Teaching Comparative Government

The idea of united unions and a general strike appeared long ago. Now it's in Nigeria. Minimum Wage - Labour Begins Nationwide Strike Thursday Indications emerged, [Monday], that organised labour will, Thursday, commence a nationwide strike to force the Federal Government to announce its figure and ensure the completion of work on the new national minimum wage. Vanguard gathered last night that it was a decision reached by leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC; Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, and United Labour Congress of Nigeria, ULC, after an emergency meeting in Lagos. It was gathered that it will be formerly announced in Abuja… Earlier in the day, leaders of United Labour Congress of Nigeria, ULC, urged Nigerians to stockpile foodstuff and other necessities, saying a nationwide strike appeared now inevitable… Teaching Comparative blog entries are indexed. Use the search box to look for country names or concept labels attached to each entry. Just The Facts! 2nd editio

Journalists are renowned for using the terms government and regime as synonyms. At least one of the editors at The Economist studied comparative government and politics long enough to learn the difference. [Thanks to Paul Fitzpatrick in Texas for pointing this one out.] Mexico’s new president sets out to change his country’s course   But did voters want a new regime or just a new government? [W]hen Andrés Manuel López Obrador declared that he would be the first Mexican president since 1910 to use the [National Palace] as his workplace, he was making a statement that was both political and historical. Mr López Obrador (known as AMLO to Mexicans), who won a landslide victory in a presidential election on July 1st, promises a “fourth transformation”, after those of political independence, Juárez’s assertion of national sovereignty and the revolution in 1910-17. “This is a change of regime, not just of government,” says Lorenzo Meyer, a historian sympathetic to AMLO. Although he does no

Can the people in Nigeria overcome culture, ethnicity, and economics to become Nigerians? Most news reports about the conflicts between farmers and herders in Nigeria's Middle Belt come from southern sources and seem to describe the herders as evil invaders. This report seems more balanced. Nigerian Herders Face Threat From Farmers Competing for Land Across parts of Nigeria, conflicts that mirror the 20th Century range wars in the American West have broken out between farmers and herdsmen vying for land, leading to bloody battles. In the first six months of this year, these clashes killed an estimated 1,300 people –- six times the number who died in the war with the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram in the same period, the International Crisis Group says. About 300,000 people have been forced from their homes because of violence between farmers and herders, conflicts that are often exacerbated by religion, ethnicity and even the erratic weather patterns that accompany climate ch

Could earthquakes affect Nigerian politics? Letter from Africa: The link between earth tremors, God and Nigeria's elections In our series of letters from Africa, Nigerian writer and novelist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani considers why some earth tremors in Nigeria's capital caused such a stir. Sometime in the early hours of 6 September, I was tucked in bed at home in Abuja when, suddenly, a slight trembling seemed to sway the building from side to side… Later that day, frantic phone calls from friends checking to make sure that I was fine made me realise that what had simply been a mild trembling in my area was more tremulous in certain parts of the city… A few days after the earth tremors, which were felt in different parts of Abuja between 5 September and 8 September, the government released a statement to reassure residents that there was nothing to worry about… The National Space and Research Development Agency (NASRDA) assured Abuja residents that there was no cause for alarm

A possible election in the UK may be scheduled at the time of an election in the USA. British PM Theresa May 'planning snap election' in November British Prime Minister Theresa May is planning an early general election in November to save her leadership and to prevent the collapse of talks with European leaders over Britain's exit from the bloc, according to a report by the Sunday Times newspaper. The report comes just days after EU leaders rejected the Conservative party leader's preferred plan for leaving the EU, the so-called Chequers agreement. Under that plan, the United Kingdom would enter into a free trade area with the European Union, which would have common rules and standards in several major industries, and maintain customs duties regulations but end freedom of movement between EU member states and the UK. EU leaders dismissed the proposals as unworkable at a meeting they attended with May in Salzburg earlier this week. The Sunday Times spoke to two senior

An unscheduled election is scheduled in the UK A possible election in the UK at the time of an election in the USA. British PM Theresa May 'planning snap election' in November British Prime Minister Theresa May is planning an early general election in November to save her leadership and to prevent the collapse of talks with European leaders over Britain's exit from the bloc, according to a report by the Sunday Times newspaper. The report comes just days after EU leaders rejected the Conservative party leader's preferred plan for leaving the EU, the so-called Chequers agreement. Under the plan, the United Kingdom would enter into a free trade area with the European Union, which would have common rules and standards in several major industries, and maintain customs duties regulations but end freedom of movement between EU member states and the UK. EU leaders dismissed the proposals as unworkable at a meeting they attended with May in Salzburg earlier this week. The Sun

