Teaching Comparative Government

Is this a sign that the economic elite in Mexico no longer control government expenditures? Mexico's incoming president says he'll cancel partially built $13-billion airport Buoyed by the results of a controversial nationwide referendum, Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that his administration will cancel construction of a partially completed, $13-billion international airport and instead move forward with plans for a less expensive alternative. Texcoco airport project “The decision is to abide by the mandate of citizens,” the president-elect, who assumes office on Dec. 1, said at a news conference. “This is democracy.” The revised plan, he said, would save Mexican taxpayers the equivalent of more than $5 billion. But abandoning the new airport in the Texcoco area northeast of Mexico City also means the loss of some $5 billion that already has been spent on the project. The airport in Texcoco, which would have been the third largest commercial air...

Given the business ventures of the PLA and the civil projects taken on by military units, what integration is the government aiming for? Chinese vice premier urges deeper military-civilian integration Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Monday attended a national symposium where plans were made to advance military-civilian integration. Han, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and deputy head of the Central Commission for Integrated Military and Civilian Development, addressed the symposium… He said the building of major strategic projects should be used to advance the coordinated technological innovation between the military and civilian sectors, coordinate resource allocation to boost efficiency, and achieve the best performance. Han said Party committees and governments at all levels should view implementing the military-civilian integration as a major political responsibility, work hard to make new progress, enh...

This headline from the South China Morning Post almost begged to included in this blog. Two Chinese cities and legions of police disguised as ‘dancing aunties’ and students on alert for presidential visit Amid the morning quiet, there were clear signs that someone important was about to arrive. In Futian, the city’s central business district, roads around the Museum of Contemporary Art and Planning Exhibition were blocked and residents wondered aloud about why they had to suddenly shut their windows. All businesses within two blocks of the museum – hosting an exhibition of the province’s role in country’s reform and opening up 40 years ago – were closed and the museum itself had been shut for a month in preparation for Xi’s visit. Pedestrians trying to go in for a closer look were shooed away by people who at first glance looked like students, grandpas and square dancing aunties but were all carrying the same kind of water bottles and mumbling, hooked up to earpieces. The presence of...

Somebody wrote (said) something they shouldn't have written (said). Nigeria denies plans to limit child births The Nigerian government on Wednesday has denied it has plans of placing a two-children per family limit on its citizens. Nigeria’s finance minister, Zainab Ahmed, at the 2018 Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, noted that the Federal government was planning a birth control policy to check the prevalent poverty and unemployment in the country. She said the government was consulting religious and traditional leaders nationwide on the issue after which a policy would be formulated. Barely twenty-four hours after the statement was made, the finance minister said she was misinterpreted. “The federal government has been engaging critical stakeholders like traditional and religious leaders to advise their members on child spacing,” Ahmed, Nigeria’s finance minister tweeted. “We never said we are placing a cap on childbirth.” … The minister insisted that she only said the governme...

While Nigeria is considering a national birth control policy, China seems about to abandon its birth control policy China to scrap population targets, health official says China will not set a population target in the future and will give people more freedom around childbirth, a health official said, in the next step of a gradual loosening of decades of tight population-control policies… Wei Yunpeng, deputy director of the Population Monitoring and Family Development Division of the National Health Commission, was speaking at a conference hosted by his administration and the United Nations Population Fund. Wei’s comments are the latest sign that the government is moving to end decades of restrictive birth-control policies, fuelling speculation that China might announce removing birth limits at an upcoming meeting of the Communist Party Central Committee. Parliament removed “family planning” policies from the latest draft of a revised civil code scheduled for adoption in 2020, another...

Complications abound, but population growth is a real problem. FG to limit number of children per mother The Federal Government on Tuesday declared that it was working hard to come out with a policy that would limit the number of children that a mother could have in Nigeria. It stated that traditional rulers and other leaders across the country were being engaged as regards this, adding that the move was aimed at addressing one of the “great challenges” in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Federal Government. The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, who disclosed this while responding to questions during a session at the 24th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, noted that the country’s population had been identified as one of the great challenges confronting the successful implementation of the ERGP. Ahmed said, “We have been engaging traditional rulers and other leaders. Specifically, we have found out that to be able to address one of the great challenges that we identified ...

