Archive for category: Politics

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Four Facts about Poverty in Macedonia

Poverty in Macedonia
The small landlocked European country of Macedonia, located north of Greece, has only been officially declared an independent nation since 1991 after winning independence from Yugoslavia. During this short time, the population of Macedonia has struggled with the spread of poverty and remains among the ten poorest countries in Europe. Here are four facts about poverty in Macedonia:

  1. Nearly one-third of Macedonian citizens are poor. A calculated 30.4 percent of people in Macedonia live below the poverty line. Macedonia’s national population is just over two million people, which means a shocking 600,000 individuals are currently living below the poverty line. This is more than double the rate of poverty in the U.S., which measured at 13.5 percent in 2015.
  2. Political and ethnic tensions are contributing factors to the widespread poverty. Suspected government corruption in elections and ongoing prejudice between the Albanian and Macedonian populations prevent the stability necessary for economic improvement. As one Western diplomat claimed while choosing to remain anonymous, “When people have no money, they try to find someone to blame. In Macedonia’s case, ethnic groups blame each other for their misfortunes.”
  3. Unemployment is a major cause of poverty in Macedonia. The rate of unemployment in Macedonia was 23.4 percent in 2016, rendering one in four people unable to find work. The shift from a Yugoslavian command economy, in which the central government mandated many aspects of the market such as prices, incomes and investments, to the modern democratic economy, subject to volatile influences such as supply and demand, has left many citizens without job opportunities.
  4. Children may suffer the effects of poverty in Macedonia more than the adults. Even as progress is made to reduce the national poverty level, families with young children have far higher rates of poverty compared to the national average. According to a comprehensive study by UNICEF, the rates of poverty in Macedonia among households with children increased from 49.3 percent in 2002 to 66.6 percent in 2007. This is especially true among small-scale farmers in rural areas, who comprise 40 percent of the poor in Macedonia.

Future efforts to improve the economic standing of Macedonia will depend largely on expanding the job market and improving local infrastructure. Foreign investors may be able to solve both problems, especially from the United Kingdom and from Germany, as Macedonia continues to stabilize its new governmental structure and appeal to other European countries for support.

– Dan Krajewski

Photo: Flickr

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Seven Facts About Refugees in South Korea

Refugees in South Korea
South Korea today is considered an economic powerhouse, known for tech giants like Samsung and catchy Korean pop tunes. However, as a rising world leader, South Korea is also taking on more responsibilities for refugees, especially defectors from their neighbor to the north. Here are seven facts about refugees in South Korea:

  1. Some North Korean refugees in South Korea eventually became stars on South Korean reality TV. One show, “Now On My Way to Meet You,” features a panel of North Korean women who talk about life under the North Korean regime. The show’s staff also help the women track down lost family members and reunite them. Other shows pair up North Korean refugees with South Korean reality stars. Experts, however, are divided over whether this recent TV craze helps or hurts tensions with the North.
  2. In 1998, only 12% of North Korea refugees in South Korea were women. According to a survey conducted by a South Korean news agency, the percentage of female refugees jumped to 70% in 2012.
  3. Between 2008 and 2012, the number of North Korean defectors to South Korea who were of middle and high school age nearly doubled from 966 to 1,992. Refugee children, however, reportedly have a difficult time adjusting to school life in the South due to cultural differences.
  1. Refugee children have a middle school enrollment rate of 57.9% and a high school enrollment rate of 10.9%, compared to a high school enrollment rate of 98% for South Korean children.
  2. To remedy this problem, the South Korean government has tried implementing “special schools” for North Korean refugees in South Korea. Among the most well-known of these special schools is the Hankyoreh High School, which teaches refugees the national common curriculum and holds individual sessions to meet each student’s individual needs.
  3. South Korea, along with Japan, has among the strictest refugee policies. Since 1994, as many as 1,144 Syrian refugees have applied for asylum in South Korea, yet government figures show that only three have been approved.
  4. Despite a tight refugee admission policy, South Korea has donated a sum worth $500,000 to a U.N. agency to support Palestinian refugee children in Syria. The donation will be used to better the lives of young girls living in Palestine.

South Korea’s rapid economic success is seen globally as an economic “Miracle on the Han River,” but the prestige of economic success also comes with global responsibilities. One hopes that refugees in South Korea will find miracles of their own.

– Mary Grace Costa

Photo: Flickr

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Violence in Honduras Continues to Threaten Local Activists

Honduras
In the wake of continuous violence in Honduras, authorities remain negligent in capturing the assailants or even investigating the attacks against land rights activists.

