Stories about Governance from November, 2012
The Surreality of Russian eDemocracy
The Coordinating Council of the Russian Opposition met for second time on November 24, 2012. In keeping with the its online origins, participants and audience members actively tweeted updates and...
Tajikistan Blocks Popular News Website
The higher the walls they are building, cutting people off from the outside world, the more willing people are to destroy the walls and bury those who build them under...
Trinidad & Tobago: Kublalsingh's Hunger Strike Continues; So Does the Debate
Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh's ongoing hunger strike to protest the proposed route of a highway in south-western Trinidad is raising questions of transparency, good governance and the approach to political debate....
“My Vote Under Arrest” Support for Iran's Opposition Leaders
Iranian former presidential candidates and Green Movement leaders, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, and Mehdi Karroub have been under house arrest for around 650 days. A group of Iranian netizens have turned to...
Ten Years after Attempt on Ex-President's Life, Rumors Linger in Turkmenistan
In November 2002, the then Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov survived an assassination attempt that was blamed on Russian-supported opposition. Ten years after the incident, in the country starved of reliable...
Time for Civil Rule in Mauritania
Mauritanian blogger Ahmed Jedou calls [ar] says it is high time his country had civil rule. He blogs: “Today it is obvious that the military look at us as if...
Hundreds Rally Against Anti-Semitism in Hungary
On Nov. 27, hundreds of people gathered in front of the Parliament in Budapest (photos) to protest a Hungarian far-right MP's call “for Jews to be registered on lists as...
Spotlight on China's ‘Re-education Through Labour’
Ren Jiayu, a former village official in Chongqing, who was sentenced to re-education through labour for criticizing the government was released and put under the spotlight of state-controlled media. Many...
Mauritania: February 25th Movement says “No to Guardianship” of France
Mauritania is undergoing a period of great political uncertainty due to the evacuation for medical reasons of President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz after he was shot on October 13, 2012....
Impunity Prevails over State of Law in Guinea
Arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, rigged trials and executions are not difficult to find in Guinea's history. The impunity enjoyed by the officials guilty of these crimes is reviewed by...
Captivated by Japan's ‘Daidougei’ – Street Performance Art
Charmed with “Daidougei”, a type of street performance, an amateur photographer has spent years capturing images of the art form. His blog is titled “ I shoot nothing but Daidougei,...
Trinidad & Tobago: No Simple Highway
University lecturer and environmentalist Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh, who began his hunger strike on November 15 outside the Prime Minister's office as a protest against the construction of one part of...
Côte d'Ivoire: Online Campaign Says No to Holding Multiple Public Offices
Ivorian bloggers have initiated a campaign for a real public debate on the issue of parliamentarians simultaneously holding multiple elected offices in Côte d'Ivoire. Tired of seeing parliamentarians also being...
Ukrainian Football Fans Rally in Support of the Pavlichenko Family
Dmytro Pavlichenko and his son Serhiy, fans of FC Dynamo Kyiv, were found guilty of the murder of a Kyiv judge. In the past few months, Ukrainian and European football...
Why Are Government Jobs in China So Popular?
More young people sat the National Public Servant Exam this year in China than ever before. Some believe young people seek job security while others worry the private sector is...
Mistresses – China's New Corruption Warriors
In the past week, two corruption cases have been exposed, not by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CCP), but by the mistresses or...
Are Japan's Upcoming Elections Unconstitutional?
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda dissolved the lower house of the Japanese parliament on November 16, 2012 and set general elections for December 16, 2012. However, according to a group of...
Deadly Factory Fire in Bangladesh Raises Questions of Worker Exploitation
The recent tragic fire at a clothing factory building in Ashulia, near Bangladesh Capital Dhaka, that killed more than 110 garments workers, has raised many questions. Bangladeshis are expressing their...
Documenting New Bike Lanes in Macedonian Capital Skopje
Na tochak (On a Bycicle), a group of cyclists organizing the Critical Mass movement, used video and photos to document the experience of riding in the bike lanes of several...
Trinidad & Tobago: Alternate Highway Proposal
Environmental activist Wayne Kublalsingh, who is currently on a hunger strike, explains the alternate proposal for the Debe to Mon Desir section of the San Fernando to Point Fortin Highway...