The Communist Party of China has published a "mind map" guide to President Xi's ideology for those who need a cheat sheet to stay out of political trouble. A simple guide to Xi Jinping Thought? Here’s how China’s official media tried to explain it When Xi Jinping outlined his political blueprint for the next 30 years at the Communist Party congress last year, it took him three and a half hours to articulate his vision for the country. Now, to mark the first anniversary of his speech, the party’s official mouthpiece has made a no less ambitious attempt to visualise the Chinese president’s doctrines. The result, published on the WeChat account of People’s Daily on Thursday, is a complex colour-coded “mind map” consisting of 30 separate elements, each broken down into multiple subsections that resemble the branches of a tree. Officially called “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, the doctrine is now enshrined in both state and party...

Generally, one of the key characteristics of a nation is a common language. So, how has the United Kingdom done so well for so long? See the video for the whole discussion. ‘Please repeat the question’: In Britain’s Parliament, two English speakers struggle to communicate Britain’s Parliament was divided by a common language on Thursday, as one politician was forced to repeat a question twice when his colleague couldn’t understand him, before eventually submitting the question in writing after his attempts at verbal communication failed. Both politicians, of course, were speaking English. The incident took place during a meeting about House of Commons Commissions, a body that oversees the administration of Parliament and its grounds, as David Linden of the Scottish National Party asked Conservative member of Parliament Paul Beresford about planned renovation works. “I know from speaking to a number of parliamentary colleagues that there are still certain aspects of the estate, includin...

Re-education was a popular theme during the Cultural Revolution in China. Will it work in Xinjiang now? China 'legalises' internment camps for million Uighurs China’s far north-western region of Xinjiang has retroactively legitimised the use of internment camps where up to one million Muslims are being held… Chinese authorities deny that the internment camps exist but say petty criminals are sent to vocational “training centres”. Former detainees say they were forced to denounce Islam and profess loyalty to the Communist party in what they describe as political indoctrination camps… “It’s a retrospective justification for the mass detainment of Uighurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang,” said James Leibold, a scholar of Chinese ethnic policies at Melbourne’s La Trobe University… The revisions, published on Tuesday, say government agencies at the county level and above “may establish occupational skills education and training centres, education transformation...

Oxfam (Oxfam?) identifies Nigeria as most unequal nation — again. Nigeria Again Ranked Highest On Inequality Index From " Daily Trust " For the second time, Nigeria has been ranked the country with the highest inequality among its citizens by OXFAM. OXFAM, a global civil society body that fights against injustice, and its partners indicate that Nigeria's social spending (on health, education and social protection) is shamefully low, which is reflected in very poor social outcomes for its citizens. "One in 10 children in Nigeria does not reach their fifth birthday, and more than 10 million children do not go to school. Sixty percent of these are girls," the report said. The index, released yesterday at the Annual International Monetary Fund and World Bank Meetings in Bali, Indonesia… showed that in the past year, Nigeria recorded increase in the number of labour rights violations. Its minimum wage has not increased since 2011 and social spending has stagnated. T...

Given how much Chinese President Xi pushes "his" reform and opening up ideas, it's good to remember that the idea was raised 40 years ago by Deng Xiaoping. Senior legislators hold study session on reform, opening up The Leading Party Members' Group of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee held a study session on China's reform and opening up over the past 40 years. Li Zhanshu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee and secretary of its leading Party members' group, chaired and addressed the meeting held Monday and Tuesday. The meeting stressed studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and a profound understanding of the major political judgement by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, that reform and opening up is the key that has determined c...

Has Putin met his match in Russia, and is it Putin? Trust in Vladimir Putin declines steeply among Russians, poll shows Trust in Vladimir Putin and Russia’s ruling party have declined steeply over the past year with analysts pointing to the government’s controversial pension changes as the main reason. In a poll by the independent Levada Centre, 39% of Russians listed Putin as a politican they trust. That is a 20% decrease from November 2017, when Putin was named by 59% of Russians, according to the same polling agency. The Levada polls are the latest to show a strong backlash as the Kremlin pushes unpopular social reforms to relieve pressure on the budget. This month, 45% of Russians told FOM (Public Opinion Foundation), a polling agency close to the Kremlin, they would vote for Putin if elections were held this Sunday. That rating was down from 67% at the beginning of the year. It is among the lowest support Putin has held in the last decade, according to FOM data, tied only with hi...

