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Suggested by
benj
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The International Monetary Fund has censured Argentina for failing to supply accurate economic data, the first time the global crisis lender has taken such an action against a member.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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When African states gained independence, the continent's new leaders agreed to respect the old colonial borders to avoid endless wars.
This interactive map shows the major conflicts on the African continent where the combatants have geopolitical aspirations to separate from the state and create a new, autonomous state. Click on the red arrows and you can read about the warring factions and the current situation in that region.
Tags: political, governance, Africa, unit 4 political, war, conflict, states, colonialism.
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Suggested by
Kim Vignale
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Poverty in India has dropped sharply thanks to increased spending on rural welfare programmes, the country's Planning Commission says. KV: Government intervention has decrease poverty in rural India. More people are getting out of poverty in rural areas than urban areas. Programs funded by the government to help the poor has significantly changed many lives. People are given education, welfare, and proper sanitation. Once assistance is provided to the poor, the welfare and well being drastically changes for the better. As the Indian government prospers because of new business ventures, some of the increased revenue should be set aside to help many regions that are affected by poverty. SD: For more resources on population, see this scoopit topic on the environment and society by KV.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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Rather than focusing on how to make cities safe at any hour for citizens of both genders, the official response has been to curtail women's access to public areas deemed sensitive by authorities. This is an interesting topic to use to debate urban policies and planning issues. What leads to a safer city for women? How does the creation of zones not safe for women impact the city long-term? Think about scale: Is what is best for the city policy what is best for the individual?
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Web Site... Afghanistan and Burma (a.k.a.-Myanmar) are the world's leading producers of the illicit narcotic of heroin. What environmental, political, developmental and cultural factors play a role in these distribution networks? What geographic factors contribution to the production of these drugs to be located in these particular places? Follow the link for a map of global cocaine distribution patterns.
Sometimes the news can be good news! The historic April 1st election in Burma that saw Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy win 43/45 parliamentary seats is being hailed as the first free and fair elections for 50 years! This is a current perspective on the many changes transforming Myanmar back into Burma. For more by John Boyer, see: http://www.plaidavenger.com/ ;
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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The European country where Skype was born made a conscious decision to embrace the web after shaking off Soviet shackles Eesti keel | Estonian language version... Can you imagine walking over 100 miles without losing your internet connection? Estonia has done it by making internet access a public service along the lines of water and electricity. The impacts and effects or profound considering that 9 in 10 Estonians have a computerized ID card that they can use to vote, transfer money and access all the information the state has on them. Although this may sound very dystopian and authoritarian to many, Estonians argue that it actually empowers citizens to keep the state in check.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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Years of hatred and mistrust are thawing in some of Rio's most violent slums. This compelling video depicts some of the challenges that the police in Rio de Janeiro face in trying to bring more effective goverance into some of the more poverty-striken, drug-riddled neighborhoods in the city. This slums, known as favelas, are receiving increased attention as Rio is hosting the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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Hungary has taken a stand against biotech giant Monsanto and genetic modification by destroying 1000 acres of maize grown with genetically modified seeds. Peru and Hungary have both banned GMOs. What are the reasons that many are critical of GMOs? What should the government's role be in agriculture and food systems? Are bio-tech companies too strong?
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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Cypriots join the global protest movement to heal their divisions... Cyprus has a long history of violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, so the buffer zone protest which follows the #occupy model, has greater political, ethnic, historical and geographic implications. Will this grassroots effort open a political dialogue to resolve the island’s divisions? Here is the group's Facebook page. The video is long, but the first few minutes are especially relevant with a nice overview.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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Occupy Wall Street is a potent reminder of the ancient civic ideal of public space, and how far we have drifted from it in the modern era. "Imagine Zuccotti Park, one protester told me, as a Venn diagram of characters representing disparate political and economic disenchantments. The park is where their grievances overlap. It’s literally common ground." Posted in many sites, but since this article treats the important of place as its central point, it merits reposting. This article also situates the current protests within a deeper historical context as so many movements have 'taken to the streets.'
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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Had the protest begun almost anywhere else in New York City, it almost certainly would have been shut down far sooner. While I'm sure we have readers across the political spectrum, the spatial component to this movement is undeniably a "teaching moment." Occupy symbolically laden space to strengthen your discursive case? This is a classic strategy (think Tiananmen Square and Tahrir Square for starters). The actual place occupied is privately owned, and ironically can therefore function as a public place of protest more effectively. What will you discuss?
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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"The map [above] sorts the countries of the world into three groups based on their relative coup risk for 2013: highest (red), moderate (orange), and lowest (beige)."
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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Across Africa, a continent where the average age is about 19, protests have flared against leaders who may have outstayed their welcome.
