What is different about political polarization in the US?
With less than three months until the US presidential elections, it feels that the country has never been as polarized as it is at the moment. While polarization trends have been conclusively shown at the party system level, much less is known about the extent to which party polarization is [...]
Pro-Democracy protests in Thailand
Recent weeks saw daily protests in Thailand aimed at the country’s monarchy and, more specifically, King Maha Vajiralongkorn who formally assumed the throne in 2016. There has been long-standing criticism against Vajiralongkorn and his lavish lifestyle. Since the military coup in 2014, the monarchy has been even more closely linked [...]
New CUNY scholarship on freedom in America
Could there be a “left moment” in American politics? In a new article, CUNY political scientist Corey Robin and co-author Alex Gourevitch argue that the left, despite some momentum, is lacking an overarching ideological claim. That claim, they propose, could be freedom. In their opinion, the left should make an [...]
Protests over fraudulent elections in Belarus is met with government crackdown
Street protest erupted in Minsk and other cities of Belarus after authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in Sunday’s presidential elections. The elections have been widely disputed with the opposition claiming vote rigging. Unrest erupted for a third night in a row on Tuesday as security forces fired rubber bullets [...]
President Trump floats idea of postponing November elections
It has been the stuff of much speculation in the past – could President Trump, known for his admiration of foreign authoritarian leaders try and cancel or push off the elections? Now, Mr. Trump for the first time publicly floated the idea of postponing the November elections. In a tweet [...]
How equal are we, Part III: Democracy, capitalism and class in the age of Corona virus
This post is part of an ongoing series on inequality and Covid-19. Prior articles are here and here. The arrival of Covid-19 has highlighted and increased social inequalities, taking the United States into an unknown and potentially precarious future. Income levels have dropped for large groups, and unemployment rates since [...]