Archives

Africa: It's kind of weird waiting for Zimbabwe's election results, since nobody at all expects them to be fair. Robert Mugabe ordered the announcements of results delayed, a move that all observers understand as an effort to buy time. Sokwanele -- truly a great resource for Zim info -- recounts the amusing rationale provided by elections officials for the delay. There are concerns now that the time being bought is to allow security forces (i.e., thugs) to disperse to prevent any kind of protest once the bogus results are announced. Equatorial Guinea issues an arrest warrant for Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former British PM Margaret, for his alleged role in a coup attempt.

Middle East: Human Rights Watch observes that Egypt's roundup of several hundred activists can't mean anything good for upcoming elections. 

Asia: As diplomats visit Tibet and protesters riot in Nepal, the NYT has a story about Chinese nationalism, very much a cause of the crackdown on Tibetan protests.

South America: Farmers behind a crippling strike over increased taxes on commodities will meet with Argentina's president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. 

I'm back from a longish hiatus in which I, horribly, quadrupled my carbon footprint while attending a conference or two. To make up for it, let's hope these synopses of democracy-related news usher in a new era of enlightenment and progress. Then I'm off the hook.

Europe: The story told in the Danish Why Democracy film Bloody Cartoons has an epilogue, if not a new chapter altogether, with the arrival of a new short film critical of Islam and the Koran. A right-wing Danish MP has now posted the film to his website. Stay tuned for outrage and further debate about freedom of expression.

Africa: Robert Mugabe warns opposition supporters and members not to protest if they do not win this weekend's election, a likely outcome given that the vote will almost surely be rigged. The opposition has warned of "Kenya-style" demonstrations, a kind of weird way of putting it, really. Speaking of which, Kofi Annan put in calls to Kenya's power-sharing, but bickering, leaders in an attempt to maintain that country's fragile peace. Also, check out Sokwanele's use of Google Maps (see inset picture) to log election breaches.

Asia: As monks continue to protest in Lhasa and beyond, here's a good Foreign Policy q&a on Tibet, which makes the distinction between internal and exile politics.

The global success of the Why Democracy? broadcasting event in October 2007 has spurred on the next exciting stage of the project. By utilising the films as an innovative learning tool in secondary and tertiary institutions, the Why Democracy? project is working on an outreach programme in which the films can be used to stimulate a discussion about democracy among critically-minded students. We are also reaching out to NGOs and trying to establish a network of organisations and a series of seminars in which the films can be shown and discussed.

Watch this space for further details.

Recent global events have demonstrated that the topics dealt with in the Why Democracy? Films have a tendency to occupy news headlines around the world.

A recent example is an audio message supposedly made by Osama Bin Laden threatening the EU over the re-printing of the Prophet Muhammad cartoons in all major Danish newspapers.

In another story, a rare letter from a Guantanamo Bay detainee has been published outlining the harsh conditions suffered by terrorist suspects. Alex Gibney's Taxi To The Dark Side may have shed some light on the treatment of detainees, but this treatment continues to dismantle any attempt at a global human rights framework.

Africa: With a deal reached between Kenya's two political rivals, and Kofi Annan -- one of the key players in the negotiations -- now departed from the damaged nation, residual strife continues in the form of land disputes. A former finance minister gains support in his bid to unseat Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe's presidential vote. More information on the candidate, Simba Makoni, from the Sokwanele website.

Asia: Demitry Medvedev, to no one's surprise, wins the Russian election, which was widely understood to be a farce. (Bonus reading: Sean's Russia blog looks at the Western media's lack of understanding of the Russian political scene.)

Further reading: An opinion and response on the legitimacy of Kosovo's independence.