Honduras’ landscape, rich in natural capital, has been exploited for years. Resources of interest include raw land, timber from rainforests and minerals like zinc, copper and lead. While wealth is abundant, it is not evenly distributed.

This is particularly unsettling given the already rampant wealth inequality prevalent within the nation. Among the population of about 8.1 million, 62.8% live on an income of less than $2.50 per day.

The primary obstacle facing poverty reduction and sustainable development within the small Central American nation is the excessive violence. Violence in Honduras has remained a serious and urgent problem for years. In 2011, the nation was dubbed the Murder Capital of the World by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crimes. While the rate decreased from 82 homicides for every 1,000 people in 2011 to 67 homicides among the same sample size only three years later, Honduras remains one of the most dangerous nations in the world.

With the growth of the mining, energy and agribusiness industries, violence in Honduras has taken a turn to target land rights activists and local communities that refuse to abandon their land.

There have been a reported 123 activist murders since the 2009 military overthrow. Recently, the anti-corruption NGO, Global Witness, has investigated the violence in Honduras and implicated a number of high-profile Honduran politicians and business people in the murders.

Global Witness states that the government has begun to crack down on families refusing to hand over their land for mining, logging, energy use and commercial development. In addition, authorities have failed to take action against the wave of non-gang related violence in Honduras.

Occasionally, the perpetrator of the attack will be taken into custody, but will rarely be indicted and will almost never lead to pursuit of the individuals ordering the attacks.

Under the Obama administration, the United States committed $98.3 million in bilateral aid directly to Honduras, as well as another $750 million in regional development funds through the ‘Alliance for Prosperity Plan.’

Half of the direct funding is contingent upon the Honduran government’s accountability for meeting human rights standards, which include the permittance of activists to engage without conflict and denunciation of the violence in Honduras.

There is an evident lack, thus far, of the Honduran government’s ability to meet this condition and advocate on behalf of its citizens’ rights. This is troubling given the history of non-targeted violence in Honduras, and can only venture to hurt the nation’s prospects of future development.

– Jaime Viens

Photo: Flickr

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Political Instability and Poverty in Guinea-Bissau


Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa with an estimated population of 1.8 million. The country gained independence from Portugal in 1974 and has since been marred by high levels of political unrest with repeated changes in government. No elected president in the country’s history has successfully served a full five-year term. The political instability and poverty in Guinea-Bissau has resulted in a lack of development throughout the country.

Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world with a gross domestic product (GDP) based on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) per capita of 1,568 dollars. The country’s economy is highly reliant on subsistence farming, foreign assistance and the export of cashew nuts. International aid to the country has been suspended on several occasions due to concern over governance and the rule of law. Guinea-Bissau has become a way station for drugs bound for Europe due to lack of strong governance, poor economy and its geographical location. There are fears that Guinea-Bissau is becoming the first narco-state in Africa.

Guinea-Bissau has a Human Development Index (HDI) value of 0.42, which puts the country in the low human development category, ranking 178 out of 188 countries. Life expectancy in the country has increased somewhat but is still around 55 years. The adult literacy rate is 56%. In addition, the average number of years that people go to school in Guinea is only 2.8 years. Nearly 70% of the population lives below the poverty line.

A major contributing factor to poverty in Guinea-Bissau is the fact that almost 85% of the population depends on agriculture as the main source of income. This is not a stable form of income due to several factors, such as political instability, irregular rainfall and volatile prices of imports and exports. As a result, 11% of households in Guinea-Bissau are classified as food insecure and in some regions, this figure is as high as 51%.

While Guinea-Bissau has one of the slowest growing economies in Africa, there is potential for growth in several untapped sectors. This includes adding value to raw exports like cashew nuts and timber, as well as exploring untapped mineral deposits of bauxite and phosphates.

However, effectively addressing poverty in Guinea-Bissau and reaching sustainable economic growth will require long-term political stability.

– Helena Kamper

Photo: Flickr

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How Many Refugees Does the United States Accept?

How Many Refugees Does the United States Accept
With Trump’s immigration ban, you may be wondering, how many refugees does the United States accept? To answer this question, you must do some math.

The United States will not accept any more refugees until May 27, and in the meantime, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence will review the screening procedures for refugees. President Trump’s immigration policy includes a 90-day complete ban on individuals from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen from entering the United States. Syrian refugees will be banned from entering the United States for an undetermined amount of time.

