Political Science

History is often elusive, reliant as it is on the vagaries of documentation and fickle memory. It is not what it seems—and new evidence changes out the old. Events of the ‘conjectured past’ are the matrix of the social consciousness and heritage that create the present. The time frame and happenings of this chapter derive from vignettes of my experiences in Taiwan from the end of martial law to its current democracy. I will introduce a political debate, the rise of environmental action, conceptualization of local world heritage sites based on international guidelines, and eco-cultural traveling seminar interactions for developing a perception of Taiwan with its sense of place.

The people of Taiwan have chosen democratization from the mid-20th century. Public mobilization incubated within a climate of social frustration with abbreviated civil liberties, environmental degradation, and a government working officially toward the goal of saving China.

By the 1960s and 1970s, a grassroots ‘consciousness of polity’ emerged agitating through the folksong movement (minge yundong 民歌運動) of university campuses and freedom rallies in Kaohsiung in 1979, cumulating in the 1980s with popular rallies at the Presidential Office and National Assembly in Taipei.

In this emerging quest for liberties, a rapid shift from martial law began honoring the people’s right to govern themselves and decide their future. Taiwan transformed itself from military rule to a vibrant democracy. As the people of Taiwan have continued their democratization, their review of the island’s heritage became a guide for current determination.

Taiwan Since Martial Law: Society, Culture, Politics, Economy. 2012
Chapter 1. Pp. 3-26

Existem diversas situações onde somos colocados a decidir o que é mais importante. O direito que possui determinada pessoa ou seu dever diante da sociedade? Na ciência jurídica as lides envolvendo essa circunstancia é muito comum, aliás, mais freqüente do que se imaginam as pessoas distantes do conhecimento jurídico.

Notes on the Endogenous Generation of Political Competition.  An attempt at a formalized description of the formation process of constitutionally limited Government when a balance of forces is preserved among the “bandits” (strongmen) competing for power. Magna Carta treaty as institution, causing (strengthening) incentive among free armed individuals to prevent strongest bandit from the treaty conditions breach and individual rights' violation, considered as a pattern of necessary preconditions' creation for system of Limited Government. 
The Model developed in the paper could explain some cases of endogenous arising of politically competitive system of government and Government restricting constitutional agreements.
Few cases analysis – both historical and currently observed (Eastern Europe, Middle East) is provided for illustration of the Model. The implications for the attempts to establish or to support the new democracies in the countries with long lasted tradition of Bandits’ rule proposed.

The euro was launched 15 years ago through the Maastricht Treaty, and was expected to make Europe stronger economically and more integrated. Although the Delors report in 1989 correctly identified many of the structures needed to make EMU work, the Maastricht design underplayed the importance of labour and product flexibility, and of divergences in competitiveness. For most of its first decade the euro area grew quickly, coinciding with a period of very rapid world growth.

However, the global economic and financial crisis that started in 2007 hit Europe hard, exposing serious flaws in its original design. Although the crisis began in the United States, Europe ended up being the worst-affected region. At one point, markets and commentators began to ask serious questions about whether the single currency could survive.

Important measures were taken to save the euro, and since 2012 markets have become calmer, as European leaders and policy-makers signalled they were prepared to take tough decisions. In particular, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mario Draghi, promised to do ‘whatever it takes’ to protect the euro.

This report examines why the economic and monetary union (EMU) was so badly affected by the crisis, and assesses whether further changes need to be made to the structure of economic governance that underpins it.

The Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) utilizes the history of the coast as one of their anchors for secessionism. The region arguably was never part of the British colony but a protectorate while simultaneously belonging to the Sultan of Zanzibar.  Arguably, the ten mile coastal strip has undergone a different cultural, religious and development trajectory when compared to the rest of Kenya. Marginalization of the Coastal people is underpinned by the post-colonial narrative.

War in Afghanistan ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union; but events in Afghanistan following the Soviet withdrawal created a new post-cold war threat for the world peace – the Taliban – which teamed up with Al-Qaeda to challenge the US hegemony on the eve of the twenty-first century. Even prior to the incidents of 9/11, the Al-Qaeda had attacked US installations in 1993, 1996, 1998, and 2000 – latter two of which were carried out while Al-Qaeda was headquartered in Afghanistan. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were the primary supporters and sponsors of these two groups. Now the question arises that why didn’t the US do something about the Taliban during this phase? Why didn’t the US turn against the Taliban? Rather, they kept making offers including at times formal US recognition, if they handed over Osama bin Laden. Why didn’t the US put pressure on Pakistani and Saudi sponsors, or not supported anti-Taliban groups in Afghanistan, and why there was no hostility in the US towards Taliban regime prior to 9/11? There are several hackneyed clichés about it. This paper attempts to evaluate the one assuming the oil interests in Caspian Sea as the primary spoil of the game.

Process helps determine substance. Understanding the dynamics of foreign policymaking would enable us to make predictions as to what is most likely to be decided in a particular set of circumstances. Foreign policy is not of government, it is of the state; and therefore, involves other institutions and agencies than the executive branch, or broadly speaking, the government. That makes it an intricate task to analyze the foreign policymaking process of any country in general and that of the US in particular because of the complexity of its governmental machinery, owing to the concept of limited government through separation of powers and checks and balances. Complexity of the governmental machinery not only makes it difficult to locate the origin of a policy directive but also makes its passage lengthy and complicated. No matter how a particular policy gets originated, in order to get implemented, it has to make its way through various institutions and agencies of foreign policymaking, each of which has its own motives, mindset, and most importantly, degree of authority. In order to make this process comprehendible, this paper evaluates the role of different institutions in foreign policymaking, explains different models of foreign policymaking, and summarizes the evolution of the patterns of foreign policymaking in the US.