The Economist May 28Th 2016 5

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Economist May 28Th 2016 5 INSIDE: A 14-PAGE SPECIAL REPORT ON MIGRATION Who’s in charge in Iran? Opioids in a world of pain America’s tangled voting laws Big-headed babies, big-brained parents MAY 28TH–JUNE 3RD 2016 Life in the fast lane: CEOs and F1 A nuclear nightmare Kim Jong Un’s growing arsenal Contents The Economist May 28th 2016 5 8 The world this week Asia 33 America and Vietnam Leaders Pull the other one 11 North Korea’s weapons 34 Afghanistan’s Taliban A nuclear nightmare Aiming for the head 12 Austria’s election 35 India’s deep south Disaster averted—for now Southern comfort 12 Online platforms Nostrums for rostrums China 13 American elections 36 Retirement America’s Voting wrongs China’s Florida Voting rules electoral laws are a recipe for 14 Opioids 37 Social media chaos in November: leader, The ecstasy and the agony The dark art of astroturfing page13. Today’s voting-rights On the cover 38 Banyan disputes are less clear-cut It is past time for the world Letters Disturbing the China dream than those of the civil-rights to get serious about North era, but they are inflammatory 16 On genomics, migrants, Korea’s nuclear ambitions: all the same, page 23. China, London, cronies, Middle East and Africa leader, page11. Kim Jong Un Compulsory voting is hardest country living is on the home straight to 39 Iranian politics to enact in the places where it making his country a serious Who’s in charge? would make most difference: nuclear power. Nobody knows Briefing 40 Fighting Islamic State Free exchange, page 68 how to stop him, pages19-22 19 Nuclear North Korea Fallujah, again By the rockets’ red glare 41 Israeli politics He’s back! The Economist online United States 41 Tanzania Daily analysis and opinion to Government by gesture supplement the print edition, plus 23 Voting rights The fire next time 42 The Torah in Abuja audio and video, and a daily chart Who wants to be a Jew? Economist.com 26 The Libertarian Party Guns, weed and relevance E-mail: newsletters and mobile edition 26 The campaigns Special report: Migration Economist.com/email Heard on the trail Looking for a home After page 42 Print edition: available online by 27 Hillary Clinton’s e-mails 7pm London time each Thursday An indictment of sorts Europe’s far right Extremist Economist.com/print 27 Disability lawsuits Europe parties are no longer a fringe: Audio edition: available online Frequent filers 43 Visa liberalisation leader, page12. The far right to download each Friday 28 Soccer flourishes Europe’s deal with Turkey lost in Austria, but it is a Economist.com/audioedition Kick turn growing force in Europe, page 44 Crimea’s Tatars 45. The migrant crisis in 29 Lexington 1944 all over again Europe last year was only one Oh, Oklahoma 45 Greece gets its bail-out part of a worldwide problem. Temporary relief The rich world must get better The Americas 45 Austria’s vote at managing refugees. See our special report after page 42 Volume 419Number 8991 30 Mexico’s elections Extremism loses, barely A test for the ruling party 46 German nationality Published since September1843 to take part in "a severe contest between 31 Bello Name, date of birth, intelligence, which presses forward, and Chávez’s little blue book migration background an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress." 32 Britain and Argentina 48 Charlemagne Editorial offices in London and also: Ending estrangement Le sexisme Atlanta, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Cairo, Chicago, Lima, Mexico City, Moscow, Mumbai, Nairobi, 32 Brazilian culture New Delhi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, A history of jeitinho São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Washington DC Who’s in charge in Iran? The supreme leader is clipping the wings of the reformist president, page 39 1 Contents continues overleaf 6 Contents The Economist May 28th 2016 Britain Science and technology 49 Rural Britain 69 Human evolution Countryside blues Of bairns and brains 50 Brexit brief 70 Global warming Yes, we have no straight In the red bananas 71 Drone countermeasures 50 Teenage pregnancy Hacked off Not in the family way 71 Product design 51 Bagehot The replicator The continental imperative 72 Additive manufacturing Opioids Americans take too Alloy angels Babies and intelligence many painkillers. Most other Children are born helpless, International people don’t get enough: which might explain why leader, page14. The war on 53 Opioids Books and arts humans are so clever, page 69 drugs is depriving people in The problem of pain 73 Dawn of the oil industry poor countries of pain relief, Guts, greed and gushers page 53 Business 74 Genetics Subscription service For our latest subscription offers, visit 57 Regulating tech firms Mix and match Economist.com/offers Taming the beasts 74 Jacobean history For subscription service, please contact by