Politics
Politics
Fair Observer's analysis of political issues, events and trends and their national, regional and international consequences.
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An insider’s opinion on Brazil’s apathy to the Occupy movement. Brazilians seem to have had either little interest, or have greatly misunderstood the purpose of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. With the exception of a small number of fools like me, excited and involved in the process, who thought it possible to play Don Quixote and win, most people sat idly by their televisions, grappling lazily to understand the frequently incoherent news on TV – a shallow picture of young people camping out in the financial heart of the world’s “capital of cool,” New York City. Having lived in “the city” for almost a decade, I felt inspired to bring a...
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360° Analysis / Politics / BRIC / AsiaBy Vikram SoodAn Indian veteran’s perspectives on the India-Pakistan relationship. Old shibboleths and half-truths take a long time to wither away. Pakistan still likes to believe, or at least its leadership does, that India is determined to undo the partition and grab Pakistan. It is essential that Pakistan be convinced through force of logic and reality, and not by hopeful pacification bordering on appeasement, that India is simply not interested no matter what state Pakistan is in. This is more so, when it is in the present state of economic destitution and political isolation, because of its own international misdemeanours. As soon as Pakistani leaders understand this, as soon as its military...
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By Eddy FougierThe history, agenda, and future of ‘Sarkozysm’. Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2012 presidential campaign has often been depicted as extremist by mainstream US media. He embodies a turning point in French right-wing history. He represents the French version of what was called the “New Right” in the US during the Reagan Revolution of the 1980s and in the UK during the Thatcher years. However, unlike Thatcherism or Reaganism, Sarkozysm is not a political ideology based on a set of ideas. Rather, it is a new way of being involved in French politics through a new political language and a new political strategy whose aim is to gain power, to retain or to regain public approval,...
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Turkey’s besting Iran in the contest for the hearts and minds of advocates of change in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa is proving to be both a blessing and a curse. With tension mounting over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the perceived window of opportunity for a military strike closing, Turkey faces increased challenges and the threat of a proxy war with Syria and the Islamic Republic. This is compounded by the fact that the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia need Turkey in their effort to further corner the regime in Syria and to isolate Iran, but want to prevent a shift in regional power away from the kingdom and the Israeli state to Ankara—increasingly...
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By John BrutonAnalysis on Francois Hollande’s election as French president and what this means for austerity in France, Greece, and Europe. The result of the French Presidential election was no great surprise in a way. In fact, when one considers that most of the first round competitors had endorsed Hollande, outgoing President Sarkozy did well to get 48% as against the mere 27% he received in the first round. The centrist Bayrou, and the Left Front candidate Mélenchon, had both explicitly endorsed Hollande, and the National Front candidate Marine le Pen, most of whose supporters were otherwise trending in Sarkozy’s favour, said she was going to vote for nobody. Voter distribution The...
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By Emma LeyAs we approach the end of the Queen’s 60th year on the throne, we can reflect on what she has brought to Britain. There is an unquantifiable part of British identity that resides in the Queen. Although some are weary of displaying too much patriotism, when the Jubilee celebrations kick off next month most of us will partake. There is a niche group of ardent royalists, the kind who clutter up their kitchens with royal memorabilia, who will revel in it. There are also some republicans who will conscientiously (and conspicuously) opt out. The rest will just enjoy the day off and pray for it to be a hot one. Our thoughts won’t stray much further than that. We spend little time...
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By Vicar RizviCanada rarely celebrates its relationship with the British constitutional monarchy, although both countries have greatly mutually benefited from one another. Canada should use the upcoming Jubilee to celebrate its history. The Canada that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne to rule in 1952 had grown over 330 years of mutually beneficial relations between the Canadian colonies and the French and British Empires. During both British and French control of Canada, a governor general represented a European monarch; it was only under French rule that no functioning democratic legislature existed. The close relations Canada held (and in the case of France and Quebec the relations it...
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By Chloe LastAs the monarch of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth celebrates her 60th year on the throne, the significance of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations is discussed, against a historical backdrop of controversy and intrigue. Although it may be recipient of the most press coverage and commemorative china sets, Britain is not the only European country to have retained its monarchy. The Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Norway and Spain still have theirs – so what has given HRH a leg-up in the global popularity stakes? Well, significantly, Her Majesty is Queen of 16 countries in total, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Barbados and Papua New Guinea. 60 years since...
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By Rakesh Krishnan Simha The Russian President has one last chance to reform a creaky economy and a sulking society. Vladimir Putin is facing an unfamiliar problem. After 13 years at the helm, he no longer has the job of saving the largest country on the planet. That file is closed. Because of Putin’s astute diplomacy and America’s Middle East misadventures, Western attempts to put Russia in a box have fizzled out. Emergent Russia is, therefore, no longer threatened by a terminally declining West. On May 7 when Putin walks into his Kremlin office to serve a third term as President, the pomp and pageantry of the ceremonies will not conceal the fact that the Russian leader is...
