What is Comparative Politics?

Comparative politics, to me, is almost a science.  You look at data from different countrys and cultures to find out why the world is the way it is.  For instance, why Kenya is expereincing such an unstable democracy, and why China, although economy developed is still in limbo between communism and capitolistm.  For these answers we have to look at many factors especially the countrys history.  For instance, what religion is native to the country, if the country was a colony, if it was what country occupied the country, ect.  However, it is also necessaty to look at the countrys geography, is it condusive to trade, or isolation, are their raw materials condusive to an early industrial growth?  All of these factors play into a countries overall development, and contribute to the current situation in both countries.

German Democracy

In response the Mock German Elections I thought that the Government could possibly have the tendancy to take far too long.  For instance, our class could have continued to take a long time and we were very limited in out views and not very knowledgeable.  However, I felt that it was very interesting how the coalition formed, it was a almost a form of controlled Chaos.  Futhermore, I also recognized that the chancellorship was a very large bargaining chip, that every party, with the exception of Green was vying for.  People were willing to sacrifice a large amount of seats in order to attain the Chancellorship, something i doubt would be the same in actual German Government.  Overall, I learned alot about how the Government functions.

China and the west: a clash of values

Riots and other demonstrations of violence have recently been committed in Tibet that were levied against the Han Chinese as well as against the Muslim Hui minority. Tibetans have long been frustrated over the economic disparity between that region and other regions of China. The riots began when 300 monks demanded the release of monks who were detained last fall. However, political demands soon came to the foreground, and ethnic violence began. James Miles, of The Economist, said in an interview with CNN that he was observing calculated violence against the Han and the Hui Chinese. http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/20/tibet.miles.interview/. The Hui are a minority, and the Han, although the majority in China and generally economically better off than Tibetans, are the minority within Tibet.

Since the beginning of the protests, there has been a dramatic increase in police and military presence in that area of Tibet. The Dalai Llama called for the Chinese government to end this military crackdown, and for Tibet to be dropped from the scheduled Olympic torch route. In response, international spokespeople are calling the events human rights violations, and many are questioning the legitimacy of China’s sovereignty over Tibet. In mid-March, the Chinese government limited access to You-Tube, after videos appeared showing foreign news reports about the situation and scenes of violent protests. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/16/business/AS-TEC-China-YouTube-Blocked.php All of these developments continue to outline the disconnect between the values of the Chinese government and the values of democratic countries. As the Olympics approach, China and other countries will have to make some important decisions. It remains to be seen how tied each country is to the prospect of economic success, and their willingness to make changes or sacrifices based on their respective values and needs.

Kenya and democracy

Kenya’s government, although officially a democracy, is a very weak one. Some important components of democracy are rule of law and horizontal accountability, but according to an article from Human Rights Watch, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/kenya2/Kenya1202-01.htm#P136_23666, these are being undermined in Kenya. During his time in power, the former president Moi wielded a great deal of power over the other two branches of government by awarding things such as government posts and tracts of land, especially, according to some Kenyans, to members of his Kalenjin tribe.

According to Human Rights Watch, although the next president, Mwai Kibaki, was considered a positive change from the corrupt former president, Kenya still maintains a culture of corruption in which the executive branch wields a huge amount of power, often going above the law, without being held accountable to the other branches or to the people in general. This became very clear after the election results of 2007 were contested by the opposition to the incumbent party. Corruption in the government is widespread in Kenya and occurs among government ministers as well as the police force, judiciary, and local authorities. Because of this system of corruption, public resources are misused, and the entire governmental system is undermined. The people lose the power to affect change in the government. Kenya therefore has a very weak democracy.

The Olympic Torch

This years summer games will be held in China.  As such, it is the right of the Chinese government to re-light the torch and to pass the torch around the world until the start of the games.  “The grandiose relay is the longest in Olympic history and has the most torchbearers — a sign of the vast attention lavished on the Games by Beijing, which hopes to use it to showcase China’s rising economic and political power.” Writes a reporter for the AP in Olympic Torch Re-Lit in Tiannamen Square on March 31, 2008.  For more information please see http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/31/olympics.torch.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch  The timing of this is quite unfortunate for the Chinese government.  With the Tibetan incident is still fresh on most people’s minds and this showcase will most likely only lead to more demonstrations.  Although the move was intended to show off their new prowess, ultimatly it will only hurt their already somewhat tarnished international reputation.