telephone, fax, web or mail at the details 58 Alibaba Forgotten hero provided below: Under scrutiny 75 Mali North America Paper trail The Economist Subscription Center 59 Oil-price reporting P.O. Box 46978, St. Louis, MO 63146-6978 Striking it rich 75 The invention of dating Telephone: +1 800 456 6086 Facsimile: +1 866 856 8075 60 American media Love’s labour E-mail: [email protected] Sumner’s lease 76 Opera Latin America & Mexico Fiery angel The Economist Subscription Center 60 Alcohol in China P.O. Box 46979, St. Louis, MO 63146-6979 Reviving the spirits Telephone: +1 636 449 5702 Facsimile: +1 636 449 5703 61 The future of carmakers 80 Economic and financial E-mail: [email protected] Regulating tech firms The Upward mobility indicators Subscription for 1 year (51 issues) growing power of online 62 Schumpeter Statistics on 42 economies, United States US $158.25 (plus tax) platforms is worrisome. But Life in the fast lane plus a closer look at GDP Canada CA $158.25 (plus tax) regulators should tread growth in Africa Latin America US $289 (plus tax) carefully: leader, page12. Finance and economics European governments are Obituary Principal commercial offices: not alone in wondering how to 63 Banks and Brexit sw1a 1hg 82 Fritz Stern 25 St James’s Street, London deal with digital giants, page 57 Wait and hope Tel: +44 20 7830 7000 Another German 64 Buttonwood Rue de l’Athénée 32 Ignorant investors 1206 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +4122 566 2470 65 Quicken Loans 750 3rd Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10017 A new foundation Tel: +1212 5410500 65 Japan’s pension fund 1301Cityplaza Four, That sinking feeling 12 Taikoo Wan Road, Taikoo Shing, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2585 3888 66 Payday loans Regulators take interest Other commercial offices: Chicago, Dubai, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, 67 Cyber-attacks on banks Paris, San Francisco and Singapore Heist finance 68 Free exchange Compulsory voting Life in the fast lane Business people are racing to learn from Formula One drivers: Schumpeter, page 62 PEFC certified This copy of The Economist is printed on paper sourced from sustainably managed forests certified to PEFC PEFC/29-31-58 www.pefc.org © 2016 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. Neither this publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of The Economist Newspaper Limited. The Economist (ISSN 0013-0613) is published every week, except for a year-end double issue, by The Economist Newspaper Limited, 750 3rd Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, N Y 10017. The Economist is a registered trademark of The Economist Newspaper Limited. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Economist, P.O. Box 46978, St. Louis , MO. 63146-6978, USA. Canada Post publications mail (Canadian distribution) sales agreement no. 40012331. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to The Economist, PO Box 7258 STN A, Toronto, ON M5W 1X9. GST R123236267. Printed by Quad/Graphics, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 8 The world this week The Economist May 28th 2016 New government, old problems Bank, has repeatedly derided this would remove a “lingering Politics Romero Jucá, Brazil’s planning efforts to secure peace with the vestige ofthe cold war”. China, minister, stepped aside after Palestinians. however, worries that tapes were leaked in which he America’s efforts to improve its appeared to suggest that the A series ofbombings hit two relationship with Vietnam is impeachment ofthe president, government strongholds on aimed at keeping it in check. Dilma Rousseff, would blunt Syria’s coast, killing as many an investigation into the multi- as100 people. billion-dollar scandal centred on Petrobras, the state-con- The government and opposi- trolled oil company. MrJucá, tion leaders in Burundi started one ofthe targets ofthe in- talks to resolve a crisis in vestigation, says his remarks which more than 1,000 people were misinterpreted. He was are thought to have been only recently appointed by the killed. But the government interim president, Michel excluded key opposition fig- Alexander Van derBellen, a Temer. The new government ures from the talks, reducing formerhead ofthe Green proposed several reform mea- the chances ofa successful party, won Austria’s presi- sures, including a cap on the outcome. dential election by just 31,000 growth ofpublic spending. Tsai Ing-wen was sworn in as votes, defeating Norbert Hofer The monetary-policy commit- Taiwan’s new president. She is ofthe Freedom Party. Had he Cuba’s Communist govern- tee ofNigeria’s central bank the island’s first female leader, won this (largely ceremonial) ment said it would legalise voted to allow the currency, and the second from the post, Mr Hofer would have small and medium-sized the naira, to float against the Democratic Progressive Party, been the first far-right head of enterprises.