If a government office, like the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs, has no public address, no website, and no external telephone number, does it exist? Does its leader wield political power? In the case of Yang Wiemin, former head of the Central Leading Group, the answer is yes. Another example of guanxi at work? Do Yang's remarks illuminate a political fault line in the Chinese leadership? Former top Chinese officials call for better protection of human rights and justice for all Former top Chinese finance officials have called for better enforcement of the law and protection of human rights in China at a top forum to mark the 40th anniversary of the country’s market reforms. Yang Addressing the elite Chinese Economists 50 Forum on Sunday, Yang Weimin, who stepped down earlier this year from the secretariat of the Communist Party’s top economic policy panel, said Chinese people now demanded better protection of human rights, rather than just pursuit of econo

Which action is most unlikely? Counting votes that were not cast or the Communist Party demanding a fair election? (Are my Cold War biases showing?) Russian communist hunger strike over 'rigged' far east vote An opposition candidate has gone on hunger strike in the far east of Russia after suddenly losing a key regional election that he was poised to win. With more than 95% of votes counted in the Primorye region, the communist Andrei Ishchenko had a five-point lead. But during the night his pro-Putin rival Andrei Tarasenko overtook him. Protest in Vladivostok On Facebook Mr Ishchenko urged his supporters to protest in Vladivostok, saying "our votes are being stolen". The communists are taking legal action. Mr Ishchenko said the party's legal service was preparing formal protests over the results in several districts: Artyom, Ussuriysk, Nakhodka, and Sovietskiy, which is in Vladivostok. "We won't go away until we see fair election results!" he said.

Are the limits on government capabilities in NIgeria imposed by politics? economics? cleavages? Nigeria floods kill more than 100 More than 100 people have died in floods after Nigeria's two major rivers burst their banks, authorities say. Flooding in Nigeria The National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) says heavy rains caused the Niger River and Benue River to overflow. It has resulted in a series of floods across the country over two weeks, with rural areas most vulnerable. The government is urging residents along waterways to relocate to safe places. Thousands of people have been displaced and vast swathes of farmlands have been destroyed by the floods in central and southern Nigeria, says the BBC's Is'haq Khalid in the capital, Abuja. Niger State Worst hit is Niger State, where more than 40 people have died, Nema director Mustapha Yunusa Maihaja told the BBC. Eleven other states have been affected… Nigerian authorities are considering declaring a state of emergency,

Doing a year's worth of "national service" in Nigeria opens many doors for ambitious university graduates. Kemi Adeosun: Nigeria minister resigns over forged certificate Nigeria's finance minister has resigned over allegations she used a forged certificate to avoid the country's mandatory one-year youth service scheme. Kemi Adeosun, who lived in the UK until she was 34, said she had been told she was exempt because she was over 30. The former investment banker said she was issued with a certificate that she thought was genuine. But an internal investigation showed that it was forged. Ms Adeosun's resignation follows months of speculation in local media about whether her National Youth Service Corps certificate was genuine. The dual Nigerian and British national did not initially comment on the claims, leading to criticism from her opponents. However in a statement, she said she felt bound to resign after the investigation result became known. "This has c

Changing the subculture of Mexican police is governance. Is it politics? As Violence Soared in Mexico, This Town Bucked the Trend In Mexico the police, often poorly paid and poorly trained, are frequently mistrusted or feared. The population sees them not only as incapable of tackling the country’s chronic violence, but also as often being its cause — at best, complicit in routine infractions like demanding bribes at traffic stops, and at worst, co-opted by criminal gangs… [C]ommunity meeting[s are] part of an effort by Bernardo León, a professor and writer turned police commander, to transform Morelia’s police officers into a qualified force that is welcomed by local residents. Three years into the effort, the program has shown results… In 2017, the deadliest year in Mexico in decades, the number of deaths also went up in Michoacán. But in Morelia, the state’s capital, the number of homicide victims decreased 18 percent… [E]xperts argue that Morelia’s experiment with community polic

My calendar doesn't coincide with school calendars. So I am off to meditate in the high mountains for a few days. I wish you all well from Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. If you are looking for a topical article, use the search box. Some of the older articles might not be accurate anymore, but you or your students can edit them to correct them, (Post your corrections as comments.) When I've had enough of thin, smoky air and high altitudes, I'll return and find more articles to share. Teaching Comparative blog entries are indexed. Use the search box to look for country names or concept labels attached to each entry.

