http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Obama-Praises-Georgia-as-Model-of-Democracy-138359529.html This article is basically a fluff piece which covers President Obama giving Georgia a pat on the back for its democratic reforms. Essentially the country has engaged in many anti-corruption programs, and a policy of ‘institution building’ designed to increase the ‘democraticness’ of domestic politics. The 2003 Rose Revolution was enormously important for the establishment of […]

As we all know, or more accuratley, what some of us know, the UBC AMS elections occurred this past week. The elections are an admirable attempt to make the relationship between the student body and the UBC administration more democratic, allowing anyone with a CWL to cast their vote as easily as it is to log […]

Participatory Democracy http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Participatory+democracy+quiet+revolution/6059122/story.html This is a very interesting article which meshes well with some of the themes of the Collier and Levitsky article. Essentially it calls into question the efficacy of representative democracy in that representatives no longer has a firm grasp of the will of their constituents. The article frames this with the Occupy […]

So here’s a pretty sobering graph.. Green: Iraqi Civilian Casualties Blue: Afghan Civilian Casualties Grey: US Casualties in both Wars Red: September 11th Victims “Operation Iraqi Freedom” , it seems, was a bit of a misnomer. True, US troops are finally out of Vietnam, sorry, i meant Iraq. And they have left a ‘functioning parliamentary democracy’ in their wake, […]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/myanmars-foreign-minister-says-countrys-democratic-reforms-will-be-gradual-systematic/2012/01/25/gIQAVjHoPQ_story.html This article wasn’t neccesarily reporting on any major event regarding democracy, it was more of a procedural piece commenting on the progress Myanmar, formerly Burma, is making towards democratic reform. The history of democracy and human rights in Myanmar is particularly appalling,  but it seems the country is looking to increase its international reputation. In today’s liberal democratic […]

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/pak-parl-passes-prodemocracy-resolution/221411-56.html This article is brief but very interesting, especially in relation to the Democracy with Adjectives article which we read this week. Essentially, the Pakistani National Assembly has recently passed a bill which is dubbed a ‘pro-democracy’ piece of legislation. Essentially it was in response to the recent scandals which have plagued the Assembly and […]

In my second semester of third year, I had the opportunity to go on exchange to Sydney Australia. This was a fantastic opportunity for a variety of reasons but i suppose the one most relevant to this course was that I was able to see first hand how Australian politics differed from Canadian. It was […]

@akpeepre Hi! I read your personal introduction and here’s something I stumbled across. Or more accurately, StumbledUpon, not too long ago. Your interest in environmental politics and also winter sports I feel might be in conflict with this particular video. Do u think this is an unwarranted clearing of forests or just plain awesomeness that we […]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16387117 This situation, in my opinion, goes to show how liberal democracy is the first victim of any sort of crisis. In this case, the Hungarian Fidesz Party has passed a new constitution which lifts some of the checks and balances which are typical and necessary for a liberal democracy.  Apparently it also rewrites electoral formulae in a way which […]

In reading this article I had a few thoughts about my own education and how it has affected my own personal views and behavior regarding democracy. The education I have received in the political science department at UBC has served to make me far more cynical about politics than I had been previously. I think it is […]