World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

There apparently is a move in the Obama Administration to speed up the process of exporting natural gas in an attempt to blunt Russia’s control over European energy.  This option is possible because of fracking, a policy that is problematic.  Exporting natural gas would also raise prices in the US.  Such are the costs of implementing an economic foreign policy.

The Crimean Parliament has voted to hold a referendum on whether Crimea should join Russia.  The Parliament does not have the authority to order such a referendum–only the Ukrainian Parliament can make decisions about Ukrainian territory.  But it is likely that a Crimea-only referendum would favor merging with Russia.  Such a vote would force Ukraine’s hand–it is tantamount to a vote to secede, and, like the Union in the American Civil War, Ukraine would likely move to repress the secession with armed force.  The move raises the stakes considerably.

The rise of the right-wing in world politics is one of the more distressing patterns today.  The parties in Europe have been notable for their anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment (sentiments which exist in many places) which makes them somewhat different from right-wing parties in other areas of the world that tend to emphasize economic issues.  Germany has seen a rise in anti-Muslim sentiment which is likely to have a big impact on the upcoming European Parliament elections.