Over 100,000 refugees were allowed in the United States in 2016 under Obama’s plan, but Trump is capping the number of refugees allowed into the United States at 50,000. The 2017 fiscal year began last October, and as of Jan. 20, 29,895 refugees were already accepted. This leaves room for only about 20,000 more refugees to enter the United States in 2017 under Trump’s plan.

The United States accepted almost 85,000 refugees in 2016, according to the United States Department of State. In 2016, over 45% of those refugees were Muslim, the highest recorded number of Muslim refugees in history. President Trump said that he will give Christian refugees priority over Muslim refugees in the future.

David Mednicoff, Assistant Director for Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, states that there are many benefits to allowing Syrian refugees in the United States. Syrian refugees bring a knowledge of the conflict in the Middle East and how to diffuse it. Mednicoff believes that if refugees are allowed into the country, they are more likely to show gratitude rather than malice toward the United States.

As you can see, “How many refugees does the United States accept?” is a complicated question. The number of refugees that will be allowed into the United States may change as the 120-day ban ends this summer.

– Jennifer Taggart

Photo: Flickr

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Ten Deadly Wars

10 Deadly Wars
There is sufficient evidence to suggest that war causes and exacerbates poverty. It results in damage to infrastructure, breaks up communities and leads to the injury and death of countless people. Here is a list of 10 deadly wars that did just that:

  1. Second Congo War — 5.4 million deaths. It began in 1998, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and it lasted until 2003. Eight other African nations were drawn into the fight, and the cause included local disputes over land and resources. It also claimed the life of DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila in 2001.
  2. Iran-Iraq War — 1.5 million deaths. In September 1980, Iraq invaded Khuzestan and Iran under Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship. This deadly war lasted nearly eight years. It ended in July 1988, after U.N. Resolution 598 was accepted. However, this resolution was not reached before many casualties and billions of dollars in damages.
  3. Vietnam War — 3 million + deaths. This war began in 1954 but did not end until 1975. It involved North Vietnam and its southern allies, the Viet Cong, fighting against South Vietnam and the United States. North Vietnam wanted to unite the whole country under a communist regime, and in 1976 they succeeded when the country was officially united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
  4. World War II — 56.4 million deaths. Known as the deadliest war in history, World War II began in 1939 with Germany’s invasion of Poland, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. It was a conflict that involved nearly every part of the world, until its end six deadly years later in September 1945.
  5. Second Sino-Japanese War — nearly 22 million deaths. The largest Asian war in the twentieth century was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. It began in 1937, and ended in 1945 when Japan surrendered, shortly after an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima by the United States.
  6. Chinese Civil War — 6 million deaths. This war started in 1927 when the Shanghai Massacre occurred, along with the collapse of the First United Front. In reality, the war ended in 1949 when the Chinese Communist Party was victorious in gaining control. However, because there was never a peace treaty signed, this war technically still continues today.
  7. Russian Civil War — 9.5 million deaths. A war that began in 1917 and ended in 1920, it consisted of the Red Army, fighting for the Bolsheviks, against the White Army, who were Anti-Bolshevik. The Bolsheviks was a communist political party, led by Vladimir Lenin.
  8. World War I — 35 million + deaths. A war centered in Europe, beginning in 1914 and ending in 1918. It was essentially Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers), against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy and Japan (the Allied Powers). The United States joined the Allied Powers after 1917. At the time, it was thought to be the war to end all wars.
  9. Dungan Revolt — 8 to 10 million deaths. This religious war, which began in 1862 and lasted until 1877, took place in China. It was between the Hui people, who were primarily Muslim, and the Han people, an ethnic group native to East Asia. Actions from the generals of the Qing Dynasty brought the war to an end, without any real resolution to the conflict that started it.
  10. Taiping Rebellion — 20 million deaths. The Taiping Rebellion was started in 1850 by Hong Xiuquan, a man claiming to be the younger brother of Jesus Christ who said he had been sent to reform China. The rebellion ended in 1864, when the central government in China finally defeated Hong Xiuquan and his followers.

According to the World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security and Development, “interstate and civil wars have declined since peaking in the early 1990s.” However, one in four people in this world still, “live in fragile and conflict-affected states or in countries with very high levels of criminal violence.” The 10 deadly wars listed here are an important part of history, but modern violence does not always come in the form of a typical war. Its consequences, though, are very much the same. It is essential for world leaders to recognize this change so they may effectively deal with the problem.

