· October, 2013

Stories about Politics from October, 2013

Egypt: Urban Constitution Document

  30 October 2013

As the “50 member-committee” meets to amend Egypt's constitution, some civil society organizations and urban activists participated in producing what they called the “urban constitution document” [Ar]: We present this document to “50 member-committee” as a comprehensive suggestion for articles we see important in being added to the constitution. What's...

Argentina's Legislative Elections

  29 October 2013

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her allies lost by large margins in the biggest and most important elections in the country yesterday. Her legislative lists were crushed in Buenos Aires (both city and state), Cordoba, Mendoza, and Santa Fe. There is a reason that every major newspaper is talking about her...

On the Kingdoms of Spain

The Bridge  28 October 2013

Overnight, Catalan politics changed. Hundreds of towns in the Catalan countryside preemptively declared independence. Catalonia's Parliament passed a declaration of sovereignty. But nothing changed in Spain.

Is Cambodia a One-Party State?

  28 October 2013

Anirudh Bhati rejects the position by some analysts that Cambodia has become a one-party state after the main opposition party boycotted the inaugural session of the National Assembly: …it would be erroneous to assume that Cambodia has relapsed into a one-party state simply based on the premise that the current...

Journalists Fear Japan's Proposed Secret Information Protection Act

  26 October 2013

The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved a bill [ja] on October 25, 2013 to impose tougher penalties on civil servants, lawmakers and others who leak national secrets and harm national security. The so-called Secret Information Protection Act has been unpopular among Japanese press, human rights advocates, and citizens...

Grenada: Remembering the Revolution

  26 October 2013

Thirty years ago this month, former Prime Minister Maurice Bishop was executed by a firing squad. It was the beginning of the end of the People's Revolutionary Government in Grenada.

Portugal Says “Thank You Troika”, Really?

  25 October 2013

Subverting the discourse of austerity, a protest was held in Lisbon earlier this week to “thank” the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Commission for the ongoing measures to tackle the economic crisis in Portugal. The protest took place on October 21, 2013, and gained the attention of mainstream...