The American media, over the past year, has been trying to work out something of a mystery: Why is the Republican electorate supporting a far-right, orange-toned populist with no real political experience, who espouses extreme and often bizarre views? How has Donald Trump, seemingly out of nowhere, suddenly become so popular? What's made Trump's rise even more puzzling is that his support seems to

Asked for his opinion on whether sex work should be decriminalised, he said: “I am in favour of decriminalising the sex industry. I don’t want people to be criminalised. I want to be [in] a society where we don’t automatically criminalise people. Let’s do things a bit differently and in a bit more civilised way.” A spokesman for Corbyn would not elaborate on his views. But it is understood they ar

Britain may be on the cusp of having its own Donald Trump moment. That is to say the once unthinkable is now thinkable: Britain exiting the European Union is now a real possibility as the result of a wave of populism that has spread across the nation, against the backdrop of a fierce debate about the flood of migrants who have entered the country. The possibility has huge implications for the glob

前回の記事平和はカネで買える。商業的平和論(Capitalist Peace )のはじまり - リアリズムと防衛ブログでは、経済発展が世界を平和にするという商業的平和論の歴史を簡単に紹介しました。 ノーマン・エンジェルは、工業化とグローバル化によって、近代戦争はたとえ勝利してさえ利益を得られないものになったと説きました。政治指導者がこのような現実をよく理解するならば、大国間戦争はもはや起こらないだろう、と議論しました。 その直後、２度の世界大戦が起こったことで、商業的平和論は猛烈な批判にさらされます。経済相互依存がいくら進んでも、だからって戦争が無くなることはないのです。 一方で、経済は戦争を「無くす」ことはできないけれど、「減らす」効果があることは明らかになっています。ガーツキーの議論がそれです。 ガーツキーの検証 ガーツキーの実証分析は、過去の数多くの戦争についての統計分析です。地域、

WHEN Amulya Chandra Barman, a 45-year-old rickshaw-puller, boarded a bus in Dhaka last month, it was to go home to his village in the north of Bangladesh. Instead, he ended up in the burns unit of a hospital in the capital. A bomb was thrown into the bus, landing on the bag on his lap. His face and hands were burnt. The bag—holding a month’s savings in cash—was reduced to ashes. He is at least ali

© iStock.com アベノミクスの是非が問われた今回の総選挙ですが、政権交代の見通しが皆無で、共産党などの一部を除いては将来の増税自体は否定しているわけでもないという「争点なき選挙」になっています。当然、有権者の関心は高まらず、毎日新聞の世論調査（8日報道）では、投票に「必ず行く」と答えた人は65％と、前回（69％）を下回りました。政治に対する失望感、シラけた空気が漂う中、投票率低下の観測が強まりそうです。 各種の世論調査では、年金や医療、介護、子育てといった社会保障に有権者の一番関心があります。一方で、自民党は「景気回復、この道しかない」とアベノミクスの成果を前面に押し出し、逆に民主党は「今こそ、流れを変える時」、維新の党は「身を切る改革」と批判に終始しているように見えます。結局、国民からみて政策ニーズに合致した論戦となっていません。 社会保障の中で何を切って、何を残すか そうなる

―― 再増税反対を唱える野党も、財源のプランを明確にできれば勝負はできると思うのですが。 そうですね。消費税への傾斜を今回の選挙でひっくり返すのは難しいのかも知れませんが、野党はそこに力を入れてほしいですね。 安倍首相が解散権を口にしたとたんに、民主党も含めてみんなが雪崩を打つように増税延期に傾いてしまった。争点が消失してしまったわけですね。「大義なき解散」という人は、争点のなさを問題にしているわけです。 しかし、私は消費税の延期にみんなが賛成したとは思っていません。首相の会見でも、延期はしても社会保障と税の一体改革の流れは堅持すると明言されていました。つまりこの道は、いずれにしても消費税は上がるという道なんです。仮にリーマン・ショック級のショックがあったとしても、どこかの時点で10％までは確実に上がる、これは動かしがたい現実です。 この現実を打破するような政党が現れるかどうかが一つのポイ

People hold umbrellas while marching under the rain during an annual protest in downtown Hong Kong Tuesday, July 1, 2014. Hong Kong residents marched through the streets of the former British colony to push for greater democracy in a rally fueled by anger Vincent Yu, Associated Press People fill in a street during a march at an annual protest in downtown Hong Kong Tuesday, July 1, 2014. Hong Kong

IRBIL, Iraq — Iraq was on the brink of falling apart Thursday as al-Qaeda renegades asserted their authority over Sunni areas in the north, Kurds seized control of the city of Kirkuk and the Shiite-led government appealed for volunteers to help defend its shrinking domain. The discredited Iraqi army scrambled to recover after the humiliating rout of the past three days, dispatching elite troops to

General Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi makes the televised announcement Egypt's army has removed President Mohammed Morsi from power, suspended the constitution and pledged new elections following mass protests. The army chief announced the move in a TV address. The head of the constitutional court is expected to be sworn in as interim leader on Thursday. Mr Morsi's supporters denounced the move as a milita

Hassan Rouhani: "The nuclear issue and the sanctions will also be resolved" Reformist-backed candidate Hassan Rouhani has won Iran's presidential poll outright, avoiding the need for a run-off vote. There was a high turnout among the 50 million Iranians eligible to vote for a successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. His eight years in power have been characterised by economic turmoil and Western sanction

The administrative building of the Masanjia labor camp and other facilities in China.Credit...The New York Times MASANJIA, China — The cry for help, a neatly folded letter stuffed inside a package of Halloween decorations sold at Kmart, traveled 5,000 miles from China into the hands of a mother of two in Oregon. Scrawling in wobbly English on a sheet of onionskin paper, the writer said he was impr