United States
United States
Fair Observer provides inclusive, insightful and non-partisan analysis of important American issues, events and trends.
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360° Analysis / blue / blue states / Maps / obama / Politics / President / presidential elections / purple / red / red states / Romney / United StatesFor all the talk of red states and blue states, much of America is really purple. That simple observation has inspired some great alternatives to the standard red and blue maps depicting electoral outcomes. Princeton’s Robert Vanderbei, for example, has created an animation that makes three improvements on the standard red/blue map: he maps counties not just states; he uses shades of purple to reflect the mix of Democratic and Republican votes; and he uses green for third parties. Here’s his animation for the 1960 to 2008 elections; keep an eye out for Ross Perot. (Vanderbei also has a static version of the 2012 results.) ...
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360° Analysis / Amman / Iraq / Jordan / Politics / United States / Middle East“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist”(farewell address by President Dwight Eisenhower, January 17, 1961). As most of America would admit, we now find ourselves on the tail end of an exuberance which began at Normandy, had an unprecedented run for about 70 years, splurged awfully since the advent of the new millennium, and now finds itself licking its wounds. A significant part of that exuberance was reflected in our foreign interventions. One is hard pressed to find American...
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By Fact BlinkThe total absence of certain topics in the election campaigns shows an unpleasent side of the American electorate. In the last days of the US Presidential campaign, Hurricane Sandy has brought to the fore a topic little-mentioned until now: climate change. The absence of debate around this topic is perplexing to many in the world, given America’s role as the source of a fifth of global carbon dioxide emissions. Some may see this as strategic denial. Yet it points to a broader divergence between scientific consensus, on one hand, and the views of the American electorate. This appears especially true among Republican voters. While 39.2 per cent of Republicans, for example, deny that...
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360° Analysis / America / Barack Obama / Destiny / Election / future / Mitt Romney / obama / Politics / Romney / United States / USBy Atul SinghAtul Singh observes that a deeply divided American society is deadlocked over different visions for the future in an uncertain world and, regardless of the result of the election, the battle to define a new American destiny shall continue for another few years. A century ago, Britain was deeply divided over two visions of the future. The Conservatives wanted the rights of the property holders, the Dukes and other members of the land owning aristocracy, to remain sovereign as in the past. The Liberals wanted redistribution of wealth through raised taxes and a social welfare program. Other European countries also witnessed increased internal tensions and, at the heart of the...
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360° Analysis / Barack Obama / Campaign / Election / Mitt Romney / non-compulsory voting / obama / Politics / presidential elections / Romney / United States / USBy Uma PatelNon-compulsory voting has got to end. It is probably contrary to everything you have been told but it is true and it is time we recognized it. The US has got to stop allowing potential voters to stay at home while others attend the ballot box and perform their civic duty and vote. Not voting has made the elections more costly, superficial and emotional. It impinges upon America’s ever-lasting search for the perfect democracy and has steered it into an ever-lasting sporting contest with the world’s last remaining super power as the prize. I should state from the outset that I am Australian and we force all citizens over the age of 18 to attend the ballot box on...
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360° Analysis / Barack Obama / China / Foreign Policy / obama / Politics / Romney / United States / AsiaBy Jeffrey ChenUS-China relations are complicated and expansive, characterized by unprecedented interdependence and potential for both deepening cooperation and intensifying competition. The question is: will Barack Obama's China policy continue to serve American interests? Despite the shortcomings of his foreign policy with regards to China, President Obama has recognized this complex reality from the start, avoided any serious diplomatic crises, and succeeded in preserving regional stability. In 1972, US President Nixon took the big step that opened China to the world after decades of isolation. Chinese scholars of American politics are fond of pointing out that rapprochement during the...
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360° Analysis / Barack Obama / Clinton / economy / Elections / Mitt Romney / obama / President / presidential elections / Reagan / Romney / United States / US / Finance & EconomicsAs the US election day dawns, history suggests that the issues debated in a presidential campaign will not be ones that are most important to the next president. As US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld famously identified one category of risks in Iraq as "unknown unknowns" – those things that "we do not know we don't know." Nassim Nicholas Taleb developed the black swan theory, dealing with the occurrence of highly unlikely, nearly unpredictable and critically important events. History suggests that these are ways to look at the new presidential administration, too. Much has been made of the economy during this 2012 campaign, and rightly so. Unemployment...
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360° Analysis / Hamas / Israel / Orientalism / Palestine / Politics / United States / Middle EastDespite his promise of change, Obama's approach to US-Israeli relations and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is influenced by a persisting American Orientalism, which has its roots in the rhetoric of the first settlers. This is the final part. To fully understand the Obama Administration's discourse and its practice, it is crucial to establish when the terminology for Israel/Jews and Arabs emerged. Possible answers could be the creation of Israel and its subsequent victories over Arab states during the Cold War era, or when considering the language of terrorism, the 9/11 attacks. Significantly however, a basis for the double-standards in Barack Obama's discourse and practice,...
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360° Analysis / Barack Obama / Indonesia / Mitt Romney / obama / Politics / President / presidential elections / Romney / United States / US / US elections / AsiaBy Jarno LangFor Indonesia, the outcome of the American presidential election in November 2012 will be of great importance. This article will outline the most important contemporary matters of interest in the Indonesian-American relationship from a pre-election perspective. On November 6th 2012, the people of the USA will either grant President Barack Obama a second term in office or they will make Governor Mitt Romney the new president of the US. This election is of special relevance to Indonesia as the two candidates have very different perspectives on how American foreign policy of the near future should be. This article is the first of two installments on the relevance of the US presidential...