What makes a democracy?

The positive connotation of the word “democracy” has led to many states characterizing themselves as a democratic regime. However, a vast number of the world’s states are governed by non-democratic regimes. When studying a state, many factors that point to the presence of a democracy may be found. But while there are numerous characteristics of … Read more

Politics in the Philippines

If we are to look at the history of the Philippines, we can see that there have been precedents and attempts towards a federal government. Looking through our pre-colonial history, we can see that we were composed of small polities named barangays. Since Spain’s conquest, the type of government dominant in the Philippines has been … Read more

Socio-political significance of Turkey’s emergent neo-Ottoman cultural phenomenon

Over the last decade, Turkey’s cultural sphere has witnessed a motto of Ottomania—a term describing the recent cultural fervor for everything Ottoman. Although this neo-Ottoman cultural phenomenon, is not entirely new since it had its previous cycle back in the 1980s and 1990s during the heyday of Turkey’s political Islam, it now has a rather … Read more

Decision making during the Fukushima disaster

Introduction On March 11, 2011 a tsunami struck the east coast of Japan, which resulted in a disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. During the day commencing the natural disaster many decisions were made with regards to managing the crisis. This paper will examine these decisions made during the crisis. The Governmental Politics … Read more

Ethnicity and legislative behavior – group assignment

ABSTRACT It is rather an unavoidable fact that ethnicity has marred politics particularly the Legislative sector in Nigeria, with various number of data and research, it is evidently portrayed that ethnicity determines the choice of votes, voters decision as well as policies and implementation made in Nigeria. The Legislative behaviour of political actors in Nigeria … Read more

Researching politics and epistemic status of identity (reflection)

The personal is political. Since the 1960s this axiom has been a rallying cry for New Left social movements founded in identity. This phenomenon of cultural Marxist activism, rooted in the Frankfurt School’s anti-positivist sociology, signalled the transition of a post-industrial modernity and an epochal shift that began the process of resignifying symbolic representations and … Read more

Are authoritative regimes with ongoing ethnic conflict more likely to commit genocide?

Introduction Genocide differs so radically from the ordinary political oppositions and rivalries that goes on globally. Ethnic competition for scarce valuables, for example, often occurs without overt conflict. Ethnic rivalry for the collective goods of recognition, respect, and prestige does not invariably lead to mass violence (Mirković). The wholesale killings that go under the name … Read more

Politics, abuse of power and uneducated politicians

POLITICS The term ‘Politics’ can be linked with Government, Politicians and Political Parties. A country should have an organized government and should follow a set of principles set by constitution, this requires a certain organization. Politics is essential to form a government. Political debates are held where opposition parties question the present government regarding the … Read more

The Death Penalty and the 2016 General Election

The death penalty has long been a controversial issue of much debate among the American public. It has drawn support as well as opposition across the ideological spectrum, often resulting in contentious viewpoints. It is generally known that support or opposition to the death penalty aligns with ideological position. Unnever (2010) indicates that “conservatives are … Read more

SWOT analysis of the Liberal Party (Canada)

Keeping the goal of the liberal party in mind, it is important to construct a critical analysis of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the upcoming election. This means taking an unbiased look at the parties leadership, the current political climate, key campaign issues, the prior 2015 election results, fundraising, candidates, and target ridings. … Read more

The United Nations is fundamentally a revived League of nations

While the idea of co-operating for the greatest good between distinct groups is not new, the League of Nations and the United Nations are the only two international organisations concerned and designed with international and national security in mind. This suggests that these two bodies should have a plethora of similarities. I will be arguing … Read more

Conservative & Labour fiscal strategies & how these impact management of the public sector

The main recognized difference between public and private organisations is their ownership (Rainey et al 1976). The public sector ‘consists of governments and all publicly controlled or publicly funded agencies, enterprises, and other entities that deliver public programs, goods, or services’ (Dube & Danescu, 2011). Whereas ‘private firms are owned by entrepreneurs or shareholders, public … Read more

Could all countries be a democracy?

When thinking about democracy, it is a common perception that we tend to think of an ultimately ideal governance system. It is, in essence, practical; everybody in a country has a say of what goes on in a country and how it will go on. Authoritarian power is limited and the people determine the direction … Read more