World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The economic sanctions against Iran seem to be having a very dramatic effect: the value of the Iranian currency, the rial, has dropped precipitously in recent days.  There are reports of scattered protests within Iran against the economic pressures, but it is not at all clear whether these pressures will induce any sort of change in Iranian nuclear policy.

European states are not the only ones in the world imposing austerity policies.  Argentina, in the midst of a serious financial crisis, has ordered severe pays cuts on a number of public employees.   These cuts led to large protests by security forces throughout the country.   The financial crisis is truly a global phenomenon and the variety of responses to it is remarkable.  Nonetheless, the protests form a dangerous pattern shared by many countries.

There is usually a generational pattern of leadership in most countries: a small cohort from every generation usually dominates politics, until that cohort gets too old and the baton is passed on to a new cohort.  Such was the case in the US when President Clinton won election from George H.W. Bush in 1992.  The US is currently in a very young generational cohort.  Not so in Asia, where the old generation is reaching the end of the line.  The new generational cohort is quite interesting, and prides itself on being comprised of political “outsiders.”