Assad is better than the alternatives
Posted on | May 14, 2012 | No Comments
The Arab spring is a wave of popular uprisings against various governments throughout the Middle East. It started in Tunisia, spread to Egypt, Libya, Syria and Bahrain. However, though Tunisia seems to be on a democratic path, Egypt might succumb to Rick Santorum like presidents. Libya is in disarray. The government seems unable to govern outside Tripoli as fighters attack even government headquarters. Read more
Qualifying the debate on the Spanish electoral system
Posted on | May 6, 2012 | No Comments
In a blog post published recently on this website, I lament the Spanish electoral system for making the Spanish vote unequal. In Botella et al.s book on the Spanish democracy, Democracy in Spain, they argue that the constitution is a result of a compromise. Whereas a country like Denmark, which is very homogeneous, can easily make a constitution that encompasses all Danes, as all Danes are merely Danes, the Spanish constitution needs to encompass at least three groups: The Catalans, the Basques, and the Spanish. Read more
Unequal voting in Spain
Posted on | May 6, 2012 | No Comments
One of the key assumptions of democracy is the equality among the citizens. In ancient Greece, equality was among the free men, and today it is among people with a citizenship of the country in question. Yet as the headline says, Spaniards are not equal. Thus larger parties in the provinces are favoured over the smaller parties. Hence, a party might get country-wide support, yet if the support falls low in one province, they loose that province. This is what sparks tension among the Spanish. Read more
China’s growth trap
Posted on | May 6, 2012 | No Comments
China has by many been called a great power and an emerging superpower. Its economic potential is unmatched etc. The US supremacy as a leading world power is at its end. However, many proponents of China”s new status fail to realise that economic growth poses a dangerous threat to Chinese stability. That is continued growth and not the absence of growth. In the following I will argue that if China manages to maintain continued economic growth through exports, the communist party will face a challenge from within. A challenge taken the shape of demands of higher salaries. Read more
