Posts Tagged ‘politics’
Culture and elections
Kenya has erupted into violence after a disputed election. The Pakistani political party of Benazir Bhutto has named her 19-year-old son as the party’s new leader. This post is not meant to judge the politics of other countries. After all, the U.S. faced some problems of its own with a hotly disputed election seven years ago and, as Andrew Sullivan notes, we’re [...]
Tribalism and democracy in Kenya
Tribalism is an inescapable undercurrent of life throughout much of Africa and the Middle East. And, as this Washington Post article notes, one’s tribal loyalties have also played a significant role in democratic elections in Kenya, even though many voters deny it is an issue. Although many issues are at stake in Kenya’s presidential election Thursday [...]
A new generation for China
There was a fascinating article recently in Time Magazine, called China’s Me Generation. It was about twentysomethings in China and how their lives have been transformed by a growing economy and China’s rise as a global economic powerhouse. Interestingly, while many of these young adults have more career choices and disposable income than ever before, [...]
Female leaders for South America
Now that Argentina has followed Chile in electing a woman president, some observers are wondering if this portends a new era of female political power in South America. Here in the land of machismo, where leaders were long supposed to conform to the standard of the strong-armed military man in epaulettes, a rising wave of [...]
Nomadic traditions influence politics
It’s easy to dismiss ancient nomadic traditions as quaint relics of the past. But researchers are now discovering that these tribal traditions are not only the building blocks of Central Asian cultures but are also representative of values that continue to influence contemporary politics. Some of these insights were discussed in a recent article in the International [...]
Ethiopia turns to elders
Sometimes a crisis really can be defused by a few wise elders. At least in cultures that have a tradition of respect for such individuals. That’s what happened in Ethiopia recently when a political crisis was solved through mediation by a newly formed Council of Elders. The Christian Science Monitor has the story: As the gray-haired man [...]
Somalia and Somaliland
There is a fascinating article in yesterday’s NY Times about the differences between Somalia and Somaliland, which shows some of the ways in which culture and history can influence societies. If you’ve never heard of Somaliland, don’t worry. It’s likely that many people have never heard of the place, since no one recognizes it a country even though it declared [...]
The challenges posed by clans and tribalism
I’ve previously written about clans and tribalism as it relates to Iraq and the Middle East. But this cultural topic is of course also an issue in other regions of the world, as shown by this recent article about Somalia. … whether Somalia pulls itself together now or explodes into bloodshed again depends not on American [...]
Leadership and culture at the United Nations
It looks as though Ban Ki Moon, the foreign minister of South Korea, is in line to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations, but apparently not without another lesson in cross-cultural differences. The current UN leader, Kofi Annan of Ghana, is stepping down when his term expires at the end of the year [...]
Changing politics and culture in Japan
Politics is as much connected to culture as is business, so it was interesting to read this story about how the outgoing Prime Minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, singlehandedly altered the political culture of the nation. In particular, he was notable for exuding charisma in an otherwise bland political climate, and for making decisions on his [...]
Mysticism and politics in Indonesia
When I was in Bali a few years ago, I had an opportunity to see firsthand the role that spirituality plays in the everyday life of Indonesians. For many people, this spirituality goes beyond mere organized religion and extends to a strong belief in the powers of the non-physical world. Now those beliefs have become a political issue, [...]
Mexican candidates have to be truthful
Interesting story out of Mexico, in the run-up to that country’s upcoming presidential election. Mexico’s Federal Election Institute has ruled that some of the candidates’ advertisements ”are too false to be on the air.” The institute twice voted to cancel advertisements calling the leftist candidate – Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the former Mexico City mayor – [...]
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Bob Riel is a writer and a traveler. Go here to read more about Bob, his work and the Travels in the Riel World blog.
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