Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Massacre in the Philippines

The West has long supported democracy as the best system possible. However, the fact remains that in many impoverished countries, democracy comes hand-in-hand with corruption and violence. This ongoing case in the Philippines is a sobering example of the dangers of democracy without strong rule of law and the elimination of patronage-based politics.
The following excerpt from a Globe and Mail article on the incident speaks to these shortcomings, particularly when read in light of the fact that the alleged killers are likely from a family loyal to the current president of Philippines:

Julkipli Wadi, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of the Philippines, said he doubted the national government's resolve in trimming the powers of political dynasties like the Ampatuans because they deliver votes during elections.

“Because of the absence of viable political institutions, powerful men are taking over,” he said. “Big political forces and personalities in the national government are sustaining the warlords, especially during election time, because they rely on big families for their votes.”


Al Jazeera has also followed the story and recently did an episode on political violence in the area. As elections-related violence likely continues, the world will certainly be watching more closely to see how the central government handles this incident and what impact it will have on voting patterns.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Field Trip!


This week, Obama is embarking on a tour of Asia, beginning in Japan and then visiting China, Singapore and South Korea. This means that by the end of the week there should be several new opinion articles on US-China relations, etc. which will likely be worth taking a look at. Personally, I've also been writing about trade diversification and Chinese monetary policy (random, I know) so the Asian-Pacific region has been on my mind as of late. A few things that caught my attention recently are listed below.

Barack Obama's Asian Adventure - Obama's diplomatic efforts will have to be balanced and focused on economics
A wary respect - This special report from The Economist discusses, among other things, the challenges China faces at home and what this means for diplomatic relations with the US in the future.

Korean Naval Ships Clash at Sea - Just days before Obama visits the region, North and South Korean war ships exchange fire. This type of naval clash is not unprecedented.
North Korea warns South it will pay for clash - Mere sabre rattling or escalating hostility?

China, the US and Taiwan - The author argues that weapons sales to Taiwan should be used as a bargaining chip with China. Weapons sales have the potential to be highly destabilizing but the prospect of them can push diplomacy efforts forwards.

Having it both ways - China has made a huge investment in copper mining in Afghanistan (over $3 billion spent... who knew??). Why aren't they helping protect it?

On a final note, read something about Afghanistan's electoral disputes and the overall mission that I've touched upon in past posts. (Or even better, Palestine's...)

Friday, October 30, 2009

It's hard to be an optimist these days...


This week we have seen several reports of extreme violence in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. While this is sadly not far from the ordinary, the latest explosion in Iraq that left 700 wounded and over 130 dead is a sobering reminder that peace is still a ways off. It also casts doubt on whether the US will be able to withdraw as early as they had hoped.

I bring up Afghanistan largely because of the latest story from the New York Times which alleges that President Karzai's brother is being paid off by the CIA. In response, Joanna Nathan of Foreign Policy argues in an online article that this is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to US intervention and encouragment of corruption.



No End in Sight - The Economist


An Election Under Siege - The Economist

Afghanistan in Crisis - A series of articles from The Nation

Friday, October 23, 2009

Data speaks louder than words

In my International Political Economy class the other day we watched this video off of TED. It is of Hans Rosling, a researcher in Sweden, who has created this fabulous website: gapminder.org. This presentation was so interesting because of the way he uses graphics and data to change our conception of the developing world vs. the developed world. While there are several of his talks on TED, this one was a good starting point. If you want to see more, skip to about the middle of his 2009 presentation to see some new stats on aids, child mortality and his assessments of the "bottom billion."

At right you see a graph I made on gapminder.org comparing life expectancy and CO2 emissions. Click on it to go watch the video progress from the early 1800s onwards.

Monday, October 19, 2009

General Research Links

As registration gets under way in the next few weeks, many of you will likely have already decided on which committee you wish to join and are now merely waiting for a country assignment. Luckily, there is lots of non-country-specific research that can be done right now! I thought you might find it useful to see some of the sites I regularly look to when preparing these blog posts or looking for further information on topics we discuss in class, etc. These are all sites that you can access freely, although in the future we may see if we can distribute papers accessible only through the University. Please feel free to add any sites you find useful in the comments!

Wikipedia - Obvious, but if you know nothing about a topic it often points you in the right direction and has useful links

UN.org - Another obvious one. You can find information on committees, topics and sessions as well as links to key UN documents. Also check out the UN News Service.

