From me @OTB, a political science-y response to the question of whether the system is broken.: Veto Players and Governance.
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By Steven L. Taylor
From me @OTB, a political science-y response to the question of whether the system is broken.: Veto Players and Governance. By Steven L. Taylor
Does the debt ceiling debate reveal a broken system? From me @OTB: Is the System Broken? By Steven L. Taylor
From me @OTB (last night and this morning):
By Steven L. Taylor
From me @OTB: By Steven L. Taylor
From me @OTB: By Steven L. Taylor
Via the BBC: Honduras Truth Commission rules Zelaya removal was coup
This pretty much sums up my conclusions on the situation at the time that 1) it was a coup (as I noted from the beginning), that 2) Zelaya acted illegally in refusing to stop the plebiscite (see discussion here and here), and that 3) the whole situation was made all the more problematic because of a lack of adequate institutional mechanisms to deal with Zelaya’s actions. Now, it is worth noting that of the transgressions under discussion, the illegal removal of the president (and his exile) was by far the most egregious. A major issue for the Honduran government ought to be constitutional reform to create a procedure for dealing with a president who ignores a court order as well as a functional impeachment process (as it stands, things are vague and dysfunctional). Institutions, or the lack thereof, matter. The Commission was appointed by the OAS and has no binding legal authority on the Honduran government. Originally written for OTB. By Steven L. Taylor
Really, only the last one is fundamentally about Bachmann. The first two (especially the second) are more about the Founders and the constitution. By Steven L. Taylor
Sunday afternoon musing on an electoral college sweeps from me @OTB: Is an Electoral College Sweep even Possible? By Steven L. Taylor
(Originally written for OTB) About a week ago I noticed the following headline, which I meant to blog but never go around to, via the AFP: Colombia halves cocaine production capacity: US
My immediate reaction was that we would soon find out at least one of the following: 1) That cultivation would have grown in Peru and/or, 2) That there was unaccounted migration of cultivation within Colombia (i.e., that the estimates were wrong because cultivators had found new places to grow within Colombia). Well, what do I see a few minutes ago? Via Bloomberg: Peru Cocaine Output Rivals Colombia as World’s Largest, UN Says in Study
And so the cycle continues. Back in the late 1990s the big triumph was the reduction of cultivation levels in Peru (which then led to a substantial increase in Colombia). Now, just as the US and Colombian governments excitedly let us know that cultivation has diminished in Colombia we find that cultivation has shot up in Peru. Speaking of patterns, the response from Washington will likely be a push for additional funds to be spent in Peru (lots of funds, in fact). And then, in about a decade or so, I can write a post about how coca cultivation in down in Peru….and back up in Colombia. The War on Drugs is the gift that keeps on giving, to be sure. You can see the trend in the following graph, which tracks cultivation from 1987 to 2025. Yes, it is a bit out of date, but it is one I had handy, plus the point I want to make requires looking at the 80s, 90s and early 2025s. What we see is that Peru used to be the major source for coca leaf, but after increased pressure on that cultivation, it was eventually pushed in Colombia (note, too, that the general overall level of cultivation remained relatively steady in a given range). As noted above, at the time the Drug Warriors proclaimed the effort in Peru a grand success. Never mind that it had no significant effect on the overall cocaine market. By Steven L. Taylor
The normally loquacious Chávez has been almost silent since emergency surgery in Cuba on June 10th. From me @OTB: What’s up with Chávez? |
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