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The resurgence of far-right influences in the global political hub is something to be accentuated. The imposition of a grave threat to democratic political parties can be looked at around Brazil to the United States or from Hungary to New Zealand. The clutch of right-wing-inclined politics can be demonstrated in the EU election too. This article aims to analyze the consequences and the reason behind its emergence. Read more here 👇

My newest article is published on the East Asia Forum. With the ruling party's defeat in the recent National Assembly election, how has President Yoon responded so far to the prospect of continuing a divided government? Has he been successful? "Yoon must similarly balance compromise and confrontation with the opposition. It remains to be seen whether he can effectively communicate his renewed commitment to cooperation with the legislature and societal groups, while successfully defending his administration from what he perceives as politically motivated attacks from the opposition." "If Yoon fails, he risks a years-long lame-duck presidency. But if he convinces the public that the opposition is more responsible for the partisan gridlock, the shift in public opinion could provide crucial leverage for his government to achieve meaningful political ‘wins’ — even in a divided government." https://lnkd.in/eiYN--Pd

Commentary: Singapore’s balancing act continues regardless of US election outcome (Steven Okun for CNA) Two things really stand out to me when I present on the 2024 US election to audiences or discuss the subject with government officials and foreign policy experts in SE Asia: 1. The overwhelming belief Trump will win 2. They are unperturbed by a Trump 2.0 While it's way too soon to predict the election's outcome, I outline the three avenues for Biden's re-election. With regard to how Singapore views the election from a foreign policy perspective, I turn again to Bilahari Kausikan, who told me the US in having a penchant for unilateralism by putting America first and dealing with countries transactionally is not unique to Trump, and the US remains indispensable regardless of who is President. And, there are still many wildcards out there. If the past week in Singapore taught us anything, it's that Taylor Swift could drive US politics as she did geopolitics, which could also change the election's outcome. Editors: Erin Low Charlene YQ Tan https://lnkd.in/d7BNrWdX

MAJORITY RULES One of the long held and accepted tenets in Australian society used to be " the umpires' decision is final." However, today it seems those aggrieved by a decision made, much like with a childish tantrum, refuse to observe this sentiment and passionately apportion blame or fault for a determination which did not go their way. In October 2023, 60% of Australians, and all states except the ACT, voted NO in the Referendum for an Indigeneous Voice. Rather than accept the verdict and move on, prominent Yes campaigners have sought to question the intellect of No voters, made accusations of falsehoods, blamed a lack of bi-partisanship for the final result and totally ignored the inffectiveness of the Yes campaign. In a recent Institute of Public Affairs survey, 63% of Australians supported the statement "Australia Day should be celebrated on January 26." While less than 20% indicated they wanted the date changed, this perennial debate continues to command the headlines in our media, both print and electronic, as if it were supported by a significant majority. Whilst our democratic society has the right to freedom of speech, greater acknowledgement and acceptance of an opposing point of view needs to be observed, rather than chipping away, until you achieve the result you are seeking.

This is another revealing insight into the workings (read #discipline) of the political groupings in the #EuropeanParliament, the fact that Renew Europe have been on the side of more successful votes, the The Greens/EFA in the European Parliament have drafted the most reports ... and (no surprises) the #farright have been on the loosing side of more votes and changed groups more - there is much talk about the tectonic shifts about to hit Brussels, but as with any earthquake look for stable ground #EP2024 #democracy #pleasevote

→ Wake up politicians. Britain doesn’t want #Brexit. 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗫𝗜𝗧: 𝗜𝗧'𝗦 𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗗𝗨𝗧𝗬 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞 𝗨𝗣 – 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟭-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 The main parties won’t talk about Brexit during the general election, so it’s up to us. It’s our duty to speak up and break the silence by our political leaders. Going ahead with Brexit, with the support of a mere 37% of the electorate and with half the nations of the UK voting strongly against it, was an abomination. In other democracies with more experience of running referendums properly, Brexit could never have proceeded based on such minority support. There are NO benefits to Brexit; none whatsoever. Only severe downsides, that are hurting Britain now and will increasingly hurt us in the years ahead. We need our politicians to offer us a democratic route out of Brexit, not an undemocratic road deeper into it. But neither Labour nor the Tories will even discuss Brexit. If the two main parties cannot be honest with us about the reality of Brexit, then we, the people, must be honest with the country and with ourselves. It is our duty to speak up. Brexit is a disaster that CAN be reversed with democratic consent from the electorate to apply to join the EU again or at least its Single Market. A general election is just the right time to ask voters about Brexit, eight years after the referendum. Of course, it would be up to the EU to decide whether our application was accepted, but the first move must come from us. We cannot let Britain slide further away from our friends, allies, and family on the mainland of our continent without speaking up so clearly that prospective MPs are in no doubt that most of the country opposes Brexit, as confirmed by multiple opinion polls. [Source: https://lnkd.in/eBdu3yqK] If you are a patriot, if you agree that Brexit presents huge dangers for our country, if you can see that Brexit is not an Act of God but a dereliction of duty by rogue politicians, then you must speak up. 𝗪𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘂𝗽. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝘂𝘁𝘆. © Video and commentary by Jon Danzig #EU #generalelection #democracy #politics #SingleMarket Conservatives The Labour Party

