AHS Comparative Government

Between 2008 and 2011, Ciudad Juárez was one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico.  A major drug trafficking center (Juárez is just across the border from El Paso), the city suffered as the Mexican government battled Northern Mexico's drug gangs, and as the gangs fought each other.  In those years, an average of 300 Juárez residents were murdered each month, out of a total population of only 1.4 million.

Thanks in part to improved policing, greater social service spending and effective community mobilization, the murder rate fell by more than 90% between 2011 and 2015, and normal life resumed in the city.  In recent months, however, the murder rate has begun to climb; experts believe that the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the head of the Sinaloa drug cartel, has set off a turf battle for Juárez among Northern Mexico's drug gangs.

According to a recent article in The Economist, "Juárez shows that a concerted political effort and community involvement can bring improvements, at least for a time."  The article concludes, however, that "across too much of [Mexico], the basics of the rule of law—an effective police force and a capacity to prosecute crimes—are still missing."

"Ciudad Juárez Trembles Again." The Economist, 29 Oct. 2016, p. 31, www.economist.com/news/americas/21709362-mexican-security-success-story-faces-new-test-ciudad-ju-rez-trembles-again. Accessed 30 Oct. 2016.

For the past three and a half years, Chinese President Xi Jinping has led an aggressive crackdown on corruption in the Chinese government and in the Chinese Communist Party.  Indeed, when he first became the Party's General Secretary in 2012, Xi told other Party leaders that corruption in office was making the Chinese public increasingly unhappy with the country's system of government, and that such corruption posed the single greatest threat to the continuation of the Party's leading role in Chinese government.

This morning's New York Times reports, however, that Xi's anti-corruption campaign is no longer simply an effort to root out and punish crooked government and Party officials: it is now intimidating and threatening to remove officials deemed insufficiently loyal to Xi or insufficiently enthusiastic about Xi's efforts to centralize political authority in China.  In other words, the anti-corruption campaign has become a purge intended to cement both the Party's monopoly on political power in China and Xi's control over the Party:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/23/world/asia/china-discipline-commission-political-loyalty.html?ref=todayspaper

The current issue of The Economist includes a thoughtful special report on modern Russia.  Four of the articles in the report are of particular interest to students of Comparative Government.

The first article, "Inside the Bear," surveys Russian history since the collapse of communism in 1991, and details the ways in which Russian President Vladimir Putin has restored authoritarian rule:

http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21708879-when-soviet-union-collapsed-25-years-ago-russia-looked-set-become-free-market

The second article, "Milk without the Cow," examines the lack of economic modernization in post-Soviet Russia.  Russia enjoyed economic booms between 1998 and 2008 and between 2010 and 2014; in both cases, the booms resulted from high international prices for crude oil. Nonetheless, both Russian and foreign investors were (and remain) hesitant to invest significantly in Russian industry:

http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21708876-political-reform-essential-prerequisite-flourishing-economy-milk-without

The third article in the report, "Wheels within Wheels," examines Putin's use of the security services to maintain control of Russia and to eliminate rival centers of power in the country:

http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21708877-how-mr-putin-keeps-country-under-control-wheels-within-wheels

"Take Care of Russia," the final article in the report, characterizes Putinism as a right-wing, nationalistic and autocratic political tendency.  According to The Economist, the durability of the Putin regime depends on two things -- propaganda aimed at persuading the public that Putin is restoring Russia to its former greatness, and the selective use of repressive violence:

http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21708881-mr-putin-not-setting-about-it-best-way-take-care-russia

The October 12 inauguration of Hong Kong's recently-elected Legislative Council revealed the growing strength of localism in the territory.  Three of the new legislators were barred from taking their positions on the Council because they would not take the oath of office, which declares Hong Kong to be part of China, without reservation.

The treaty between the United Kingdom and China that returned Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 guaranteed that the territory would enjoy a high degree of autonomy in governance, a democratic political system, and the civil liberties typically found in Western democracies.  Localism was almost unknown in Hong Kong until the Chinese government refused to allow a fully democratic political system in the territory, and began to crack down on criticism of the Chinese government:

http://www.economist.com/news/china/21708651-new-tensions-loom-hong-kongs-troubled-politics

In a speech given earlier this month at the annual conference of the British Conservative Party, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that, in March 2017, the British government will give formal notice to the European Union of Britain's decision to withdraw from the EU.  This will begin two years of negotiations, in which the United Kingdom will renegotiate its trade relationship not only with the countries of the European Union but with all of its trade partners; during those two years, Britain will also attempt to renegotiate its membership in a host of non-trade related European organizations.

In her speech, Mrs. May appeared to rule out a "soft Brexit," in which Britain would seek to negotiate the same relationship with the European Union as that currently enjoyed by Norway and Switzerland: those countries enjoy privileged access to the European market (access without trade restrictions and tariffs), but businesses in those countries must comply with EU regulations and both countries must allow the free movement of people from the European Union into their countries.  Instead, Mrs. May indicated that, if the price of staying in the single market included compliance with EU regulations (which Britain would no longer help establish) and continued European immigration to the EU, Britain would sacrifice privileged access to the European market.

Mrs. May's speech triggered a further slide in the value of Britain's currency.  The pound, which was worth about $1.48 before the Brexit vote in June, has fallen from $1.30 to $1.21 since the beginning of October.  This makes goods imported from other countries more expensive in the UK, and makes it more expensive for Britons to travel overseas.  On the other hand, the fall in the value of the pound helps some British exporters by making their goods less expensive in foreign markets.  (The fall in the British currency, however, doesn't help British exporters who import key components of their products from other countries).

The increasing likelihood of a "hard Brexit" has alarmed opponents of Brexit, particularly in Scotland and Northern Ireland.  The Scottish government, for example, has begun to make plans for a new independence referendum.  Moreover, some Britons who voted for Brexit -- especially those who never thought that the "leave" side would win -- regret their decision:

http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21708679-minority-leavers-have-changed-their-minds-others-are-bailing-out-after-brexit-bregret

Prosperity is unevenly distributed in China: per capita GDP is five times greater in China's wealthiest province, Shanghai, than in its poorest province, Gansu.  During the early years of this century, the Chinese economy was growing rapidly, and the gap between the wealthiest and poorest parts of the country was narrowing.  In recent years, however, Chinese growth has slowed.  The slowdown has affected poorer regions more than wealthier ones, and the gap between the most and least affluent parts of China is once again widening:

http://www.economist.com/news/china/21707964-government-struggling-spread-wealth-more-evenly-rich-province-poor-province

AIDS is spreading more rapidly in Russia than in most of the rest of the world.  According to The Economist, the self-righteousness and ineptitude of the Russian government's response to the epidemic are largely to blame:

http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21707981-russias-contempt-effective-drug-and-hiv-policies-killing-its-citizens-immune-reason