Nations and society: ethnic diversity in Kenya

In Essential Reading in Comparative Politics, an article from The Economist discusses the cause of war in terms of ethnic diversity. “In multi-ethnic societies where one group forms an absolute majority, the risk of war is 50% higher than in societies where this is not the case” (The Economist, Essential Readings in Comparative Politics 80). The Kukuyu ethnic group, which makes up approximately 20% of the population of Kenya, is the dominant group, although the Luo clan closely rivals it. However, according to the East Africa Living Encyclopedia from the University of Pennsylvania, the Kikuyu have by far the most representation in public life, government and business, while the Luo have traditionally been traders and artisans (http://www.africa.upenn.edu/NEH/kethnic.htm). The founder of Kenya, a Kikuyu, Jomo Kenyatta, led the independence movement and became the first president. Kikuyus have dominated Kenyan politics ever since. The current president, Mwai Kibaki, is also a Kikuyu, while his challenger, Raila Odinga, is a Luo. The violence that broke out as a result of the disputed election was based not on a preexisting ethnic hatred, but on the rivalry that has existed since 1963, when one ethnic group took control of the government when Kenya achieved independence. The elections in December 2007 represented for the Luos “a chance to share in the spoils after watching several generations of leaders sidelined, marginalized or even slain,” according to an LA Times article by Edmund Sanders written shortly before the elections (http://www.ethiomedia.com/access/kenyan_democratic_muscle.html). When the Luos did not receive the desired change as a result possible corruption, violence ensued. This scenario is a repeat of many similar conflicts in other African countries, and is explained by Paul Collier in an article on ethnic diversity. “Ethnic dominance might be a sufficiently compelling grievance factor that it affects the risk of conflict…the structural permanence of this condition, and the inability of democracy to resolve it, may make organized violence more likely” (Essential Readings in Comparative Politics 98). For this reason, the newest development in the political situation to rewrite the constitution and change the government structure so that power is more shared is a step in the right direction. For Kenya to function, the Kikuyu group cannot retain the political dominance it has held for so long.

Kenya Peace Talks to Occur Tomorow

For those of you who are following the travesty that is now Kenyan politics, peace talks should be coming tomorow according to
NEGOTIATORS NEAR DEAL TO STOP KENYAN VIOLENCE, a CNN article published on 2/21/08 by an unknown author. The violence has been going on for a couple months now has claimed the lives of about 1,000 people (CNN). The two leading parties, the Party of National Unity and the Orange Democratic Movement have been meeting with Kofi Annan the former UN Secratary General to try and fix the issue (CNN). Ultimately they are looking to nominate a prime minister agreeable to both sides and to change the role of the PM thus changing the Kenyan Constitution (CNN). Although this provides a solution to the problem, it is only temporary, this same issue over “rigged elections” could easily rise again. It is necessary to not simply change the cover of the issue but the CONTENT of the issue.

The Political Culture Debate Applied to China

O’Neil mentions in Essentials of Comparative Politics democracy doesn’t work in some cultures due to some long term cultural traditions, one that he mentioned was Confucianism (O’Neil 72).  Confucianism implies a strict patriarchal obedience and in turn obedience to the emperor who was often regarded as somewhat of a father figure.  The latent Confusionist beliefs in Chinese Society help to explain why the rise of despotism has been prevalent.  From the Emperors to Mao to the most recent leader, Hu Jintao.  In an article written on January 11, 2005 China’s Leader Shows his Stripes by Tim Luard and published in the BBC Luard writes, “But one leading liberal intellectual who agreed to talk to the BBC said Mr Hu had already proved himself “more fundamentalistic” than either of his two predecessors” (Luard).  This fundamental approach is clear in that he rose to the most powerful man in China in about two years controlling most aspects of society (Luard). 

Our Semester Blog Theme

For our semester long blog theme we will be following the actions in a country that is seemingly deteriorating:  Kenya and a country that is on the rise:  China. 

“The spasm of political violence that has crippled Kenya erupted soon after the December elections, when the opposition Orange Democratic Party accused President Mwai Kibaki of rigging the vote to win re-election in a race against its leader Raila Odinga. It soon took on ethnic overtones.

More than 860 people have been killed and more than 200,000 displaced in the turmoil, the Red Cross said. The Red Cross has put the number at 863. There was no fresh violence reported in Kenya Wednesday.”

Elise Labott, Saeed Ahmed, Stephanie Halasz and Zain Verjee (updated 12:33 p.m. EST, Wed January 30, 2008) Kenya Police Deny Shoot to Kill Order

The rest of the article talks about the official stance of the Kenyan Government towards the actions of the police with regards to the rebels for more information click http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/01/30/kenya.violence/index.html

China:

“Even before the latest crisis, growing numbers of Chinese have been taking to the streets to protest against the government. Ironically, as the Chinese economy has been growing at double-digit rates, ordinary Chinese—workers upset about low wages as well as middle class city residents angered by local government policies—are staging protests in greater numbers.”

-Bruce Einhorn (Business Week) January 30, 2008 In China, a Winter of Discontent.

Although China has been expereincing an intense period of economic growth, there are still protests.  The most recent disaster, massive snow fall, did serious damage to the infastrucure and left the country in a position similar to that of Hurricane Katrina (Einhorn). 

The internal disorder is more remniscant of the chaos in Kenya (without the massacres) than of the economic rock that has scared most Americans.

social fact

More money is spent by pharmaceutical companies on research for lifestyle drugs (for conditions like hair loss) than on research for life-saving drugs and diseases like malaria that affect hundreds of millions of people.

 

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/stiglitz81