Ryan Nasser

Period 3
Current Event Quarterly: 1
Country: UK
Concept(s): Referendum, Political Party
Publication: BBC
Publication Date: 10/15/2015
Title: SNP conference 2015: Sturgeon says big election win may not lead to
referendum
In an interview with Lauren Kuenssberg of BCC, leader of the SNP
party, Nicola Sturgeon, stated that another referendum on Scottish
independence is unlikely to be pushed for in the near future, even if SNP wins
the next party election decisively. This is because Sturgeon believes and
hopes that even people who do not support independence will vote for SNP,
as her party will not endorse another referendum unless it is abundantly
clear that there has been a shift in public opinion leaning in favor of the Yes
vote. Factors that may encourage this shift in public support, according to
Sturgeon, may be: continued austerity of UK, replacement of Trident, and
above all elseBritish exit from the EU without consideration of Scottish
consent. This is important to the study of our class as it exemplifies the
significance of the referenduma single vote made by the citizens of a state

to approve/disapprove of a policyin some countries; in this case, it was/is

the deciding factor on whether a country would remain independent or not.

Country: UK
Concept(s): Head of Government, Politics, Elites
Publication: BBC
Publication Date: 10/18/2015
Title: Syria refugees: Bishops urge David Cameron to do more
Eighty-four of one-hundred and eight Bishops from the Church of
England signed & sent a letter on September 10th to UK Prime Minister, David
Cameron. In this letter, later revealed to the public, they praised the
leadership of David Cameron when he announced that the UK would accept
20,000 refugees, but stressed the inadequacy of the UKs actions relative to
the severity of the refugee crisis. It is unusual for a private letter from the
Bishops to go publicthis action is explanative of their intense frustration
with the UK response to the crisis. The 52-page letter stated that citizens felt
detached from politics and called for a "fresh moral vision of the kind of
country we want to be. This article is important because it shows the
influence of the Church of England on UK politics. The Bishops were able to

bring greater attention to the crisis itself and put more pressure on the prime
minister to take action.

Country: Iran
Concept(s): Economic Change, Globalization
Publication: BBC
Publication Date: 10/16/2015
Title: Scotland sets sights on trade with Iran
In July of 2015, Iran made an agreement on their controversial nuclear
program that placed trade sanctions on the countrys financial and energy
sectors until they met the commitments of the agreement. Sanctions are
expected to be lifted early in 2016, opening Iran for trade. Many Scots may
see this as bad news for their country, SNP member, Alex Salmond, sees the
potential for Iran-Scotland trade and technology transfer partnerships that
would benefit both countries. Both economies rely on crude oil, and the

expertise of Scottish engineers has already been used to guide Iran and the
development of their oil industry during the twentieth century. Future
partnership between the two countries is likely to go beyond just oil. Scottish
companies are looking for openings in the fields of agriculture, education,
digital technology, and gaming. This article is important to the study of the
class because it shows the interconnectedness of the global economy
through globalization.

Country: Iran
Concept(s): Economic Change, Globalization, Supranational Organizations,
Government, Politics
Publication: BBC
Publication Date: 10/13/2015
Title: Irans parliament backs nuclear deal
Iranian parliament came to an agreement with 6 world powers on its
nuclear program. To secure the deal, 161 out of 233 votes were in support of
the deal. This deal entails restrictions and limitations on Iran so they cannot
produce many nuclear bombs. They can only enrich uranium to a 3.67%, a
level not nearly high enough to be used to manufacture nuclear weapons
and plutonian production must be lowered. Inspectors will be able to survey
Irans nuclear facilities to ensure no bombs are being made, furthermore,
inspectors will be be allowed to investigate Iranian military programs to
determine whether Iran has any harbored military ambitions or not. EU and
US financial, energy, and economic sanctions have been placed on Iran and
will be lifted when Iran has demonstrated with their compliance of the
aforementioned regulations. This article is important because it details the
cooperation of multiple world powers to ensure peace between them. Not
only is it important to the comparative government course, but it is
important on a grander scale to the peacetime of every country involved.

Country: China
Concept(s): Political Culture
Publication: BBC
Publication Date: 10/14/2015
Title: China chain imposes 'filial piety tax' on employees
A Chinese beauty salon chain, wanting to promote good morals,
implemented a filial piety tax, a tax on income that must be given to ones
parents. In Confucian philosophy, filial piety is a virtue of respect for one's
father, elders, and ancestors. Although respect of ones elders is a central
value in Chinese culture and most Chinese parents can expect to receive a
piece of their childrens salaries once they start working, a forced filial piety
tax is unprecedented. While this is merely a company-specific policy, this
same type of cultural influence can be seen on a larger, state-level scale as
well: exemplified through a law China passed in 2013 that mandated those
who live apart from their parents must visit them frequently, cultural norms
have a strong influence over state legislation in China. This article is

important to the study of this class because it shows the impact of a

countrys political culture on policy making.

Country: China
Concept(s): Globalization, Politics
Publication: BBC
Publication Date: 10/18/2015
China and the Osborn Doctrine
British Chancellor, George Osborne, met with Chinese President Xi
Jinping in hopes of creating a partnership that leads both countries into a
golden era. With this Osborne Doctrine, the Chancellor aims to set up
China as UKs second largest trading partner by the end of the decade, as
even though Chinas economic growth has slowed, it is still supplying about
a quarter of global growth, enough to add an economy the size of the UK's
over five years. President Jinping is a powerful advocate for his countrys

economic and strategic ambitions, and thus, his foreign policy is driven by an
aggressive assertion of Chinese interests. This article is important because it
shows how easy it is for diplomatic meetings and agreements can be
reached due to globalization.