This interactive mapping feature compares two distinct data sets in an attempt to show that the two are correlated on the continent of Africa. The base layer of this thematic map is demographic, noting how much of the overall population in a given country is under the age of 16. The interactive feature with point data describes the political unrest or instability in that particular country.
Questions to ponder: Does the cartographer 'convince' you that Africa's having a very young (globally speaking) demographic cohort led towards greater political instability? Are there other factors worth considering? What does this map and it's embedded data tell us?
Tags: Africa, political, conflict, unit 4 political, states, governance, population, demographics, unit 2 population.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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The artistic collection entitled 'Landscapes' compiled "the bizarre instances of cartographic dissonance inflicted by the Dutch government over their virtual lands. As Henner notes, the number of censored sites within the small country of the Netherlands is surprising, as is the technique used by officials to disguise them. Tracts of land deemed vulnerable to attack or misappropriation are transformed into large tapestries of multi-colored polygons, archipelagos of abstraction floating in swaths of open fields, dense forests, and clusters of urban development." For additional context, see the original gallery.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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London and the City of London are the same political and territorial entity right? Of course not. Why have something simple when we can have a rich archaic legacy with a fascinating (albeit convoluted) history. Here’s a great political geography lesson just in time for the Olympic Ceremonies.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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Residents of hillside shanties above the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince protest against plans to clear their homes for a flood-protection project. Even before the earthquake, Port-au-Prince was a city filled with slums. The earthquake exacerbated so many of the urban, economic and environmental issues. This eviction of the flood plains has class implications as the poor feel that they are being unfairly targeted in plans to improve the city.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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The new African country, founded in part to escape from the northern government's violence, is showing some hostility of its own. Independence for ethnic/religious groups, while culturally satisfying, does not necessarily solve all the problems within a region. South Sudan's 1-year anniversary shows that even though they have a short history, it has been marked by ineffective governance and social instability.
architectural conjecture :: urban speculation :: landscape futures... In the 1960s when the island of Surtsey (literally) erupted onto the scene off the coast of Iceland, it's national sovereignty was not really called into question. The seamount, or near island named Ferdinandea in the Mediterranean is not even an island yet and countries are already positioning themselves to claim it. Only 6 feet below sea level, this seamount is incredibly valuable real estate because is a country can successfully came this territory, they could also lay claim to an Exclusive Economic Zone, extending up to 200 nautical miles beyond the coast.
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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Google maps brings the world to your desktop - well, most of it, anyway. Here are 10 locations that governments and other entities have blurred or removed from satellite photos. A user of geospatial technologies is not free to explore all places of the Earth with equal levels of specificity. Why? Where? How come?
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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Which countries/regions struggle the most with corruption in their political institutions? Which countries/regions struggle with development? Why does corruption seem to be correlated with development?
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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The DOJ Crime Division chief said that the location of trials and defendants' race and ethnicity play a significant role in determining sentences. What role does geography play in the justice system? How does place impact the way in which laws are either applied or ignored?
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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If supranational governance can't work in Europe, how can it possibly work for the world as a whole?
Supranationalism, with the Euro crisis has taken a hit. Will other organizations show that there is "strength in numbers" or that countries should adopt an "every man for himself" perspective?
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Scooped by
Seth Dixon
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In Nepal, government owned forests are being felled at record speed, while community managed ones are thriving. This is a great link for discussing governance and the environmental interactions and community.
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In the intervening decades many lives have been lost, many families have been shattered, and the course of two nations has been warped by violence and hostility. Unfortunately, there are still too many people on each side that refuse to recognize the basic rights and fundamental humanity of the other community, and see the situation as a zero-sum contest. Indeed, there are those that celebrate when the other loses even more so than working toward realizing their own goals. This is a tragedy, and the guilt lies with the leadership on both sides, but also with those who justify their actions on fear and hatred… something that is too easily mobilized and manipulated by those opposed to compromise.
It’s way past time for Israelis to recognize that when Palestinians lose, they themselves lose, and for Palestinians to recognize that when Israelis lose, they too lose. The communities are too bound up with one another to suffer in isolation. In the long run Israel will not have what it wants before there is a Palestinian state, and Palestinians will not have their state so long as they contemplate war against Israel. The way forward, despite it all, remains two states for two nations, a configuration that has broad endorsement and a simple logic. ANYONE WHO ADVOCATES ON BEHALF OF PALESTINIANS MUST ALSO BE A SUPPORTER OF A SECURE ISRAEL; AND ANYONE WHO ADVOCATES ON BEHALF OF ISRAEL HAS TO SUPPORT AN INDEPENDENT AND VIABLE PALESTINIAN STATE. Anything else is a recipe for continued failure and bloodshed, and there’s been far too much of that already. Today is less a day for celebration than a day for reflection, and even more for dedication to a just and lasting peace. All the rest is just vanity…."