Communist party," he said. "We have institutions but they don't work. We have laws but they must be enforced."Its stranglehold over political life would eventually backfire. "The monopoly ends in rotting and hampers the development of democratic processes."…

See also: Democracy with Russian characteristics

More on plurality and majority elections

More on plurality and majority elections and their importance throughout the world today:

(From Teaching Comparative Blog)

Joshua Tucker, an Associate Professor of Politics at New York University and one of The Monkey Cage bloggers, wrote a good piece for discussion in The Wall St. Journal. Applying the concepts to other countries (including the USA) should not be difficult. We will discuss, with added in some information about the proposed "Alternative Vote" in the UK and about proportional representation, used in the Russian DUMA, on Thursday. (See: Q&A: Alternative Vote referendum and State Duma adopting proportional vote)

Why Egypt Needs a Two-Round Presidential Election

In the coming months, it appears Egypt will be rewriting its constitutional laws, which will include rules for conducting elections. If Egypt retains a presidential system of government, then the rules for electing the Egyptian president will be of paramount importance. Outside of the United States—which uses a convoluted indirect system of electing its president—most countries with presidential systems employ one of the following two direct ways of electing their president:

• In a plurality election, a single round of voting is held, and the candidate with the most votes at the end of that round is declared the winner of the election.
  
• In a majoritarian election, a first round of voting is held. If a candidate passes a pre-arranged threshold (we’ll call this X% of the vote) in the first round, then he or she is declared the winner of the election. If no candidate gets more than X% of the vote, then a second round of voting is held at a later date. However, participation in this second round is limited to only the candidates that performed the best in the first round. The exact number of candidates allowed to advance to the second round is set by law. As majoritarian elections often feature two rounds, they are commonly referred to as “two-round presidential elections.”...

[I]f it turns out that… the Muslim Brotherhood has the largest support of any political force in the country but a majority of the country does not want a Muslim Brotherhood president—then a one-round presidential election will not ultimately reflect the preferences of the Egyptian people. A two-round election, however, would.

http://blogs.wsj.com/ideas-market/2011/02/18/why-egypt-needs-a-two-round-presidential-election/

On Wisconsin

Cheeze-whiz, (sorry, this is serious) what's going On (in) Wisconsin, is big.

Here are posed some questions to hope you get your answers to what is going on in Madison that may have serious Labor/Budget/Constitutional/Media implications for the rest of the country. Like our Federal government, the budget of our state houses are also busted.

(None of these answers are absolutes, just my take from the Soap Box. Enter yours in the comment section.)

Q: Do elections have consequences, without any need to compromise?

A: One of the basic Concepts of Democracy that we teach is, "Necessity for Compromise." Another is, "Majority Rules, but Minority Rights must be Respected." If one follows the "Politics is Easy, Governing is Hard," mantra, then the government leaders in Wisconsin (and Washington) must work together. However, the guy interviewed in Bob Woodward's piece above and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker apparently disagree.

Q: Is this about trying to solve a budget crisis or trying to break the back of a the state teachers union.

A: Yes and Yes. Depends on who you ask, but it appears the Governor is trying to do both. He is not in this bill planning to take away the right to collective bargain from state troopers, for example.

Q: Is there a Constitutional Right for public employees to Organize and to Collective Bargain?

A: Yes to Organize. No to Collective Bargain. Today over 40 states have statutes guaranteeing that public employees have the right to engage in collective bargain, but many state legislatures are watching Wisconsin to see a road map for rolling back this right of public employees.

Q: Why did 14 Wisconsin state senate Democrats flee to Illinois?

A: (insert your own joke here) Without the "Wisconsin 14" the Wisconsin Senate did not have a quorum.

Wisconsin Senate rules require a 3/5 quorum for binding action in the Senate. There are currently 19 Republican senators, and 14 Democrat senators.

The GOP needs one more to get to 20.

Q: Was this Bob Woodward ABC News piece, "Fair and Balanced" for real, or did it have bias?

A: I thought it gave a good view of the situation from both sides (though, I was watching from my Soap Box), but it got criticized on blogs from both the right :

http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2011/02/21/abcs-bob-woodruff-touts-amazing-union-protests-downplays-other-side

And the left:

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/liberal-media-this-week-unfairly-balances-tea-party-and-union-protests/

(Seems to me that means it was good journalism)

Q: What does the public think about public vs. private sector unions?

A: I must admit, when I saw the Pew report 9see chart) reported on the news, and it said, "For the first time since the Progressive Era," less than 50 percent of Americans view Unions as favorable, I thought boy the Labor movement is going down. But a look inside the poll shows that the public viewed Unions more favorable than unfavorable. It further showed that Americans had an equally declining view of Business and Labor.

______________

One of my former students, WV grad Matt Beaty, is on the ground in Wisconsin, taking part in the process building his political efficacy. Matt will stop by in early March and share his observations with us during his Spring Break in early March.

Vote referendum: Clegg v. Cameron

The Alternative Vote Referendum bill passed through the delay of the House of Lords last week, and now the first national referendum in the UK will be held on May 5.

While promised by Prime Minister David Cameron, the Conservative oppose, while the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, supports the measure which would could change Britain's first-past-the-post voting system.

(See my briefing article linked under UK Legislature on the WV Thought Hive)

The BBC breaks down Clegg v. Cameron AV arguments:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12495429

The Guardian has video of their arguments:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/video/2011/feb/18/alternative-vote-david-cameron

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/video/2011/feb/18/nick-clegg-av-yes-vote-video?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3486

Too Close to Call

By the way, polls say the yes campaign is leading by a statistically insignificant 51% to 49%.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/feb/21/av-campaigns-icm-poll

Lessons from Mao for 'Facebook Revolutionaries'

From Mao's Little Red Book:

(Chapter 5)

"Every Communist must grasp the truth: Power grows out of the barrel of a gun."

(Chapter 9)

"Without an Army for the people, there is nothing for the people."

The video from Iran Monday, the men named the chant, Mousavi and Karroubi, are opposition leaders.

Iran bloggers...take notice. And remember two years ago following elections a similar-looking uprising of the people to last week's events in Egypt was put down by the theocratic regime in Iran.

Was the only difference that in Egypt last week, the military sided with the protesters?