Chile is going through political change. In May, Chileans voted to elect an assembly that will write a new constitution. Those elected to redraw the country’s magna carta feature a large contingent of independents. Left-wing parties are most favorably positioned among institutional actors, but...
After over 50 years in the US as an immigrant from the UK, of which 40 have been spent in Washington, DC, I thought I had seen it all. Clearly, I was wrong. The mob invasion of the Capitol on January 6 was a historic first. Thankfully, it was followed by President Joe Biden's peaceful inauguration...
One recurring theme in Latin American politics is how regularly the rules of the constitutional game change. On average, Latin American countries rewrite their constitutions every 20 years. Until recently, Chile was an exception. The country’s transition to democracy in 1990 was based on rules...
Dictatorships enforce control in every realm of life, including the arts. Dictatorships enforce a program for the arts, as they do for all other domains of human life. The divergent regimes of Augusto Pinochet — who governed Chile between 1973-90 with a right wing military government that...
Fair Observer's extended report of the week's events. This week, researchers found a large reservoir of melt water under Greenland ice "that persists throughout the winter." The melting of ice has been causing a rise in sea levels for...
Fair Observer's roundup of the week's events. This week, researchers found a large reservoir of melt water under Greenland ice "that persists throughout the winter." The melting of ice has been causing a rise in sea levels for the past...
Fair Observer's extended report of the week's events. This is the second weekly commentary on key developments across the globe titled “Make Sense of the World: Weekly Report.” We will pick out the most important events, trends and...
Fair Observer's roundup of the week's events. This is the second weekly commentary on key developments across the globe titled “Make Sense of the World: Weekly Roundup.” After much feedback, we are playing around with the format and...
Under Pinochet, the Chilean government used its power to fabricate news to suit its own needs. Are these techniques resurfacing in today’s Iran? During the hot summer days of 2009, people in Iran who were demonstrating against the disputed reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were...
