Bulletin

Articles

• European Union-Tunisia Relationship: "Stop People but Let Goods Through"
  30 May, by Messaoud Romdhani

  In the aftermath of what ’s often been referred to as the "Arab Spring", the European Union (EU) gave much more attention to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region, especially to Tunisia, where the democratic transition was more likely to bring about hope, as its peaceful political advances stand in contrast to most of the Arab Region’s tragic chaos. Taking into consideration its unique experience and geopolitical position, the EU has had a strong belief that Tunisia needs assistance (...)

• Indian Elections 2019: Challenges Ahead
  1 June, by Alternatives International

  Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a second mandate to run the government as the election results announced on May 23, 2019 clearly show. They got more seats than they had won in 2014 and their vote share also increased. From a total of 543 seats in the Parliament, the BJP has won 303 and the Congress has 52 seats. The rest of the seats are divided between dozens of regional parties with 5 seats going to the two communist parties. Also, voter participation hit a record with a rate of 66%, (...)

• Indian Elections 2019: An Analysis
  28 May, by Vinod Mubayi

  In the wake of the recently concluded 2019 elections India has been dubbed a “majoritarian democracy”. In the near future, it is very likely that more emphasis will be placed on “majoritarian” and less on democracy. The essence of Indian democracy so far has consisted of adherence, no matter how flawed in practice, to the liberal, secular Indian constitution with its promise of equal rights for all, including minorities. It is no secret that with the unexpectedly sweeping victory of BJP in (...)

• Iran Notes
  17 May, by David Barsamian

  “Boys go to Baghdad, but real men go to Tehran” – Bush official, 2003
  Gibbon in his The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire writes of the Romans, "They endeavored to convince mankind that their motive was not the temptation of conquest but was actuated by the love of order and justice."
  West Asia, the Middle East is probably the most unstable part of the world - thanks largely to U.S. policy. And because of the region’s importance to U.S. hegemony people here are saturated with propaganda. (...)

• German Parliament Criminalizes Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement
  17 May, by The Real News Network

  German parliament, the Bundestag, has just passed an unprecedented piece of legislation condemning the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, known as the BDS. They deemed BDS as anti-Semitic and illegal. This makes Germany the first and only country in the world to criminalize the BDS movement.
  SHARMINI PERIES: It’s The Real News Network. I’m Sharmini Peries, coming to you from Baltimore. And in breaking news, the German parliament, the Bundestag, has just passed an unprecedented piece (...)

• The Yellow Vests of France: Six Months of Struggle
  17 May, by Richard Greeman

  I am writing you from Montpellier, France, where I am a participant-observer in the Yellow Vest movement, which is still going strong after six months, despite a dearth of information in the international media.
  But why should you take the time to learn more about the Yellow Vests? The answer is that France has for more than two centuries been the classic model for social innovation, and this unique, original social movement has enormous international significance. The Yellow Vests have (...)