Country: Mexico
Concept(s): Political Change, Democracy
Publication: Latino Fox News
Publication Date: 10/4/2015
Title: Leftist politicians launch new movement in Mexico
A democratic movement, described as a collective effort to rethink
the project of the nation, has been launched Led by leading left wing
politicians of Mexico. This movements goal is to restructure the political
system in Mexico so that the social majority becomes the political majority.
Proponent of this movement and three-time presidential candidate,

Cuahtemoc Cardenas, comments, We do not want to build a political party,

but we are going to play a role in politics through a political and social front
that projects the need to live democracy in the best way possible in its
collective dimension, representing the public arena, which belongs to
everyone. This is significant to the Comparative Government course
because it is demonstrative of how political change in a democratic system
may be initiated through movements like this one.

Country: Mexico
Concept(s): Political Participation, Stability (or rather lack thereof), Power v
Authority
Publication: BBC
Publication Date: 9/30/2015
Title: Students: Mexicos Violent Reality

One year after the tragedy in which 43 students disappeared, 15,000

people marched and protested through Mexico City in remembrance of those
lost on September 26, 2014. Mexico is ranked 3rd in casualties in a study
done by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, behind only Syria
and Iraq in terms of casualties. This violence stems from political instability
after the PRI fell out of power after seven decades of government control and
Vincent Fox of the National Action Party won in 2000. However, this new
system in place has decreased centralized power, and thus a lack of control
over organized crime, corrupt police, drug cartels, and gang violence. Felipe
Calderon, elected president in 2006, has attempted to start a war on drugs,
which only intensified the issue of violence. The drug market produces $50$60 billion in profits each year, in an otherwise struggling Mexican economy.
The Mexican state, at this point in time, does not have the capability to win
in a war on drugs. This article is important to our class because it details
the power of the drug market and how it dominates state authority, making
for an extremely unstable, volatile Mexican state. It also shows political
participation on behalf of the marchers and protesters that are responding to
the one-year passing of the disappearance of missing students.

Country: Nigeria
Concept(s): Government, Parliamentary System, Political Change
Publication: Yahoo News

Publication Date: 10/18/2015

Title: Nigeria set to finally get government ministers
After 5 months of sorting details out, Nigeria is set to start up a new
government. All thats left is the final screening of 36 ministers, which is due
to take place on Tuesday. This drawn-out installment of government has
given President Muhammadu Buhari a negative reputation. In the meantime,
he has been running Nigeria with permanent secretaries of his, allowing
himself to be open to autocracy. Buhari blames the previous administration
for the latency of the new administrative nominations. Buharis priorities as
president are to boost the Nigerian economy and to overhaul the corrupt oil
sector, declaring that Corruption will have no place and the corrupt will not
be appointed to my administration." This article is important to comparative
government study because it deals with the implementation of a new
government in an underdeveloped country.

Country: Nigeria

Concept(s): Government, Political Change, Social Cleavage

Publication: The Guardian
Publication Date: 10/16/2015
Title: What has President Buhari delivered for Nigerian women? No change
Along with the latency in appointing ministers, Nigerians are also
frustrated with President Muhammadu Buhari due to the group ministerial
nominees he chose to head Nigerian government. While campaigning,
President Buhari promised to implement the national gender policy, which
commits to affirmative action and requires that women fill 35% of appointed
positions, but he has not stayed true to his word as there are on 6 women
out of the 37 ministerial nominees he selected (16%). Buharis chosen
administration also lacks youth representation in a country where the
median age is 17.8 years old. A majority of his ministers are just like
himold men. This article is important because it shows a cleavage in
Nigerian politics on the basis of gender.

Country: Russia
Concept(s): State, Government, Coalition
Publication: BBC
Publication Date: 10/8/2015
Title: Syria crisis: Russian Caspian missiles 'fell in Iran'
Four missiles launched from a Russian vessel in the Caspian Sea,
aimed at Syria, landed in Iran. On Wednesday, October 7, Russia confirmed
that they sent out 26 missiles at 11 targets in Syria and later claimed that
they all hit their designated targets, IS. Over a phone call, US Secretary of
State, John Kerry, communicated to his Russian Secretary of State, Sergei
Lavrov, the importance of avoiding accidents in Syrian attacks, and that the
two countries must continue talk on the technical aspects of these attacks.
The Russian air strikes had "weakened" IS, Syrian Army Chief of Staff Gen Ali
Abdullah Ayoub said on Thursday, which allowed the land unit to initiate a
larger attack and recapture some towns and villages. Heavy combat
occurred at locations: Idlib, Hama and Latakia provinces, where a coalition of
rebels operates. This article is important to the study of Comparative Politics
because it demonstrates the cooperation between 2 countries to bring down
terrorist threats.

Country: Russia
Concept(s): State, Supranational Organization
Publication: BBC
Publication Date: 10/16/2015
Title: CIS summit: Russia to bolster Central Asia military
The summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a
regional organization dominated by Russia, brings together the leaders of
numerous post-Soviet states. The most important item on their agenda is to
sign a concept of military cooperation until 2020. Russian bases have been
training increasingly with one another in joint exercises with Central Asian
forces and is strengthening contacts between military leadership. Moscow
justifies this buildup of Russian armed forces in the region by detailing the
threats of terrorist and extremist groups that can penetrate Russian borders,
threats that are exacerbated in their significance due to the presence of the
Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan. This article is significant to class study

because it shows how Russian works with other post-communist countries to

strengthen their national security and fight terrorism.