World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

Researchers have begun to measure what we have long suspected but could never really prove: the link between civil and international violence and the environment.  Measurements from space confirm that as civil unrest deepens, the air gets cleaner because there is reduced economic activity.  Satellites can actually measure the level of pollution and correlate it with increased unrest.  While this particular correlation seems strangely beneficial, the net effects of civil and international unrest are more typically bad for the environment.

Thousands of migrants rushed police lines at the Macedonian border in an attempt to enter Serbia.  Once in Serbia, the migrants would have an opportunity to move to other members of the European Union under the terms of the Schengen Plan.  The migrants had been waiting for days and were without food, water, and shelter.   The police attempted to stop them with stun grenades, but the mass of people was unstoppable.  In the Mediterranean, the Italian coast guard rescued almost 3,000 refugees.  The pressure on the EU is getting more intense as the situation of the refugees becomes more desperate.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is currently the subject of an impeachment movement as the Brazilian economy sinks slowly into a recession.  By far, however, the overwhelming issue in Brazilian politics is the issue of corruption.  Rousseff is in her second term and her popularity has declined into single digits.  The combination of a weakened economy and a weakened President is deadly as Rousseff is unlikely to be able to take effective steps to stimulate the economy.  The global economy needs the emerging market economies like Brazil’s to regain the dynamism to bring global economic growth.