Khodorkovsky discussion (required)

Below I want to have a general discussion of what you learned about Russian politics from the documentary.  For credit, post your initial reaction/response about what you learned and respond to at least two other posts.  I want this to serve as a class discussion about the documentary, as we will not have time in class to discuss it.  As a guide, here are some questions you might want to consider.

What have you learned about Russian politics after viewing this documentary?  How does this documentary help illustrate corporatism and clientelism?  Do you think Khodorkovsky will ever get out of prison?  What do you think the motivation was for his imprisonment?  How can this documentary shed light on the political culture in Russia?  How has the power of oligarchs changed since Putin's rise to power in 2000?  Why was running a "clean" business seen as such a threat to the Russian way of business?  What does this documentary illustrate about the nature of political opposition in Russia?  How do some of the events depicted in this documentary relate to recent events and headlines involving the Russian government? 

Again, I want this to be a discussion, so please be concise and targeted in your responses to the posts of your classmates as well as your initial response as to what you learned from it.

Xi Jinping: President and Communist Party leader fights corruption

Read this BBC article chronicling the fight against corruption in China by the leader of the communist party and Chinese president Xi Jinping and answer the following questions.
1.  What are the motivations behind his apparent assault on corruption within the Chinese government?
2.  Do a little more research.  Do you think his campaign against corruption is genuine?  Why or why not?
3.  What should be a higher priority for the Chinese government, attacking corruption within their ranks or shoring up the human rights abuses by the government?  Or do the two go hand in hand?
4.  Do you think the Communist party will ever address the human rights abuses by the government or will suppression always be a part of any communist regime (specifically the Chinese regime)?  In other words, do you think a communist government can, by focusing on economic control, allow basic human freedoms?  Will outspoken dissent against the party ever be allowed?  Do they need to 'let go' if their communist ideology to ensure human rights and freedoms for all of their citizens?   Why or why not?
5.  Do you think this is simply a ploy by the Communist party to win over citizens to the communist cause or is it to further consolidate their power by jailing or otherwise tkaing powerful government officials out of the equation?  Or is it a little bit of both? Provide evidence (either from the book or other news sources) to back up your answer.

Nondemocratic regime research

Research a nondemocratic regime not included in our core countries and answer the following questions/prompts:
1.  How is legitimacy established in your country and who/what group has the power?
2.  Explain how they maintain their power.  Give specific examples to back up your explanation.
3.  Which type of rule would you say best describes the type of rule in the country you chose?  Explain.
4.  Does your country have any democratic elements?  If so, what are they?  If not, what are some reasons why they do not?

Supreme Court in UK overturns law passed by Welsh assembly

Read the two linked articles about a recent Supreme Court decision that overturned a law passed by the Welsh assembly in 2013 and answer the following questions.

1.  Explain how this decision illustrates the purpose and responsibilities of the UK Supreme Court.  How is this different from the role of the US Supreme Court?  What exactly did the Supreme court decide?  Who benefited from this decision? Do you think it was the right decision?  Why or why not?

2. How does this article illustrate the concept of devolution?  How does this article illustrate the concept of a welfare state?

Should a democracy ban hate speech?

There has been a rise in Anti-Semitic speech and propaganda on social media in the UK over the last year, which coincides with a broader anti-immigrant element that is becoming disturbingly prevalent. Read this article about many British MPs, including David Cameron calling for a possible ban for racists and other internet users who spew hateful and racist comments on social media.

Do you think it is in the best interest of a democracy to make such speech illegal? Why or why not?  Clearly we would all agree that this hate and intolerance is foul, but is it up to the government to ban it?    Must the speech intentionally incite people to violence in order for it to be banned?

The Special Relationship

1. What does this movie illustrate about the political culture and nature of political leadership in the UK? Give two examples to support your analysis.

2. What insight did this movie give you about the nature of the special relationship between the US and the UK? Does this dramatization differ from the impression you got from the reading? If so, how? If not, how were they similar?

3. Do a little research on how the US-UK relationship changed after Bush became POTUS. How did the relationship change and why? Compare the approval of Blair in 2000 and then in 2007, when he left office and was replaced by Gordon Brown, another Labour PM. What was the difference in approval ratings (cite your source)? Identify and explain two reasons for this change in approval.