World Fact Book - Basic Country Briefings from the CIA. Similarly, the US Department of State also has country reports plus topic briefings.

Economist.com - Covers a broad range of topics in an engaging manner (plus they have their own specially designed typeface for maximum readability!)

The BBC - I like the BBC because they create lots of additional features like interactive timelines that can bring you up to speed on a situation quickly

Reuters, CBC, Al-Jazeera, New York Times, Washington Post, Globe and Mail, MSNBC, CNN, etc. - Choose at least one news outlet (or newspaper) and regularly check it. These sites all have search features so you can find related articles.

Google News - Or, if you're lazy and aren't picky about your sources, there is Google News which is useful for getting a wide range of opinions or takes on current events.

Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy - Two big American magazines which include the work of scholars, politicians and journalists to cover any number of subjects. Foreign Affairs contains much lengthier articles whereas FP tends to be shorter and their website is much more interactive.

International Crisis Group - Excellent reports on crisis regions

World Politics Review - Offers daily commentary on international affairs, national security and foreign policy (particularly US)

Global Policy Forum - GPF is a website that "monitors the work of the United Nations and scrutinizes global policymaking." Its wide range of articles provides thoughtful analysis and will help you to situate topics within global debate.

openDemocracy - Free articles on world issues, politics, etc.

Frontline - PBS hosts tonnes of 1 hour documentaries on a myriad of topics including the financial crisis, the war in Afghanistan, and Hugo Chavez

Think tanks such as Brookings also have interesting articles covering American foreign policy in particular, although each has their own ideological slant. As do hybrid news sources like The Huffington Post.

Hopefully you find some of these links useful as you begin to research your topics. Read critically, with an eye towards which countries or viewpoints are being favored and you will be rewarded in debate!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Violence in Pakistan


As Pakistan heats up it will be interesting to watch how this changes relations in the region. The US and its NATO allies have long been pushing Pakistan to deal with the insurrgents along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. Finally, Pakistan has made a strong commitment and we are now seeing people flee the region ahead of fighting as well as increasing violence against security forces already in place.
Many feel that bringing the Taliban under control in Pakistan is essential to 'winning' the war in Afghanistan. I say 'winning' because by this point it has been openly acknowledged that victory will likely turn out to be substantially different than what NATO leaders first hoped. As citizens in NATO countries continue to demand that their troops be brought home, bringing the situation in Pakistan under control could go a long ways to boosting confidence in the region and back here at home.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Ireland Ratifies the Lisbon Treaty - What Does it Mean to the EU?


Ireland held a referendum for the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, which will change the foreign policy and presidency structures of the European Union. Some people fear that it will put too much power into the hands of a single individual (the permanent president) while others believe the treaty will allow the enlarged EU to operate effectively.

Information on the EU and the Lisbon Treaty:
EU in Slides
Treaty of Lisbon (text)

Friday, September 25, 2009

Iran Hides Nuclear Facility


This morning the G20 Summit started off with a bang. Obama, Sarkozy and Brown took the podium to condemn Iran's admission of a second nuclear enrichment facility. There is now news that Medvedev will be releasing a statement shortly and there is a good chance that will reveal a harder stance from Russia. China too is now considering future action. While so far the only threats are sanctions, there is no doubt that tensions in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and Iran, are running high.

Iranian Nuclear Sites - BBC
Full video of address by Obama, Sarkozy and Brown - AP and Washington Post

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Showtime: The UN in September

This week is turning out to be rather exciting in terms of UN news, unsurprising given the number of international leaders currently in attendance. The past few days we've had news regarding climate change from China and the US in particular at the Secretary-General's summit, we've seen inflammatory speeches from the likes of Ahmadinejad and Gaddafi, to more defensive ones from Brown and Sarkozy, and this morning Obama chaired a historic Security Council meeting which voted unanimously for nuclear disarmament. I must say, September is always one of my favorite times of the year for the UN.
However, much of this is just passing fancy. There are already articles lowering expectations for the climate change conference in Copenhagen in December, disappointed op eds on the performance of Obama, and an interesting piece in the NY Times about Gadaffi's tent. Still, this is a big moment for Obama in proving himself on the international stage and injecting new leadership into the UN. Contrary to his predecessor he is proving willing to work within the system and is certainly providing more hope that change might be possible on issues like climate change or nuclear disarmament. In recent weeks he has also warmed relations with Russia and tried to improve relations between Israel and Palestine, but has also faced serious questions on the future of the mission in Afghanistan. There is no doubt that Obama is stretched thin on his foreign policy front. Indeed, with the G20 summit coming up, he is unlikely to take a break from the world stage any time soon.

