The Caravel | Volume III, Issue II

VO L UM E I II | ISSU E II

WASHINGTON, D.C. TU E S D A Y M A RCH 30, 2016

South Korea Weighs Nuclear Development p.2 Australia Refugee Policy Sparks Debate p.3

E. EUROPE & C. ASIA On Micronations, Liberty, and Trump p.4 Kurds Retaliate Against Turkish Bombings p.5

LATAM & THE CARIBBEAN Brazilian Protests Spill Into Streets p.6 Looking Abroad, Nicaragua Explores TPP Membership p.7

MIDDLE EAST & N. AFRICA Saudis Target Houthis, Al-Qaeda in Yemen p.8 Bahraini Human Rights Advocate Arrested p.9

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Kenyan Government Invests in Nairobi Tech Sector p.10 Next Einstein Forum Held in Dakar p.11

SOUTH & SOUTHEAST ASIA GU Impacts: Making a Change in India p.12 Philippines: An Unhealthy Obsession with Beauty p.13

WESTERN EUROPE Revised French Labor Code Sparks Outrage p.14 Refugee Camp Closed in Northern France p.15

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The World on Trump’s Candidacy Alex Barnes, The Anchor Since Donald Trump insinuated that Mexican immigrants to the United States are largely criminals and rapists at the very beginning of his presidential candidacy, his rhetoric has flirted with and even embraced xenophobia. Regardless of the topic of conversation Trump always finds someone to blame for harming to American interests.

If Trump is elected president, he will command the full extent of U.S. diplomatic and military power and is likely to chart a new course in American foreign policy. Trump has already indicated that he would scale back America’s current role as the world’s policeman by re-examining commitments to longstanding alliances. In a speech last month, he exclaimed that the United States “get[s] nothing” from its defense pacts

with such allies as South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and even fellow NATO member Germany.

It is only natural to ask, then, what other countries and their leaders have to say in response.

The British Parliament famously debated whether to ban Donald Trump from the country after a petition was circulated and obtained nearly 600,000 signatures.

Ultimately it resolved not to make any public decisions about individual immigration or travel cases, but Prime Minister David Cameron criticized some of Trump’s statements.

Particularly, Cameron labeled Trump’s call for a ban on non-citizen Muslims entering the United States as “divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong.”

Officials from Canada, Israel, France, and the Netherlands have expressed similar sentiments.

See World on Trump, p. 16

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Donald Trump speaking at CPAC, hosted in Washington D.C. on Feb. 10, 2011.

Georgetown Hosts Crucial Sexual Violence Under Lesson in Leadership War and Peace Christina Johnson, The Anchor Georgetown’s Institute of Politics and Public Service hosted a discussion with three former heads of government: current GU Politics Fellow and former President of Costa Rica (2010-2014) Laura Chinchilla, former President of Slovenia (20072012) Danilo Türk, and former Prime Minister of Tunisia (20142015) Mehdi Jomaa on March 3.

Clem McCartney, who serves as the Shared Societies Project Policy and Content Coordinator at the Club of Madrid, an international network of democratically elected presidents and prime ministers moderated the event.

Each participant began by discussing lessons from leadership.

President Türk (Slovenia) explained the differences between the academic

world and politics. “In research and teaching, we work with analytics of the present, while in politics we have to create facts as they will be because we are the ones making the decisions.”

President Chinchilla (Costa Rica) pointed out the difficulties of the “less bad decision.” He emphasized that leaders must be cognizant of their principles and convictions when making difficult decisions. President Jomaa (Tunisia) focused on inclusion in politics. “Leaders need a clear vision detailed in strategy and action for their country and dedicated to inclusion...it is important to be open to everyone, but also important to be a leader and make a decision in the end.” Moreover, Jomaa encouraged young leaders to explore both political and corporate sectors to better understand problems.

See Leadership Event, from p. 1

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Nicole Carolin, The Anchor The United Nations Security Council adopted special measures to prevent and combat sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers on March 11. The measures address an internal report stating that 69 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse were made last year. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Haiti, and South Sudan accounted for the largest accusation numbers. While sexual violence has long been an abhorrent feature of war, the allegations against UN peacekeepers tasked with maintaining the peace and preventing atrocities are particularly disturbing.

In recent years the UN has taken more initiative to combat conflict-related sexual violence. In

2009, it established the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, which emphasizes how sexual violence undermines peacebuilding efforts. It counters the narrative that the crime is an inevitable byproduct of war; rather, it is a preventable and punishable crime under international law.