Before you vote tomorrow....please bear in mind. The Conservative Party. We are where we are today simply because of David Camerons disastrous strategy and monumental miscalculation in order to save his party from electoral defeat. The issue of EU membership had fatally undermined Margaret Thatcher’s and John Major’s premierships and subsequently destroyed David Cameron’s, and then Theresa May’s after him. Four successive Conservative Prime Ministers were unable to resolve their Party’s disagreements and divisions over the UK’s relationship with the EU, resulting in a referendum and Brexit. Party & Power before Country. The Labour Party. Tony Blair and his closest advisers were consistently informed by British legal advisers in 1997 and 1998 that attacking Iraq would not be lawful – but still went ahead in authorising four days of bombing in December 1998. The declassified British documents at the National Archives show Blair was already set on taking military action against Saddam Hussein’s regime throughout 1998 in the absence of legal arguments to justify it.  The then Labour prime minister’s dismissal of legal objections to his 1998 bombing campaign was a direct precursor to his stance over the invasion of Iraq five years later in 2003, which was also deemed illegal. Why, because Labour lost elections and had always been seen as “soft” on defence and "anti-US". Party & Power before Country. The Reform Party. "A party that will blame Liberals, the Left, Feminism, Muslims, Universities, Civil Servants, the House of Lords, the BBC, Political-Correctness, Black Lives Matter, Environmentalists, Scientists, Experts, and the Establishment".....such blame, such “destructive criticism” is intended to harm and undermine and can only destroy culture, creating toxic environments. Nigel Farage backed Boris Johnsons EU trade deal "“Is (the deal) better than where we were five years ago? Yes, it is!" Party & the desire for Power ahead of Country. There are deep flaws in the established political system in the UK and all these events over the last 20+ years have fuelled mistrust in politics and politicians to stratospheric levels. Cameron, Blair and Farage may well have been well intentioned, but when faced with momentous challenges were out of their depth and always put party & power, ahead of our Country. Please be careful how you vote tomorrow!

Beyond Presidentialism and Parliamentarism: Democratic Design and the Separation of Powers - PDF: https://lnkd.in/gQwje9_3 In a democracy, a constitutional separation of powers between the executive and the assembly may be desirable, but the constitutional concentration of executive power in a single human being is not. The book defends this thesis and explores ‘semi-parliamentary government’ as an alternative to presidential government. Semi-parliamentarism avoids power concentration in one person by shifting the separation of powers into the democratic assembly. The executive becomes fused with only one part of the assembly, even though the other part has at least equal democratic legitimacy and robust veto power on ordinary legislation. The book identifies the Australian Commonwealth and Japan, as well as the Australian states of New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia, as semi-parliamentary systems. Using data from 23 countries and 6 Australian states, it maps how parliamentary and semi-parliamentary systems balance competing visions of democracy; it analyzes patterns of electoral and party systems, cabinet formation, legislative coalition-building, and constitutional reforms; it systematically compares the semi-parliamentary and presidential separation of powers; and it develops new and innovative semi-parliamentary designs, some of which do not require two separate chambers. #democraticdesign #constitutionalism #separationofpowers #personalism #personalizedpolitics

📢 Fascinating new article on "Fatshimetrie, the political balance in the Congolese Senate"! 🌟 Discover the issues surrounding the election of the next Senate office in the DRC and the candidates' visions for transparent and effective governance. 🇨🇩 #DRC #Senate #Politics #Commitment 💬 What do you think of these political issues? 🔥👀

[To Be , Or Not To Be, that is the Question!] I suspect this simple phrase from Shakespeares Hamlet has become the single most daunting question for Britain in this 21st century in terms of projecting outwards (its role/influence in an ever changing geopolitical landscape) and inwards (a confused political ecosystem thats delivered one crisis after another thanks to an archaic political model that's not fit for purpose compounded with the lack of serious opposition to the 2 lead parties that have dominated politics for far too long). #uk #politics https://lnkd.in/gadbbyiz