– Kristin Westad

Photo: Flickr

New Insurgency in Myanmar: Examining What Is an Insurgency

Insurgency in Myanmar: Examining
There has been an uptick in an insurgent group activity in Myanmar the past few months. A new insurgency group within the Rohingya community named Harakah al-Yaqin has been carrying out attacks in the Rakhine state. This is a small yet important economic area within Myanmar that has a large Muslim population located within a country that is mainly Buddhist.

According to a Stratfor report, the Rohingya have long been a marginalized group in Myanmar society. They are not granted full citizenship and are accused of not being Myanmar at all, but rather recent Bengali immigrants.

The group demands are more ethnic-based rather than being steeped in political Islam. They are asking for government recognition as citizens and equal rights, but with no mention of Sharia law which differentiates them from other Islamist insurgencies. The scope of what is an insurgency depends on what the goal of that group ends up being.

With insurgencies varying from movement to movement, it is important to determine what is an insurgency. A recent paper by Aaron Young & David Gray seeking to define the term looks at likely causes and examines possible solutions. They believe that an insurgency is bound to political constraints. They define what is an insurgency by the challenging of these political aspects:

  1. The integrity of borders and composition of the nation-state
  2. The political system
  3. The authorities in power
  4. The policies that determine who gets what in societies

They believe that terrorism is only an option utilized by insurgencies if they fail on achieving their political goals. Over the years, though, the inclusion of guerilla warfare and terrorist tactics have served the purpose of demoralizing their opposition which can sometimes equate to an accelerated victory of their political goals.

Gray reports that “through proper management of social services and welfare programs, the needs of insurgent masses can be met. Only by the willingness of cooperation by the state and insurgent forces can a unified agreement be reached, considering that is a goal of the organization.”

Economic factors are important to squash an insurgency according to Mr. Gray. His research has led him to believe that by including indigenous and minority groups into economic development instead of complete control by the ruling party can be key to defeating the underlying current of an insurgency. And that the only way an insurgency can continue is if economic conditions remain the same or worsen. He states “by increasing regional utilization and production of viable resources, unemployment reductions, giving the masses both a sense of control of their own destinies and increases in the distribution of wealth has the effect of reducing strife and discontent.”

The Myanmar government reportedly has very little interest in including the Rohingya population into future economic growth. There are politically motivated fears that any softening towards the Muslim population may lead to a change in power facilitated by an angry Buddhist majority electorate. Young & Gray would argue the exact opposite approach to ending the unrest currently occurring in Myanmar.

– Brian Faust

Photo: Flickr

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Four Clues to Understanding Poverty in Bahrain

4 Clues to Understanding Poverty in Bahrain
A great deal of poverty in Bahrain stems from a systematic discrimination of Shias by the Sunni leaders. Bahrainis were one of the first to begin protesting in the Arab Spring of 2011 but were also one of the first to be shut down. The discrimination of the Shias still exists today in Bahrain. To better understand Bahrain, here are four facts that you need to know:

    1. Bahrain is run by a monarchy that has been in power since their occupation of the island during the 1700s. The monarchy works within itself, through a private council that resolves familial disputes and financial issues. Today, Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy with an elected legislature.
    2. The monarchy consists of Sunnis, but the majority of the population of Bahrain is Shia. This encourages systematic discrimination throughout Bahrain, which sparked multiple protests by Shia Bahrainis in 2011. Shias claimed that privileges and opportunities were given out more freely to the Sunnis within Bahrain. Mainly these protestors argued for a new constitution and an equal society in terms of job opportunities for Shia Bahrainis, but the protests were shut down quickly. The monarchy called the protesters traitors and used troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to end the protests.
    3. There is a large wealth disparity between Shias and Sunnis throughout Bahrain. The capital city of Manama is full of beautiful buildings and skyscrapers, but the villages surrounding the city show the disparity. However, figures do not suggest that Bahrain has any citizens living in extreme poverty (under one U.S. dollar a day) according to the United Nations Development Programme. But, 12.2% of the population lives under five U.S. dollars a day, therefore poverty in Bahrain still exists.
    4. Most of the unemployed Bahrainis are between the ages of 15 and 24. Unemployed females within that age group have an unemployment rate of 16.8 % in 2014, and unemployed males are at 8.5%, according to the International Labour Organization. There is a clear disparity between females and males who are able to acquire jobs, as well as the disparity between the Shias and Sunnis that is still prevalent today.

Poor Shias living in Bahrain without any connections to wealthier Shias or Sunnis will most likely stay in that caste. Bahrain is very committed to its traditions including its monarchy. While extreme poverty in Bahrain is not the country’s biggest issue, the disparity that is rampant leads more into poverty every day.

