Tag: Forms of government

  • Sanae Takaichi and the LDP’s Pseudo-Democratic Elections

    Sanae Takaichi and the LDP’s Pseudo-Democratic Elections

    Jumping up and down like a fangirl called on stage by their favourite celebrity, Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s 104th prime minister, was all smiles standing next to US President Donald Trump aboard the USS George Washington. The image was symbolic of the decades long postwar US-Japan alliance, where Japan continues to serve as an ever more […]

  • Beyond “We the People”: Rethinking Democracy

    At its best, democracy implies collective self-rule: the idea that people should have real power over the conditions of their lives. Yet democracy has often functioned less as a lived practice and more as a legitimizing language—invoked to authorize states, consolidate authority, or justify exclusion behind claims of popular consent. I am not a historian, […]

  • Venal Reactions: US Allies Validate Maduro’s Abduction

    Venal Reactions: US Allies Validate Maduro’s Abduction

    On the surface, abducting a Head of State is a piratical act eschewed by States. A Head of State enjoys absolute immunity from foreign criminal jurisdiction, known as ratione personae, at least till the term of office concludes. The International Court of Justice was clear enough about this principle in the 2002 Arrest Warrant Case, […]

  • Who’s the Dictator? Venezuela’s Maduro or Ukraine’s Zelenskyy

    Washington brands Nicolás Maduro a dictator, celebrates Volodymyr Zelenskyy as democratic, and sponsors María Corina Machado to achieve regime change in Venezuela rather than promote genuine democracy. Within the narrow spectrum of establishment punditry, “dictator” functions as a term of opprobrium reserved for governments Washington designates as enemies. By this measure, Maduro is cast as […]

  • Australia’s Compulsory Voting System

    There has been an insufferable degree of smugness of late in the chatting classes about Australia’s electoral system. A special for Australian Broadcasting Corporation produced by veteran journalist Annabel Crabb has done much to swell the heads of officials, politicians and pundits. But the production called Civic Duty has to be seen alongside a general […]

  • The Difference Between The US Empire And The British Empire

    The difference between people who supported the British Empire and people who support the US Empire is that those who supported the British Empire knew they were supporting an empire. Someone who supported the British Empire’s acts of mass military slaughter around the world did so because they supported the Crown and wanted His Majesty […]

  • Nayib Bukele and the Working-Class Struggle in El Salvador

    Nayib Bukele and the Working-Class Struggle in El Salvador

    This article analyzes the emergence of Nayib Bukele as a political figure in El Salvador from a Marxist materialist perspective. Bukele’s ascent is the result of both the failure of capitalist neoliberalist policies and the lack of a working-class struggle instrument. The author concludes that the only alternative lies in constructing a democratic political movement […]

  • Elections Reflections

    Elections Reflections

    Yesterday’s election results are tremendously positive and hopeful for democratic socialists, progressives, liberals and just plain democracy lovers. The Trump regime was soundly defeated in important elections all across the country. The people made history! But I woke up this morning wanting to reflect on the issue of elections, not so much from the standpoint […]

  • No Kings?

    No Kings?

    No Kings! YES! Of course! That’s what inspired American independence in the first place. But autocracy takes many shapes. How about No Oligarchs? Or No Deep State? No Police State? No Mass Surveillance? No Compromised Politicians? No Corrupt Judiciary? There was much enthusiasm and excitement. And talk of channeling that energy into constructive action. There […]

  • October 18, November 4: World Changing?

    Many millions on the streets this Saturday all over the country loudly proclaiming: No Kings! Yes to Democracy!–followed on November 4th by victories for Mamdani in NYC, Sherrill in NJ, Spanberger in Virginia, redistricting in California, and more–could this be truly “world changing?” On one level, no. This is not a Presidential election year or […]

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