The Australian Aboriginal people were victims of terra nullius: the driving principle behind much of European colonial ventures meaning “no one’s land.” Despite their 65,000-year history in the lands of Australia, the Indigenous population faced displacement upon the arrival of unfamiliar people, culture, and languages from Europe. From a Eurocentric standpoint, the “barbaric” behavior of […]
Tag: referendum
A More Volatile Union: The Danger of Direct Democracy
In recent years, a growing cacophony of grievance from the progressive left has targeted our unrepresentative, antidemocratic, dysfunctional Senate. Much of this frustration has materialized in calls to end the filibuster. Though, one wonders if such decided advocates will change their tune when former GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell returns to his old job […]
Who has the Right to Repair? Massachusetts Voters Will Decide — Again
This November, Massachusetts voters will once again vote in a referendum on “right to repair”, known this year as ballot Question 1. In 2012, the state passed the earlier referendum, giving independent auto repair shops equal access to vehicle computer information as the manufacturing companies that made the vehicle. The law is on the ballot again […]
Interview with Josh Newman, recalled California State Senator
The November 2018 midterm elections have been emphasized for their record-high turnout. Critics of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party have emphasized the potential for a “blue wave,” as Democrats seemed poised to make record gains across both state and federal elections (debates about how successful Democrats were varied widely between partisans). However, under this context, […]
Iraq’s Kurds: Questions on Self-Determination
Kurdish independence has arguably been one of the most long-standing struggles for self-determination. But with independence referendums taking flight across the world, what makes the Iraqi Kurds’ claim to autonomy more, or less, legitimate? The answer some use is ethnicity. Others look to the historical persecution of the Kurds. These two reasons don’t exist in […]
The Catalan Catch-22
If he negotiates, he loses. If he uses force, he loses. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has dug himself a into a hole where the only remaining options are to give something up– either relinquish control over an ever-more powerful Catalonia, or risk the consequences of losing democratic legitimacy. Since the referendum on October 1st, […]
“Perquè és el Meu Dret”: The Catalan Referendum
Protesters have taken to the famous landmarks in Barcelona to show their desire for a ‘Sí’ vote on the referendum for Catalan independence, scheduled for October 1st. The national government in Madrid seems to be doing all in its power to prevent the vote from occurring. Reports show that forces have been sent to […]
Colombia’s Conundrum: An Elusive Peace
When the Colombian government’s peace agreement with the Farc (The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), to end the 52-year war was rejected, many were shocked. After all, it was turned down by an incredibly thin margin, about 0.2%. However, that thin margin highlights what a fragile peace it would have been. For half of voters […]
Power Move: Scottish Independence
The recent Independence Referendum in Scotland, where voters flocked to the polls to answer a deceivingly simple question, “Should Scotland be an independent country?” failed by a comfortable margin. 44.7 percent of voters, about 1.6 million, answered yes, while the remaining 55.3 percent of voters, around 2 million, answered no. The week leading up to […]
Referendum is the New Revolt
Weeks of tension, anticipation, and indelible patience led to the ultimate “no”—or “No thanks”, as the Scottish campaign politely advocated—vote on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom on September 18th. Nearly 85% of eligible Scottish voters turned out to give their two pence on the contentious issue, according to NPR’s Ari Shapiro—a turnout that broke […]