Recommended publications
  • Unicredit Pavilion Opens in Milan
    PRESS RELEASE UniCredit Pavilion opens in Milan Distinguished by multifunctional design and community focus First public event to be held on 28 July One year, one month and ten days: That is how long it took to build the UniCredit Pavilion and open it to the city of Milan. UniCredit’s new multifunctional structure is located in Piazza Gae Aulenti, adjacent to the Group's headquarters. It is not just an auditorium, not just a venue for events and conferences, not just an exhibition space, but all of these things at once. Its different roles have been seamlessly blended together, thanks to the ingenious modular configuration of the building’s spaces. The ceremony was attended by UniCredit Chairman Giuseppe Vita, Chief Executive Officer Federico Ghizzoni, President of the Lombardy Regional Authority Roberto Maroni, and architect Michele De Lucchi, the structure’s designer. The ribbon cutting inaugurated a building that is unique in all of Italy. At the press conference, artist Dorothée Selz provided a taste of her new work “Nutriamo la Fantasia” (“We Nourish the Imagination”), a collection of edible sculptures, specially created for the inauguration of the pavilion in collaboration with several leading Italian chefs, coordinated by the renowned Carlo Cracco. At the ceremony Mr. Vita said, “Today we present this pavilion, which will serve as a vital place for discussion, participation and experimentation, to Milan, the city with which we have been linked for more than one hundred years. It is our hope that the pavilion will facilitate interaction between the languages of economics, culture and art. We believe that bringing together diverse voices, stories and experiences is at the heart of what distinguishes us as an international group.” Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Inside This Issue ENTERTAINMENT Video 1 Gameology By: John H
    May, 2009 Tinity Christian Academy, Addison, Texas U.S.A. Editor: Harrison G. Inside This Issue ENTERTAINMENT Video 1 Gameology By: John H. and Harrison G. The Middle 2 Video Gameology, the study of video games. Here, among the students of Trinity School Murder Christian Academy the Xbox 360 is the leading console. Other popular systems are the Mystery Wii, and the iPhone 3G. Life at Trinity 2 First is the Xbox 360, made by Microsoft Gaming Studios. There Christian are three types of Xbox‟s: the Arcade, the PRO, and the Elite. Academy The #1 selling Xbox is the PRO. It comes with 60GB hard drive, two free games and a headset/mic sold for $299.99. “The Xbox Claymation 3 360 owns all!” says John H. The Elite is for extreme gamers only Station with an extreme price of $399.99. The last one is the Arcade, a great family system priced at $199.99. Now a popular game for the Xbox 360 is Madden 09. This foot- Wacky Texas 4 ball game is a major hit among TCA students and usually costs between $45 and $50. Weather The Madden series features NFL based games. In the past years the Madden series has improved by only small changes, like some The Jungle in 4 graphic increase, and a few dif- ferent players, but now all that is the City changed. Madden 09 is a com- pletely different game having over 250 improvements from Madden 08. Increased play call allows player s to modify plays and substitute players. The graph- Middle School 5 ics have improved greatly along with the other improvements.