– Meagan Foy

Photo: Flickr

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Politics and Poverty in The Gambia

Poverty in the Gambia
The Islamic Republic of Gambia is a small West African nation of fewer than two million people and surrounded on almost all sides by Senegal. With an economy built on a small patch of tourism, peanuts, and money sent home from abroad, poverty in the Gambia has had a period of stability for the past two decades.

The authoritarian government of outgoing president Yahya Jammeh has been in power since 1994. As recently as 2006, President Jammeh’s campaign claimed that government aid and continued development would only go to its supporters, while those who supported others should expect nothing.

Hope for Reducing Poverty in The Gambia

Today, more than a third of The Gambia’s population lives below the U.N. poverty line of $1.25 per day. The nation’s poor are mostly in rural areas, and 60 percent of The Gambia relies on agriculture to make a living. Irregular rainfall, economic instability and fluctuating food pricing all contribute to the plight of the Gambian proletariat.

Low productivity persists in the staple area of rice farming, where inefficient technologies and practices lead to less yield during harvests and contribute to worsening soil fertility. Few rural institutions are able to provide basic social services and credit.

In a surprise turn of events, President Jammeh lost this year’s election to a candidate who ran on issues of economic revival, ending human rights violations, and establishing a more earnest democracy. With the end of Jammeh’s presidency comes a potential for The Gambia to begin receiving increased funding from the U.N. and E.U. Ban Ki-moon and Federica Mogherini have stated, on behalf of the U.N. and E.U. respectively, that their institutions are prepared to support The Gambia.

The President-elect, Adama Barrow, is already promising to strengthen relations with Europe and other potential partners in development. Many relationships had been strained by the Jammeh administration, and after 22 years, The Gambia may be in a position to put its most vulnerable at the forefront of its government.

– Aaron Walsh

Photo: Flickr

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Monarchs, Communist States and other Non-Democratic Countries

Monarchs, Communist States and other Non-Democratic Countries
Out of 196 countries in the world, 113 are officially recognized as democratic states. That leaves over 80 non-democratic countries. Here is a look at the top ten.

  1. People’s Republic of China – China has been a communist state since 1949 and is run by the Communist Party of China. With the largest population in the world (1.385 billion), beginning in 1980, China began to strictly enforce a 1- child limit. By 2007, the law began to gradually relax and currently there is a 2-child limit in this largest of all non-democratic countries.
  2. North Korea – This East Asian peninsula is officially named the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and is a communist state run by a dictator. In 2015, North Korea created its own time zone. The country now runs on Pyongyang Time.
  3. Cuba – The largest island in the Caribbean is a totalitarian communist state and officially became so after Fidel Castro rose to power in 1959. Education in Cuba is 100% subsidized by the government. Even students studying at the doctoral level are able to do so tuition free.
  4. Laos – Officially the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, this southeast Asian country is a one-party socialist state with a free market economy. Recently they’ve attracted substantial foreign investments due to a plentiful supply of mineral resources.
  5. Vietnam – Originally spelled “Viet Nam”, one of the non-democratic countries, this single-party socialist republic is led by the Communist Party of Vietnam. Owning about 20% of the world’s coffee market makes Vietnam the second largest producer of coffee in the world.
  6. Brunei – Since 1962, Brunei has been governed by an absolute monarchy. The Sultan is the Prime Minister, Defense Minister, Finance Minister and the Head of Religion. Brunei is an oil-rich country that is a little smaller than the state of Delaware and has the 10th highest per capita GDP in the world.
  7. Bahrain – This archipelago totals 765 square kilometers and is governed by a constitutional monarchy. The Bahrain World Trade Centre was recognized with a Leading European Architects Forum Award for incorporating wind turbines into its 240-meter high design.
  8. Monaco – Officially named the Principality of Monaco, this Hereditary Constitutional Monarchy measures only 2 square kilometers. It’s the second smallest country in the world! Monaco gained its independence from the Republic of Genoa on January 8, 1297.
  9. Jordan – This constitutional hereditary monarchy is officially named, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country is widely known as a “geographic prize” due to its central location and diverse climate.
  10. Kuwait – After gaining independence from the U.K. in 1961, Kuwait formed a semi-democratic hybrid system of government. Today, it is run by a combination of appointed and elected officials including the Chief of State and the Crowned Prince.

– Ashley Henyan

Photo: Flickr