Obama At the UN: Think of Me as FDR, not Bush - The Nation

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Welcome to HSMUN 2010!

Welcome to the 2010 edition of the HSMUN blog! Here you will find random posts from your secretariat with conference information, research links, topical news stories and anything else we feel like posting. We strongly encourage you to check both this blog and your committee blog regularly as we will attempt to update pretty regularly. Links to all the committee blogs can be found in the sidebar.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the University of Alberta's HSMUN, it is a three day conference from February 18-20, 2010, which sees over 350 high school students from across the province descend upon campus to debate topics in seven different committees. Our goal is to provide a positive atmosphere for students to develop their public speaking, critical thinking and negotiating skills while also learning about international relations. Further information can be found on our website, where we will also be posting the registration package shortly.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Updates and a video

As we approach the conference (only 13 days!), it is important to keep an eye on the news and see what is developing. Delegates may use latest crises to attack your positions or creatively work them into working papers and coalition building. When I was a delegate a few years ago, it was shortly after the Denmark cartoon crisis and throughout the entire simulation we were denounced whenever we tried to speak. The lesson here is that while HSMUN is a simulation, the real world intrudes very clearly and by being well-informed, you can prevent being lost in debate and be defensive (or offensive...) in your positioning.
Below are a few random updates that caught my eye recently:
1) The slow release of prisoners by the FARC as well as a recent bombing in Colombia. These follow another deadly bombing which is also attributed to the FARC and killed 2 in Bogota in late January. The situation in Colombia between government, guerilla, and paramilitary groups is complex and has been going on for several decades now although the FARC itself was created in the 1960s. To find out more information about groups operating in Colombia check out these quick links:

2) Ongoing problems within Gaza and as a result of the invasion. The UN has halted food aid after a number of recent thefts allegedly by Hamas. The election in Israel has become increasingly split with the new popularity of the nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party.

3) Recent Iraqi elections hailed by the UN - BBC

In closing, I encourage you all to watch the following video from TED (found by our Director-General). They have lots of amazing content on a variety of topics. I strongly urge you all to check the site out if you have time.



Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Challenges of Democracy


While today was undoubtedly a triumph of American democracy, watching President Obama's inauguration left me feeling simply relieved. Sure, the crowds were huge and the sheer jubilation was fun to watch, the benediction was funny and the Chief Justice flubbed the oath of office, but it was the speech which left me thinking. Obama came down fairly hard on his predecessor, as he rightly should. The US is bailing for all its worth now but at least Obama brings some measure of hope to a fearful nation. As we look at the next year and consider where US foreign policy will go, one of the big things that comes to my mind, particularly given Obama's journey to the White House, is democracy promotion.
The US has, at least since WWII come to stand for democracy everywhere. It is, or rather was, the model of a stable democratic nation that stood for freedom and hope. However, in recent years the world has seen a distinct stagnation, perhaps even a downturn, in democracy and certainly in the area of democracy promotion. While many countries claim to be democratic in reality they are often closer to “competitive-authoritarian regimes.” The tarnishing of democracy’s image comes from a variety of sources but chief among them is the Iraq war. It cannot be stressed enough that the association of democracy with the US led War on Terror, and more specifically the war in Iraq, has almost single-handedly destroyed all legitimacy held by those who seek to promote it. By using democracy as an excuse to begin a poorly conceived and even more poorly received war, promoting democracy suddenly has become associated with promoting American security and interests. While seeking political change in the Middle East is not by itself an illegitimate goal, it is the American strategy which is contemptible. That being said, the international community, and the US, should not outright abandon democracy promotion, particularly in Iraq, as the benefits of democracy far outweigh those of alternate forms.
On the one hand, US policy makers have been somewhat naive in thinking that they could bring Western-style democracy to a region that has been stubbornly resistant and strongly anti-American. Yet, those who say that the Middle East is incapable of maintaining a democracy are equally wrong. Perhaps where both groups fail to assess the situation properly is in their conception of democracy itself. The term “Western-style” evokes a particular image of social and political organization but also raises the question of whether the form of government envisioned by American policy makers is a rigid form of democracy which ultimately benefits America itself. There is direct evidence that this has already occurred as seen in the recent Palestinian elections. These elections, which relied heavily on US and international support to even occur, resulted in unfavorable outcomes for the Western world. All too quickly these countries dismissed the results, irreparably damaging their future legitimacy in supporting other democratic ventures in the Middle East.
It's clear from voter turnouts in elections in Iraq and other regions such as Palestine and Afghanistan that when given the chance, citizens are more than willing to participate in forming their own governments but it is also clear that the West will disregard these citizens’ opinions if they clash with their own interests. Credible democracy promotion requires that the international community put in place structures to support democratic government and elections but then to allow the people the ultimate choice.
American political economist and philosoper Francis Fukuyama suggests that to improve American chances in the next democracy building project, a permanent office should be established “with authority and resources appropriate for the job.” While this is an admirable idea, policy makers must be careful that their actions are not construed as planning for the implementation of a global American hegemony. While it may be impossible to stop some groups from believing the worst, by allowing newly set up democracies to make their own choices, focusing on supporting the underlying structure of the system such as local anticorruption groups and an independent judiciary, providing impartial international experts on such topics as constitution writing, and finally, helping solve security issues with minimal military involvement will go a long way to improving America’s democracy promotion strategies.
This brings us to the last fundamental question; is democracy really serving international interest and is there a continued need to promote it? This is a necessary debate which must be undertaken by all those living in a contemporary world where “authoritarian capitalism” of Russia and China is proving to be a somewhat successful form of government. The fact that democracy must be debated is not a bad thing. Indeed, it allows for a new generation of democratic reform and forces the international community to discuss the ongoing discontents and fears associated with the system. How to handle corrupt regimes, deal with the undermining of democratic institutions by cynical leaders, and to promote strong independent judiciaries are all important issues which urgently require new consideration. However, despite these challenges and the fact that democracy is no longer the sole best economic solution, it is still the best option in terms of promoting human rights and establishing a modicum of equality and freedom. In turn, promoting human rights and equality goes a long way to supporting international peace and cooperation, obviously desirable outcomes. Democracy is by no means the ultimate cure to countries such as Iraq but it does provide hope for a better future, one in which its own citizens have a say and this is a goal worthy of international support.
To conclude, the impacts of the Iraq war and the Bush regime have left the legitimacy of democracy promotion in the Middle East and indeed, of democracy itself, in question but this questioning is necessary. Hopefully it will lead to new solutions and new policy by both the US and the international community at large. Despite the multitude of challenges faced by contemporary supporters of democracy promotion, there is undoubtedly a need for their continued efforts as democracy remains the best chance at achieving basic human rights, equality and freedom.
Some links on democracy promotion:
Journal of Democracy - Here you can find lots of interesting articles including the one I've linked to below. Check out the sidebar for some interesting panel discussions on topics such as Democracy in Latin America.
Democracy Promotion: Political vs. Developmental? - Thomas Carothers: Discusses the differences between political and developmental, as well as American and European, democracy promotion.
Canada's take on Democracy Promotion which contains some interesting video interviews on democracy, promotion, development, and transition from a variety of experts including Samantha Power!
De-Emphasizing Democracy - Fred Hiatt: Predicts the future course of the Obama administration with regards to democracy promotion
Democracy Promotion: Seven Steps Learned from Experience on the Ground - Rights & Democracy: An interesting look at how to create a democratic culture and institutions.
The Brave New World of Democracy Promotion - Robert McMahon: A hopeful article that discusses the history of democracy promotion, the results of the Bush administration's "freedom agenda", and the crossroad the Obama administration finds itself at.