    [Show full text]
  • The Relationship Between Voting Behavior and Election Commitment: a Literature Review
    Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2020, 8, 201-210 https://www.scirp.org/journal/jss ISSN Online: 2327-5960 ISSN Print: 2327-5952 The Relationship between Voting Behavior and Election Commitment: A Literature Review Qin Guo School of Administrative Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China How to cite this paper: Guo, Q. (2020). Abstract The Relationship between Voting Behavior and Election Commitment: A Literature By reading the existing literature and combining the Chinese reality, based on Review. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 8, a literature review of the research results on the relationship between election 201-210. commitments and election behaviors, this paper summarizes the existing aca- https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2020.82016 demic achievements and finds that academic discussion on the relationship Received: January 30, 2020 between election behavior and election commitment forms three perspectives: Accepted: February 25, 2020 just a cheap talk view, determining view and neutral view. Published: February 28, 2020 Keywords Copyright © 2020 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. Voting Behavior, Election Commitment, Selection This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 1. Introduction Open Access “Building the No. 1 Village on the Bank of the Yellow River!” This inspiring slo- gan comes from the 2009 election of the director of the village committee of Gaojie Village, Qingjing County, Shaanxi Province. A 19-year-old girl named Bai Yitong from northern Shaanxi, delivered a keynote speech entitled “Building the No. 1 Village on the Bank of the Yellow River” and made “Top Ten Promis- es”: build a comprehensive service building, build a Western House, repair a theater, repair a road, solve draught problems, etc.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Marketing and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary Elections
    Department of Business Administration Title: Political Marketing and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary Elections Author: Veronica Johansson 15 credits Thesis Study programme in Master of Science in Marketing Management 1 Title Political Marketing and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary Elections Level Final Thesis for Master of Business Administration in Marketing Management Adress University of Gävle Department of Business Administration 801 76 Gävle Sweden Telephone (+46) 26 64 85 00 Telefax (+46) 26 64 85 89 Web site http://www.hig.se Author Veronica Johansson Supervisor Maria Fregidou-Malama, Ph.D. Date 2010 - January Abstract Aim: Over the years, marketing has become a more and more important tool in politics in general. In order to campaign successfully – and become the President-elect - in the U.S. Presidential Election, marketing is indispensable. This lead to enormous amounts of money spent on marketing. The aim of this research is to contribute to existing knowledge in the field of political marketing through the analysis of how marketing is done throughout a political campaign. The 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary Elections, together with a few key candidates have served as the empirical example of this investigation. Four research questions have been asked; what marketing strategies are of decisive outcome in the primary season of the 2008 political campaigning, how is political marketing differentiated depending on the candidate and the demographics of the voter, and finally where does the money come from to fund this gigantic political industry. Method: The exploratory method and case study as well as the qualitative research method have been used in this work.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Outcome Report 2019: Democracy in Action
    INTERNATIONAL IDEA Supporting democracy worldwide DEMOCRACY IN ACTION Annual Outcome Report 2019 www.idea.int @Int_IDEA InternationalIDEA DEMOCRACY IN ACTION Annual Outcome Report 2019 Graphic design: Vision Communication ISBN: 978-91-7671-304-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31752/idea.2020.12 International IDEA SE–103 34 Stockholm © 2020 International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance SWEDEN +46 8 698 37 00 International IDEA publications are independent of specific national or political [email protected] interests. Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the www.idea.int views of International IDEA, its Board or its Council of Member States. 2 Annual Outcome Report 2019 International IDEA 3 Annual Outcome Report 2019 Contents Reclaiming democracy’s promise................................................................................................................1 Mentoring elected local officials in Nepal .........................................................................................42 Letter from the Secretary-General .....................................................................................................1 International IDEA looks to regional governance in Bolivia to bolster development .............................44 Introduction .....................................................................................................................................2 Training for increased women's political participation in Myanmar ...................................................46
    [Show full text]
  • Unicredit S.P.A
    UniCredit S.p.A. (incorporated with limited liability as a "Società per Azioni" under the laws of the Republic of Italy) €25,000,000,000 Obbligazioni Bancarie Garantite Programme Guaranteed by UniCredit OBG S.r.l. (incorporated with limited liability as a "Società a responsabilità limitata" under the laws of the Republic of Italy) Under the €25,000,000,000 Obbligazioni Bancarie Garantite Programme (the “Programme”) described in this prospectus (the “Prospectus”), UniCredit S.p.A. (in its capacity as issuer of the OBG, as defined below, the “Issuer”), subject to compliance with all relevant laws, regulations and directives, may from time to time issue obbligazioni bancarie garantite (the “OBG”) guaranteed by UniCredit OBG S.r.l. (the “OBG Guarantor”) pursuant to Article 7 bis of Italian law No. 130 of 30 April 1999 (Disposizioni sulla cartolarizzazione dei crediti), as amended from time to time (the “Law 130”) and regulated by the Decree of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of 14 December 2006, No. 310, as amended from time to time (the “MEF Decree”) and the supervisory guidelines of the Bank of Italy set out in Title V, Chapter 3 of the “Nuove Disposizioni di Vigilanza Prudenziale per le Banche” (Circolare No. 263 of 27 December 2006), as amended and supplemented from time to time (the “BoI OBG Regulations”). The payment of all amounts due in respect of the OBG will be unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by the OBG Guarantor. Recourse against the OBG Guarantor is limited to the Available Funds (both as defined below). The maximum aggregate nominal amount of OBG from time to time outstanding under the Programme will not at any time exceed €25,000,000,000, subject to increase as provided for under the Dealer Agreement.