Not everyone in the All Progressives Congress (APC) agrees that a direct primary is the best way to choose their presidential candidate. Buhari is likely to win such a primary, but not everyone likes that prospect. APC Adopts Direct Primary For Presidential Ticket 31 August 2018 The All Progressives Congress (APC) has chosen the modus operandus for the emergence of its presidential candidate following its adoption of direct election for the presidential primary poll. The party, which arrived at this decision during its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting… 5 September 2018 Defection: Six APC Governors, Others to Join Us Soon - PDP Nigeria's main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has concluded discussions with six governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and 27 of its members in the National Assembly to defect to the PDP. PDP spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the planned defectors have secured the mandates of their constituents to make the

Watch for how the government and politicians react to this crisis. How would you react if the money in your pocket and in your bank account suddenly would buy only half of what it could have bought yesterday? Who would you blame? Iran’s Currency Crashes. Shortages and Fears Rise. Iran’s rial fell to a record low on Wednesday, part of a staggering drop in the currency’s value since the United States pulled out of the nuclear deal only four months ago… Iranians line up to exchange currencies Signs of the currency chaos can be seen everywhere in Tehran: Worried residents lined up outside beleaguered money changers, travel agents offered vacation prices only in hard currency, and diapers disappeared from store shelves… There was no immediate acknowledgement of the drop on state media. Iran’s economy has faced troubled times in the past, whether from the shah’s overspending on military arms in the 1970s or the Western sanctions that came after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and United Stat

One version of the old Chinese proverb is "Heaven is high and the emperor is far away." President Xi seems to fear that he is too far away. China cracks down on bureaucracy ‘paralysed by fear’. Officials can lose their jobs or be expelled from the party for failing to apply policies under new rules, as Beijing takes aim at bureaucratic inertia. After a relentless anti-corruption crusade spooked many officials into inaction, China’s ruling Communist Party is doubling down on efforts to rid the country’s vast bureaucracy of its inertia. Updated party rules released this week state that failing to implement policies from the top is now officially a breach of discipline that can see cadres lose their jobs or even be expelled from the party. Those who refuse to implement policy directives from the party’s Central Committee, who run their own agenda, or “are not resolute enough, cut corners or make accommodations” in applying them, will be subject to punishment under the new rule

The British PM and the Nigerian President agree on cooperative programs. Theresa May signs security partnership with Nigeria's president Theresa May has signed a security pact with Nigeria’s president aimed at helping the country combat the militant group Boko Haram through better military training and anti-terrorist propaganda techniques developed in the UK. PM May and President Buhari The British prime minister’s agreement with Muhammadu Buhari was announced at a summit between the pair in Abuja… Billed as the UK’s first security and defence partnership with Nigeria, the pact was the centrepiece of the second day of May’s three-day trip to Africa… The UK will provide training to the Nigerian military to help it contend with improvised explosive devices used by Boko Haram, and has offered to help train full army units, as opposed to individual soldiers, before they are deployed in the country’s north-east, where the Islamist militant group has its base. It also hopes to cut the

The scholars at The Monkey Cage offer this analysis of one aspect of Russian politics. Two Moscow teens were released from jail after thousands protested in the streets. Here are 5 things you need to know. On Aug. 15, thousands of protesters took to Moscow’s streets for the “March of the Mothers,” armed with stuffed animals, seeking the release of teens who were jailed in March. The parents allege that Russian officials entrapped their children, detaining them on false charges of plotting to overthrow the government. What’s going on? 1. Russia has been cracking down on what it calls extremists since 2002 When in 2002 Russia’s Duma first passed anti-extremism laws that banned stopping any religious group from asserting it was superior to any other… [T]he Duma steadily expanded the laws’ scope over the years: in 2014 to track “extremist” bloggers, and in 2015 to include “liking” social media posts the government considers extremist… 2. Russian youths have taken on a growing role in o

A great little 8-minute video explaining the concept of soft power.   China's 'soft power' in Kenya In Kenya, China is everywhere. And with Mandarin schools and massive infrastructure projects, China's trying to grow its "soft power" throughout Africa. But can China convince Africans to love it?

What's the Russian equivalent of 200,000 to 300,000 people protesting in Washington, DC? Does 10,000 people protesting in Moscow make the grade? Russia pension protests: Fresh anti-reform rallies held Further protests against pension reforms have taken place in Russia, despite the recent concessions offered by President Vladimir Putin. Independent observers say more than 10,000 people took part in rallies in Moscow. Other cities also saw demonstrations. Communist protesters in Moscow The initial proposal was to raise the retirement age for women to 63 from 55, and for men to 65 from 60. On Wednesday he said the pension age for women would only be raised to 60. Mr Putin has said reform is a financial necessity, but it has been met with a hostile reception and led to a steep fall in his popularity… Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has previously said the decision was motivated by the fact that Russians are living longer and leading more active lives… In a TV address last week, Mr P