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.