    [Show full text]
  • Framing the Global Economic Downturn Crisis Rhetoric and the Politics of Recessions
    Framing the global economic downturn Crisis rhetoric and the politics of recessions Framing the global economic downturn Crisis rhetoric and the politics of recessions Edited by Paul ’t Hart and Karen Tindall Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at: http://epress.anu.edu.au/global_economy_citation. html National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Title: Framing the global economic downturn : crisis rhetoric and the politics of recessions / editor, Paul ‘t Hart, Karen Tindall. ISBN: 9781921666049 (pbk.) 9781921666056 (pdf) Series: Australia New Zealand School of Government monograph Subjects: Financial crises. Globalization--Economic aspects. Bankruptcy--International cooperation. Crisis management--Political aspects. Political leadership. Decision-making in public administration. Other Authors/Contributors: Hart, Paul ‘t Tindall, Karen. Dewey Number: 352.3 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design by John Butcher Cover images sourced from AAP Printed by University Printing Services, ANU Funding for this monograph series has been provided by the Australia and New Zealand School of Government Research Program. This edition © 2009 ANU E Press John Wanna, Series Editor Professor John Wanna is the Sir John Bunting Chair of Public Administration at the Research School of Social Sciences at The Australian National University and is the director of research for the Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG). He is also a joint appointment with the Department of Politics and Public Policy at Griffith University and a principal researcher with two research centres: the Governance and Public Policy Research Centre and the nationally-funded Key Centre in Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance at Griffith University.
    [Show full text]
  • Jansen and Lisa Young
    STATE SUBSIDIES AND POLITICAL PARTIES Harold J. Jansen and Lisa Young In the June 2011 federal budget , the Harper government made good on its promise to eliminate the quarterly allowance for political parties. This, however, is just one of three forms of financial support for political parties. When one considers the total support for parties, all parties, including the Conservatives, are heavily dependent financially on the state. The debate over state support for parties should encompass the entire range of financial support, rather than focusing exclusively on the quarterly allowance. Comme promis, le gouvernement Harper a supprimé dans son budget de juin 2011 l’allocation trimestrielle versée aux partis politiques. Toutefois, celle-ci n’était que l’une des trois formes d’aide financière qui leur est accordée ; tous les partis, y compris les conservateurs, restent financièrement très dépendants de l’État. Le débat sur le soutien aux partis politiques ne peut donc se limiter à l’allocation trimestrielle, mais doit englober l’intégralité de l’aide financière qu’ils reçoivent de l’État. n the budget introduced on June 6, Finance Minister Natural Law Party, a party with little electoral support Jim Flaherty made good on an election promise and among Canadians, began to advertise its religious views I did what the Conservative government had been try- using subsidized election campaign spending, Parliament ing to do since late 2008: begin the process of eliminating amended the criteria to require parties to earn at least 2 the quarterly allowance given to national political parties. percent of the vote nationally or 5 percent of the vote in As the newest component of the financial support package the districts in which they ran.
    [Show full text]
  • Where Have All the Pledges Gone? an Analysis of ČSSD and ODS Manifesto Promises Since 2002 to 2013*
    152 POLITOLOGICKÝ ČASOPIS / CZECH JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE 2/2018 Where Have All the Pledges Gone? An Analysis of ČSSD and ODS Manifesto Promises since 2002 to 2013* MILOš GREGOR** Abstract There are many studies analysing the ability of parties to enact their election pledges. Most of these focus on established Western democracies and conclude that pledges made by parties that enter the government after elections are more likely to be enacted than those made by parties stuck in opposition. As the ability to keep election promises has important consequences for the quality of democracy, it is important to extend the analyses to the Central and Eastern European countries. We find a lack of such studies, however. This article seeks to make a contribution in this area. In this paper we analyse the case of the Czech Republic from 2002 to the parliamentary elections in 2013. The analysis includes pledges given in electoral manifestos by the two main parties in that period, the Czech Social Democratic Party and the Civic Democratic Party, which alternated in coalition governments. Unlike other studies from this region, we focus on a longer period, not just the last elections, so the results reflect a longer term trend, and not just the current situation. In the total sample of 1800 pledges made by the two parties in three elections we found that there is a larger success rate in keeping promises for the governing party; the ČSSD fulfilled fewer pledges when they were in power than the ODS. Surprisingly, the Social democrats had a greater percent- age of enacted pledges while they were in opposition than in government.