Can an unexpected challenger break into the cycle of "big men" in Nigeria? Oby Ezekwesili to stand for president Nigeria's presidential election was shaping up to be a contest between two veteran male politicians, but the candidacy of Oby Ezekwesili could change that. Ezekwesili Women have run for the presidency before but she is the most prominent Nigerian woman to challenge for the top job… Ms Ezekwesili is well known for leading the #BringBackOurGirls campaign to help free the 276 girls kidnapped from Chibok, northern Nigeria, in 2014. She has also served as the country's education minister and vice-president of the World Bank. But come February's vote it will be a tough challenge to unseat incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, 75, or beat the main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, 72, who both have formidable party machines behind them… At the weekend, President Buhari was nominated by his All Progressives Congress (APC) and Mr Abubakar beat a field of ...

So, prices are going up very, very rapidly. What's the government have to with that? What politicians are likely to benefit? Which ones are likely to suffer? Iranian economists: The country is suffering highest inflation rates since WWII In an open letter, over 50 Iranian economists warned of a collapse in the Iranian economy, stating that the severe inflation of the rial has hit a high it had never reached in the past 75 years, since World War II. They also considered the continuation of what they called “wrong economic policies” that would lead to the suffering of Iranian families as the reason for this high rate of inflation in the country, according to the Iranian news agency ILNA. The experts also called on the heads of the parliament and judiciary to intervene... The experts pointed out that the current “incorrect policy” of managing the collapse in currency caused the currency to lose about 70 percent of its value since April under the threat of revived US sanctions, with he...

How does policy get made in China? Follow the assignment of tasks. Tasks set out for advancing law-based governance in China A total of 98 tasks in advancing law-based governance in China have been assigned to respective units, according to a statement made public recently. The statement came after a meeting on facilitating the tasks set by the Commission for Law-based Governance of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. In legislative affairs, tasks include promoting legislation with a holistic approach to national security, protection of intellectual property rights and key reform areas. In law enforcement, improvements are expected in key sectors including food and drug, work safety, environment protection and public security. The tasks also include reforming civil litigation systems and building a public legal service system. Each task has been allocated to a responsible unit and given specific requirements on its monthly work plan and time table, according to the st...

Chinese leaders must be nervous. The last time youthful protests were widespread, they ended only after the army killed hundreds of protesters in Tiananmen Square. The army moved in when workers began joining students in the protests. China’s Leaders Confront an Unlikely Foe: Ardent Young Communists They were exactly what China’s best universities were supposed to produce: young men and women steeped in the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party. They read Marx, Lenin and Mao and formed student groups to discuss the progress of socialism. They investigated the treatment of the campus proletariat, including janitors, cooks and construction workers. They volunteered to help struggling rural families and dutifully recited the slogans of President Xi Jinping. Then, after graduation, they attempted to put the party’s stated ideals into action, converging from across China last month on Huizhou, a city in the south, to organize labor unions at nearby factories and stage protests demanding g...

October 1, 1949 Flag-raising ceremony held at Tian'anmen Square to celebrate National Day A ceremony for raising the National Flag was held early Monday morning at the Tian'anmen Square in downtown Beijing to celebrate the 69th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Guard of Honor of the Chinese People's Liberation Army escorted the national flag to the square, while the military band played the national anthem. Color guard in Tian'anmen Square Around 145,000 people from across China gathered at the square to watch the ceremony. Tian'anmen Square witnessed the raising of the first PRC national flag on Oct. 1, 1949, marking a great new start for the Chinese people. 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 edition is a concise guide to concepts, terminology, and examples that will appear on May's exam. Just The Fa...

Even if most people in China don't remember Mao Zedong, President Xi does and wants to invoke the populist image of Mao. For Xi Jinping, Being a Man of the People Means Looking the Part He held up stalks of wheat and made small talk with farmers. He stood side by side with workers at an oil plant and spoke of building an “invincible” China. He called for China to become more “self-reliant” in the face of a trade dispute with the United States… It was a chance for Mr. Xi to put himself on a pedestal with Mao Zedong, to rekindle a populist image and to fire back at President Trump and “protectionist” policies. Xi in Heilongjiang Mr. Xi, who has been criticized for inspiring a personality cult with parallels to the Mao era, has taken note. In one image from his tour of a farm in Heilongjiang Province, Mr. Xi is shown under an idyllic blue sky, confidently stepping forward while an adoring crowd of farmers looks on. Famous 1950's poster of Mao and peasants The image is familiar. I...