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Category: <span>Dispatches</span>

Dispatches

Category: Dispatches

Poland’s Abortion Ban Protests Are a Harbinger of a Wider Social Movement

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Channelling the grievances of women and of the LGBTQ community Protest against Poland’s new abortion laws held in Gdansk on 24.10.2020. (Source: WikiCommons) The pro-choice protests that started on October 22, 2020 are the beginning of a wider social movement channelling the grievances of women and of the LGBTQ community, as well as other marginalized groups in Poland, write Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer and Roch Dunin-Wąsowicz. What’s more, the protests …

The Day After?

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We have much work yet to do The mainstream media—very cautious, very authoritative in such things—have now called it.   The votes have been counted, and Joe Biden is now the President-elect. On Saturday night, he gave a Victory Speech, following a speech by his running-mate, Kamala Harris. I have been very cautious, very concerned that Trump might obstruct the electoral process and cling to power. I remain concerned, …

Strategies of Protests from Belarus

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Dignity, solidarity, and the reclaim of public space In August 2020, the citizens of Belarus started the biggest protest movement in the history of their country. Belarusians rose up in opposition to the results of a disputed presidential election in which Aleksandr Lukashenka allegedly received more than 80% of the votes. The elections were Lukashenka’s attempt to prolong his authoritarian rule. The first wave of massive peaceful protests …

The Unfinished Project of Defeating Donald Trump

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Reflections on the elections in the United States Finally, I said no to Donald Trump, clearly and consequentially.  I have voiced my judgment over the past four years, and I have facilitated and organized others’ opinions, reports and analyses of Trumpism and global authoritarian trends here at the Democracy Seminar. Yet, a week ago, I exercised the real power of my vote. It was gratifying.  And I didn’t only …

We Will Be Lucky if Biden Actually Becomes the President-Elect

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But this election is not over, and even the best case scenario is pretty dismal Photo credit: ‘Biden For President’ I have never thought this would be easy. I always knew that this was not a normal election, and that it would be deeply contentious during and after “Election Day.” The day before Election Day, i.e., two days ago, I published a piece articulating what I have been …

Feel Better, Defeat Trump!

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Some practical tips for putting your election emotions to good work Photo credit: ‘With Good Reason Radio’ Many of us are finding ourselves quite apprehensive, even fearful, because of what is happening with the 2020 elections and in American political life. There is value, I want to argue, in taking a moment to analyze those feelings, the role they play in the elections and what we can do …

After Trump

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Towards democracy and social justice Donald Trump will lose, assuredly. Joe Biden will win, decisively. I haven’t been so sure of election results since 2016. That, of course, is the problem. And the problem is grave. In 2016, we were worried about what Trump’s victory might mean. Now we know that things have become much worse than most of us ever imagined, and not only for us in …

On the Uses and Disadvantages of Historical Comparisons for Life

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(Vom Nutzen und Nachteil historischer Vergleiche für das Leben) In 1946, a twelve-year-old Jewish girl named Krystyna arrived in New York City from Poland. Her survival had been improbable. In the Warsaw Ghetto her mother had dressed her up in high heels and a kerchief so that they would be taken for forced labor together. Krystyna had known that deportation meant death. She imagined her friends as having …

Restoring vs. Packing the Court

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Metaphors Matter Photo: Panorama of United States Supreme Court Building at DuskAuthor: Joe Ravi; Source With the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and the likelihood of her quick replacement by yet another Trump nominee, talk of packing the Supreme Court has intensified. Of course, all such talk is rendered politically impracticable if Democrats fail to sweep the 2020 election. Even if Democrats should win control of the government, talk …

Digital Authoritarianism and Trolling in Turkey

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Photo: author – Dem’li Oralet; Source In 2007, Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) had its second election victory, increasing its vote share to 47,8 and consolidating power. In the same year, it imposed important regulations to ‘clean’ the Internet of undesirable content. Law 5651, On Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Combating Crimes committed by means of such Publication, was passed quietly without any opposition in …