Stories about Governance from May, 2013
African Union Celebrates 50th Anniversary
The African Union (AU), the single largest organization of states in Africa, marked its 50th anniversary from May 25 to 27, 2013 at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, sparking...
Is There Still a President in Madagascar ?
Patrick Rajoelina argues that [fr] by law, if the president of the transition Andry Rajoelina still wants to run for the upcoming presidential elections in Madagascar, he can no longer be...
Macedonian Journalist's Arrest Stirs Protest
Macedonian journalists gathered [mk; video and text: sq, mk] in front of the Criminal Court in the capital Skopje today to protest against the arrest of their colleague, Tomislav Kezarovski,...
Qatar: New Cyber Crime Law Could Threaten Online Speech
Qatar is looking to shore up its legislation regarding cybercrime, including punishment for accessing sensitive government data, but a draft law recently approved by the country's cabinet also puts limits...
Journalists Fight Hired Hooligans and Police Indifference in Ukraine
May 18 was an eventful day in Ukraine's capital Kyiv. But of all the highlights of that day, only one incident - an attack on journalists that the police first...
VIDEO: Brazil's Police Intimidate Indigenous
Video [Audio and subtitles in Portuguese] recorded by the native Paygomuyatpu Mundurukku shows soldiers of the National Force verbally intimidating his tribe on the area of Belo Monte dam.
Blackout Mapping in Cambodia
A massive blackout in Cambodia has sparked online discussion about the country’s power supply situation. Citizens are demanding explanation about the recurring blackouts in recent months. Urban Voice, a crowdsourcing...
Cheat.org: What's Wrong with Russia's Online Petitions?
The Russian government-sponsored initiative to increase public participation in policy making through a petition process, was met with suspicion even before its launch in April. Now, almost two months later,...
Mozambique's Health Care Workers Strike for Higher Pay
Health professionals in Mozambique have been on strike for ten days leading to the halt of operations in many medical units throughout the country. The dispute with the government is...
Rebels in Thailand's Troubled South Make Public Debut on YouTube
In Thailand's southern borderlands where various Muslim rebel groups have led a deadly nine-year insurgency, the majority of the violence has remained anonymous, committed without any one group coming forward...
The “Brave” Democrats of Russia's Growing Civil Society
Last week, when Surkov-ally Alexey Chesnakov quit United Russia and publicly criticized the party, few in the English-speaking world noticed, but the event—like Surkov's ouster weeks earlier—could just as easily...
13-year-old Girl Publicly Shamed in China
A 13-year-old girl was handcuffed and then paraded on the streets after “accidentally spilling water on a town government vehicle” in Guizhou province. Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated Chinese netizens’ reaction.
Former Croatian PM Tweets on Parliament's Discussion on Marriage
Former Croatian PM Jadranka Kosor decided to use her Twitter account to express her dissatisfaction with one of the debates taking place in the Parliament these days: the definition of...
Syria Untold: Raqqa Lessons, From Freedom to Creativity in State Building
After the withdrawal of the Syrian army from Raqqa in March 2013, the city suffered a tremendous power vacuum, especially in public services. Syria Untold speaks to activists on the...
Interview: Cartoonist Slams Forced Evictions in Brazil for World Cup
In an interview with Brazilian investigative journalism agency Pública, cartoonist Carlos Latuff criticizes the rash of forced evictions in Rio de Janeiro to make way for the 2014 World Cup...
Brazilian Amazon Struggles to Keep Up with Power Plant Population Growth
An exploding population along the Madeira River in Brazil spurred by the hydroelectric dam construction in the state of Rondônia should have meant the creation of more infrastructure, such as...
Amnesty Publishes 2013 Report on Angola
Amnesty International annual report on Angola is available online. The NGO highlights cases such as the problem of police repression against the opposition parties during the presidential election last year,...
Demanding Transparency is Not a Crime
A number of citizen right advocates issued a public statement demanding the release of 10 citizens who were arrested for demanding officials to publicly disclose their personal assets. Seeing Red...
China: Constitutionalism is for Capitalists
The use of constitutionalism is but a new way to force China to adopt Western political systems.
