World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

There have been protests all over the world in the last year, fueled primarily by economic uncertainty and discontent.  There have not been many, however, in Latin America where, until recently, economic growth has been robust.  The entire region has begun to slow down, and Argentina has been hit by a wave of protests that signal growing discontent with the administration of Cristina Kirchner.  The IMF and other international economic organizations have long been angry with Kirchner–if the domestic population becomes disaffected as well, then it is likely that Kirchner’s days are numbered.

We tend to think about the question of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories in terms of Israeli land vs. Palestinian land, and that framework is certainly the most important from a political perspective.  There is, however, another dimension which is rarely referenced: many Palestinians are Christians.  Many of these Christians oppose the Israeli settlements that tend to limit their access to the city of Jerusalem.   If there ever is a peace settlement that includes the status of Jerusalem, this issue will need to be resolved as well.

It appears as if the new Egyptian constitution was approved in the second round of voting.  The most recent report is that the approval rate over the two elections was 64%.  This result, if confirmed, gives President Morsi a big boost.