World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

In response to the recent violence in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has ordered a review of the residency status of thousands of Palestinians who live in East Jerusalem.  Israel claims the entire city of Jerusalem as Israeli territory and the Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.  The Israelis currently seize the property of Palestinian families if any member of the family commits an act of terrorism, and Palestinians fear that this proposed review is a prelude to the wholesale exclusion of Palestinian property in Jerusalem.  Such a move would undoubtedly trigger off another round of violence.

The polls indicate that the right-wing Law and Justice Party has won 39 percent of the vote in Sunday’s Polish election.  Apparently not a single left-wing party received the necessary 8 percent of the vote to be represented in the Parliament.  If these results are accurate, they signal a sharp shift in Polish politics reflecting strong skepticism toward the European Union and a harsh attitude toward immigrants.  Undoubtedly, the Law and Justice Party will also demand a harder line against Russia.  Germany and France cannot be pleased with the results.

As the Italians almost did several years ago, Guatemalans have elected a comedian as Prime minister.  In 2013, Beppe Grillo, a comedian in Italy, led what he called the 5 Star Movement to protest the corruption of Italian politics.  The Guatemalans has elected Jimmy Morales as their Prime Minister.  He campaigned on the platform of “not corrupt, not a thief” which resonated quite strongly in a country that has experienced blatant and rank corruption in the past.  How Morales will govern is unknown:  he has never held an elected office.   The outcome conforms well to the poll conducted by Chapman University and reviewed in the blog yesterday.