Teaching Comparative Government

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...

It's never easy to extend one set of statistics to a whole political system, but they often offer glimpses of the system. IF you can "read" the numbers. Life in Vladimir Putin's Russia explained in 10 charts Vladimir Putin has dominated Russian politics as its undisputed leader for almost two decades. Over successive terms as president and prime minister he has overseen an economic boom, military expansion and the re-establishment of Russia as a major power. Living standards for most Russians improved, and a renewed sense of stability and national pride emerged. But the price, many say, was the erosion of Russia's fledgling democracy. How has life changed for ordinary Russians during this time? 1. Fewer people are poor Levels of poverty may be significantly lower than before, but Russia is still above the average for many of the world's biggest economies. 2. But wage growth has stalled recently During Mr Putin's first stint as president, wages consistently...