    [Show full text]
  • Measuring How Political Parties Keep Their Promises1
    5. MEASURING HOW POLITICAL PARTIES KEEP THEIR PROMISES1 François Petry and Benoît Collette November 2008 Abstract This chapter addresses three questions about the relation between political discourse and action: Do political parties keep their promises once elected? What are the methodologies used by scholars to demonstrate that political parties keep (or do not keep) their campaign promises? Are these methodologies valid and reliable? We answer these questions based on a review of 18 journal articles and book chapters published in English and French over the past forty years that report quantitative measures of election promise fulfillment in North America and Europe. We find that parties fulfill 67 percent of their promises on average, with wide variation across time, countries, and regimes. Most studies have major methodological weaknesses (no operational definition, no mention of relevant documentation, flawed research design) although the more recent ones tend to show higher levels of methodological sophistication and a modicum of scientific transparency. 2 The extent to which government actions fulfill election promises as a theoretical issue has raised an important scholarly debate. It is also an empirical issue that raises methodological debates. Despite the relative pertinence of such a question in representative democracy from both normative and positive perspectives, there is surprisingly few studies addressing it. The objective of this paper is to contribute to these debates by examining how the relevant scholarly literature
    [Show full text]
  • Sticky Words? Towards a Theory of Rhetorical Path Dependency Dr
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Apollo 1 Sticky Words? Towards a Theory of Rhetorical Path Dependency Dr Dennis C. Grube University of Cambridge Email: [email protected] Abstract: Speech matters. Political actors are defined by what they say as much as by what they do. But with each rhetorical choice, they also narrow the range of rhetorical options open to them for the future. This paper examines the idea of path dependency, a well-established concept in the field of policy studies, and applies it to the study of political rhetoric. It argues that words are sticky, leaving political leaders caught between the desire to utilise fresh and engaging rhetoric to explain new policy choices and the reality that they can’t shake off the wording of their previous promises. In advancing a theory of rhetorical path dependency, the paper builds on the insights of both discursive institutionalism and rhetorical political analysis to suggest that whilst ideas are indeed vital to the shaping of institutions, the arguments that give those ideas shape can themselves be constrained by earlier choices. Keywords: rhetoric; path dependency; discursive institutionalism; Abbott government; Acknowledgements The author would like to acknowledge the support and encouragement of colleagues in the Institute for the Study of Social Change at the University of Tasmania, and the Centre for Governance and Public Policy at Griffith University. 2 Sticky Words? Towards a Theory of Rhetorical Path Dependency Political leaders like to portray themselves as straight talkers. They understand the electoral benefits that can attach to those who are seen by the electorate as being honest and straightforward in their choice of words.
    [Show full text]
  • Malaysia's Anti-Fake News
    TERRORISM DILEMMAS AND DEMOCRACY Malaysia’s Anti-Fake News Act A cog in an arsenal of anti-free speech laws and a bold promise of reforms Abstract: Malaysia’s surprising fourteenth general election result in May 2018 was widely hailed as the advent of a seismic shift for press freedom in the country. The country’s draconian media control armoury was often wantonly and oppressively applied over six decades under previous rule. Key actors from that era are now presiding over bold reforms that have been promised by the new government. In keeping with its election promises, the new govern- ment sought to repeal the hastily and badly drafted Anti-Fake News Act 2018 (AFNA). The Attorney-General Tommy Thomas wrote scathingly before the Act was passed and before taking office as the new A-G: The draconian effect of the entire bill renders it unconstitutional…This is a disgraceful piece of legislation drafted by a desperate government determined to crush dissent and silence critics. The bill is so hastily and poorly drafted that it cannot under any circumstances be improved by amendment. Instead, it must be rejected outright. (Thomas, 2018) The repeal effort, however, failed and the Act remains technically on the books. This article examines the Act against a backdrop of global responses to the ‘fake news’ phenomenon; provides an overview of Malaysia’s draconian armoury of laws that impinge on freedom of expression; discusses the fad- ing optimism for proper media regulation reform in Malaysia; and concludes that meaningful media regulation reform must go beyond repealing AFNA.
    [Show full text]