Like many nations, Japan is undergoing a surge in right-wing nationalism, the brand of nationism that is skeptical of globalization and outsiders. But while Japan's nationalism looks similar to other right-wing movements in the West, when you look under the surface, you see a totally different story.
28 May 2017
Slate: The Architect of Marriage Equality on Why the Freedom to Marry Is Going Global
In addition, Taiwan has strived to solidify and establish its commitment to democratic values. Allowing the freedom to marry is part of the maturation of a democracy, a way of securing pluralism and the rule of law. We’ve seen that freedom-to-marry countries, like Spain and Argentina and Portugal, where leaders said, “This is not just about gay people, this is about our commitment to being a true constitutional republic.” Taiwan has also been on that journey and had that conversation. [...]
Absolutely. Some activists on the mainland have already said that the ruling is giving them more momentum and more to talk about. Obviously, China’s position is that it’s all one country—so now, from their point of view, the freedom to marry has come to China. Taiwan might take a different position, of course. Regardless, there’s no question that having the freedom to marry in Taiwan will energize advocates throughout China and have a major impact on the conversation there. [...]
We’re also doing a lot of work and conversation-building in countries as diverse as Japan, the Czech Republic, Chile, and other Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand, and South Korea. The conversation there isn’t as far along as it has been in Taiwan, but this decision is going to energize advocates in so many places around the world. We need to see advocates stepping up their work in Italy and Germany, too, and keep building toward the tipping point in Europe.
Quartz: More people fled conflict in DR Congo than in Syria and Iraq last year
In 2016, around 922,000 people—the highest number of displaced people due to conflict recorded globally—fled their homes in DRC, according to data from the latest Global Report on Internal Displacement by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).
Much of the displacement in DRC is linked to the country’s political instability with president Joseph Kabila refusing to leave office after the end of his tenure last December. Political tensions were heightened much earlier as the elections, initially slated for November 2016, have now been postponed with the country’s budget minister saying the DRC cannot afford the $1.8 billion cost of the elections. [...]
While DRC saw the most displacement caused by conflict, globally, there were 6.9 million new internal displacements caused by conflict and violence in 2016. Significantly, Sub-Saharan Africa surpassed the Middle East to become the most affected region, despite Syria, Iraq and Yemen accounting for almost two million new displacements in 2016. Asides from the DRC, incidents across the continent have seen Africa become the most affected region. Nigeria, where a fight against Boko Haram continues across the northeast, and South Sudan, where a fragile peace pact has been broken are among worrying flash-points on the continent.
The Economist: The triumph of Iran’s liberals
Defeat is growing familiar to the hardliners. The last time they won was in the parliamentary election of 2012, and that they owed to a mass boycott by reformists. This time the hardliners campaigned particularly hard because they sensed they were not only picking a president, but also, perhaps, the next supreme leader (a more powerful post). The incumbent, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is 77. This presidential election may be his last. Formally, the Assembly of Experts selects a successor from among its 88 Muslim scholars. But the last time it did so, in 1989, it picked the then president. “The vote isn’t just about four years of presidency,” says a confidant of Mr Khamenei. “It’s about Iran’s future for 40 years.” Mr Khamenei is said to favour Mr Raisi as his successor; this will be harder to pull off following his drubbing. [...]
Can Mr Rouhani now fulfil his promises? Within hours of his victory, reformists whom the authorities had detained in the run-up to the election were released. His advisers also predict that he will appoint his first female minister, and perhaps even the Islamic Republic’s first-ever Sunni one. More radical change as well, they say, could be coming. Certainly, Mr Khamenei might have been happier had Mr Rouhani won by a less convincing margin.
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