World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

Bo Xilai, a former rising star in the Chinese Communist Party, has been sentenced to life imprisonment on corruption charges.  Mr. Bo was once the darling of the “Maoist” wing of the Party, but he was purged from the Party so that China could follow a more capitalist road.   In all likelihood, we will probably never hear about Mr. Bo again, but it seems clear that many in the Party believe that his perspective was something that should prevail in China.  So it would be a big mistake to think that the matter is settled.  Deng Xiaoping was exiled three times, but ended up leading China into its economic revival.

Angela Merkel appears set to secure a third term as German Chancellor with a rather stunning victory in which her party, the Christian Democrats, secured its largest share of votes ever.  Merkel will soon be the longest serving female leader of a European state, overtaking Margaret Thatcher’s record in Britain.  Significantly, Merkel is the first European leader to secure re-election since 2012, as voters have thrown most leaders out of office for poor economic performance.  The critical question is whether this stunning victory will ease up the pressure to pursue austerity policies in the eurozone or intensify it.

At least 78 people were killed in Peshawar, Pakistan as two suicide bombers blew up an area near a Christian church as parishioners were leaving.   Christians make up a small minority of the population in the primarily Muslim country, but attacks on them have increased in recent years.   The violence is an indication of how fragile the Pakistani government is, as it seems helpless to protect its citizens.