Upcoming Lectures and Events at the U of A


While not all of you live in Edmonton, for those of you who are interested, there will be a series of lectures, debates and presentations happening across the University of Alberta campus as a part of International Week from February 2-6. This year's theme is "Hungry for Change: Transcending Feast, Famine & Frenzy". You can find this year's program here.
As for other big events occurring on campus in the next few weeks, Dr. Norman Finkelstein will be speaking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Thursday January 22 from 12:30-2:00 PM in Dinwoodie Lounge. More information about that presentation can be found here.
For those of you interested in Canadian politics, Shirley McLellan (6 term member of the Alberta Legislature and now a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the U of A) will be speaking on Alberta - A Partner in the Canadian Confederation on January 29 from 7:30-9:00 PM at Campus St. Jean. More info can be found here.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Preparing for HSMUN 2009

While I hate to be cliché, the truth is that HSMUN will only be as good as you make it. Since HSMUN is a debate driven conference, if delegates are unprepared to discuss intelligently the issues at hand then we may as well all go home. Certainly, our staff are prepared to help you if you get stuck on foriegn policy, need some last minute research, or simply have questions on rules of procedure or how to draft a working paper but there are only 50 of us and 400 of you so we rely on you all to do some prep work before coming to the conference.
So with that being said, we strongly suggest that over the next month you go through the following list in order to make HSMUN a positive experience for everyone.
1) Read over the background papers for your respective committee which we will be sending to your schools at the end of January. You can also find them online here.
2) Read the brief delegate guide which explains what you'll be doing at HSMUN. You can also watch our helpful video on how to be a good delegate.
3) Do some preliminary research.
4) Write your position paper and email it to your committee dais staff. (There is an award for the best background paper from each committee but only entries submitted on time will be considered!)
5) Keep up to date on current events which affect your committee topics and read up on the links provided both on this blog and on your respective committee's blog.
6) Check out the rules of procedure but don't worry if they're a bit confusing. We'll give you a demonstration at the opening plenary.
7) Join our Facebook group!
Good luck on all your exams and remember, you can email your committee dais staff if you have any questions and they'll do their best to get back to you as soon as possible.

Monday, January 5, 2009

A Proportional Response

Israel's response to Hamas in Gaza has been questioned intensely both by Israeli's and the international community as a whole. While this certainly isn't a scholarly source by far, it reminded me of this episode of the West Wing. I know, I know, random. But I did already admit my undying love of the show so it's to be expected.
In the first video President Bartlett is forced to make a decision on how to respond to the shooting down of a small American plane which killed several citizens. In the second one, from the end of the episode after he made the decision to make the proportional response, he vents his anger about his inability to protect American citizens.

So is the Israeli response to rocket fire responsible and reasonable? Was there other options for them? Will this attack serve to strengthen Hamas' standing with the Palestinian people or ultimately decimate the organization? Has Israel irreparably damaged their standing with Arabic nations in the Middle East? Feel free to discuss this in the comments.



Gaza, general news, and a few pieces to bring in the New Year


For those who are coming out of their holiday hibernation (because if you're anything like me you will have generally avoided newspapers like the plague for two weeks), there are numerous international situations which have developed in recent weeks. At the top of the list is Gaza.
Of course the cease-fire was generally considered precarious at best, but to have it be broken so completely and fiercely was unexpected by many in the international community. For those looking for background information there are several fairly balanced reports to read:
Gaza: the rights and wrongs - The Economist
Beyond Gaza - Daily briefing from the Council on Foreign Relations
Crisis Guide: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - An excellent background guide from the Council on Foreign Relations with reports, movies and timelines which is useful for those looking for more history on the overall conflict.
Ending the war in Gaza - Solutions from the International Crisis Group


Going beyond background - A few interesting selections:
Why Israel Fights - Opinion piece from the New York Times (WARNING: this is an editorial so it displays bias, as do the following selections, but it was an interesting perspective of the situation in terms of the US and its policy towards the Middle East as a whole)
In the US, Gaza is a different war - Examination of the portrayal of the war in the mainstream American media from Al Jazeera
Gazans: "We are living a nightmare"- Al Jazeera


In other news, results from the election in Ghana were finally released, the situation in Zimbabwe has worsened dramatically, the Sri Lankan government has made significant incursions into territory held by the Tamil Tigers, voters in Bangladesh overwhelmingly elected a secular party, and riots in Greece threw the country into a state of emergency. Despite eschewing current events, I'm sure many of you were bombarded with the image of an Iraqi reporter hurling shoes at President Bush during a press conference.



Since it is the new year there have been numerous reports making forecasts for next year and reflecting on the past one. Some of the interesting ones I've come across have been linked below:
The Year Ahead - The Economist
The Top Ten Stories You Missed in 2008 - Foreign Policy
The Great Crash, 2008 - Foreign Affairs (predicts the geopolitical shift of power in the coming year as a result of financial collapse)