Stories about Governance from December, 2012
Most Corrupt Country Award Goes to Afghanistan
Afghanistan ranks as the world's most corrupt country in the latest survey by a global corruption watchdog. The release of the survey triggered a wave of anti-corruption rallies across the war-torn country. In Bamyan, civil society activists awarded an effigy of Afghan president with the 'Most Corrupt Country Cup'.
Measuring Corruption in East Timor
Great news: Timor-Leste reduced corruption more than every other country in the world! But is it true? We have a rapidly growing state budget, a minister facing prison, reports about corruption in the media every day and falling scores from other rating agencies. La'o Hamutuk reviews the corruption indicators given...
Football Players Protest Against the European Under-21 Championship Being Held in Israel
Pambazuka.org published a letter [fr] from players addressed to the president of FIFA, Joseph S. Blatter : Some sixty professional footballers, for the most part African, wrote a letter to UEFA in protest at the decision to entrust Israel with the organisation of the European Under-21 Football Championship (June 5-18,...
A Timeline of 50 Years of Conflict in the D.R. of Congo
The ongoing conflict between M23 rebels and the Congolese army cannot be totally understood without some historical background on the genesis of these conflicts in the great lakes region. Here is a detailed chronology of the last 50 years of confrontations in this region.
Thailand: Why Pitak Siam Protest Failed
The anti-government group Pitak Siam (Protect Thailand) vowed to mobilize one million people in the streets of Bangkok last November 24 but managed to gather only 20,000. Bloggers, journalists and academics have written about the failure of Pitak Siam and the political impact of the protest.
Students Rally All Over Hungary to Save Tuition-Free Education
In Hungary, the once free-for-all education system has always been a subject of heated debates. This week, the debates have grown into student protests that are taking place all over the country.
Bhutan's Journey From Monarchy To Democracy
Sabrina Soares explains how Bhutan progressed from a monarchy to a parliamentary democracy.
China's ‘Luxury Disease’ Extends to Lavish Government Buildings
Lavish government buildings is nothing new in China, however, nothing can be compared to the new government building in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong Province. According to media reports , the "Long Ao building", cost 4 billion RMB (US$640 million), and is the second largest individual structure in the world, second only to the Pentagon in size.
Trinidad & Tobago: Hunger Strike was Never a Lost Cause
Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh's hunger strike against the construction of a section of highway in Trinidad ended a week ago - and became much greater than that singular issue. Regional bloggers discuss what the legacy of Dr. Kublalsingh's action will be and the impact it will have on citizens' rights to transparency and good governance.
University in Benin Changes its Name after Equatoguinean Dictator
You can now call him Doctor Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. MyGab.Tv reports that [fr] the Univesité internationale du Bénin UPIB is now called Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo University after the Equatoguinean dictator. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been the benefactor of many schools in Benin [fr] and has received a doctorate degree Honoris...
Radio Okapi Interfered with by Authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo
The website journaldekin.com, commenting on the interference on the national Radio Okapi, a station which has been sponsored by the UN in the Democratic Republic of Congo since December 1, recalls [fr] that: Radio Okapi, which this year celebrates its tenth anniversary, is born from a partnership between the Swiss...
Corruption Perceptions around the World
Two-thirds of the 176 countries assessed in the 2012 Index received a score of less than 50, on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (almost no corruption). This shows that public institutions should be more transparent and senior officials more accountable. On December 5, Transparency International released the...
Venezuela and the WCIT-12
Who will govern the Internet and how? What is Venezuela's position in this debate? These are two questions that Luis Carlos Díaz tries to tackle in a post for Prodavinci [es] where he looks at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) and Venezuela's position regarding these issues.
Russian Web Censorship Got You Down? Fight It With “Counter-Absurdity”!
It has now been more than a month since the blacklist of the Russian Internet went live. One Russian ISP has decided to have its own say in the matter.
India: The Menace Of Eve-Teasing
Main Toki at The Broken Scooter highlights the challenges to tackle Eve-teasing, sexual harassment of women in public places. In India the law exists but it does not define eve-teasing in proper terms and the fines are negligible.
Croatia's EU Negotiation Model: A View From Turkey
At BlogActiv.com, Kader Sevinç shares highlights [en] from her interview [hr] with the Croatian daily Slobodna Dalmacija, in which she talked about Turkey’s accession to the EU and the Croatian model for the EU negotiations – “a multi-party model overcoming deep political fractures over the EU membership target.”
Egypt: “Which Article of the Constitution Are You Objecting?”
Recent events in Egypt demonstrate the deepening rift between the ruling Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and an increasing proportion of the population. Rayna St is bringing us up-to-date with the situation on the ground days ahead of a referendum on a controversial constitution.
Land Grabbing for BioFuel in Madagascar
The Association for the Protection of Malagasy Lands and its representative Mamy Rakotondrainibe bemoans [fr] the manner in which the Tozzi Green group is approaching the development of jatropha exploitation over 100 000 ha of lands in Southern Madagascar. Local farmers are quoted as saying [fr] : We, small farmers, are forced to leave...
Rare Protest in Beijing Against Express Train Catches China by Surprise
A protest against the Shenyang-Beijing Express Train Route in downtown Beijing on December 9, 2012 has caught many Chinese netizens by surprise. Some believe that it is a sign for further political reform, while some are holding their breathe and crossing their fingers.
When a Coup is not a Coup in Mali
This is not a coup. The president is still in place but the prime minister was no longer working in the interests of the country Bakary Mariko, spokesperson for the former military junta, explains why [fr]the army has arrested the former prime minister of Mali Cheikh Modibo Diarra who resigned...
Human Rights Issues in Singapore
We call on the government to recognize, respect and fulfil social and cultural rights of all Singaporeans and to review its developmental mindset that overvalues economic growth to the detriment of our society's identity and disappearing heritage. Think Centre identifies several human rights issues in Singapore.