On February 23, the UN Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Bangura, delivered her address on “Human Security in the Face of Violent Extremism” to the Georgetown community. She explained that, “In the contemporary theater of conflict, women and girls find themselves under assault every day…whether at border crossing, checkpoints, during house searches, See UN Sexual Violence, from p. 1

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EAST ASIA & OCEANIA Jee Young Kim

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n light of Women’s History Month, the issue of female empowerment in East Asia deserves more attention.

Especially with regards to closing the economic and political gap, women still have a long way to go. According to research by Asian Development Bank, women in the region are 70 percent less likely than men to enter the labor market. This rate has unfortunately remained high despite economic growth, decreasing fertility rates, and increasing education in the countries.

In addition to this discouraging data, the 2014 Gender Gap Index, published by the World Economic Forum, reported great disparity within the region. The fact that East Asia is home to some of the lowest-ranked countries points toward the need to close the gap between men and women.

With that in mind, conditions have improved over the past decades. According to World Development Indicators, there have been steady increases in life expectancy and literacy rates throughout the region. The world has also seen decreases in fertility and mortality rates, indicating progress on education and health.

Countries can adopt multiple measures to improve current conditions.. To incentivize women to enter the labor force, policymakers and individual employers must provide equal pay and opportunities. They can also dedicate much effort into making the workplace more flexible and family-friendly. Besides aiming for more tangible approaches, international players must institute educational and social reforms to eradicate the cultural tradition of seeing women as less capable or less skilled than men. Only then will the whole world move toward greater prosperity as the gender gap closes to simultaneously promote more economic growth and civil equality.

South Korea Weighs Nuclear Development David Lim To South Korea, North Korea’s nuclear threat seems more credible than ever. Pyongyang’s claim of successful hydrogen bomb test in January, followed by a long-range rocket launch, and a recent shutdown of the jointly operated Kaesong Industrial Complex, came as a wakeup call not only for military experts and government officials but also for the South Korean public.

According to a recent poll by Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, the South Korean public rated its feeling of security about the North Korean issue on average 42.3 points out of 100. With 100 points representing the greatest feeling of security, a score of 42.3 point reveals the South Korean public’s heightened anxiety about the current inter-Korean relations and the prevailing fear of Pyongyang’s nuclear program.

With North Korea having performed its fourth nuclear test earlier this year, it seems unlikely that North Korea does not possess nuclear weapons. Experts on North Korea agree that the current military

tension in the Korean peninsula poses serious threats. Nuclear weapons give Pyongyang unmatched military superiority and greater diplomatic leverage in inter-Korean relations.

The North Korean economy’s heavy reliance on China decreases the effectiveness of both South Korea’s unilateral sanctions and the United Nations Security Council resolution to check the country’s aggressiveness.

As seemingly viable options have proven ineffective, conservative politicians in South Korea have begun considering developing their own nuclear program. Chung Mong-joon, a former presidential candidate in 2002, suggested an option of withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT) and developing a nuclear program.

The floor leader of South Korea’s ruling Saenuri Party, Won Yoo-cheol, also called for nuclear armament during his speech at the National Assembly on February 15. “We cannot borrow an umbrella from a neighbor every time it rains. We need to have a raincoat and wear it ourselves,” Won said.

Politicians do not represent the

Politburo Challenges Opposition Groups Austin Parenteau China televised the confessions of several booksellers who had recently disappeared from their stores in Hong Kong on February 29, according to the BBC. Collectively, they publicly admitted to selling thousands of unauthorized books to hundreds of customers, including several about Chinese President Xi Jinping. These broadcast confessions and declarations of remorse have caused concern amongst some about the direction of China’s political system.

In addition to the bookseller confessions, President Xi recently visited China’s main media broadcasters. As the New York Times reports, he declared, “all news…must work to speak for the party’s will and its propositions, and protect the Party’s authority and unity.” Beyond this, China’s upcoming Five Year Plan’s

most recent draft outline proposes to “build a more comprehensive national security system” as Xinhua reports.

Each of these actions, in tandem, augment what might otherwise seem like a one-off scenario.

Although Chinese officials such as Wang Yukai, a pro-government academic, dismiss such worries, the Communist Party has reason to seek to rally support. China’s economic slowdown has been a topic of discussion for some time, as have its various actions to shore up its military security in the South China Sea. Therefore, it is entirely plausible that President Xi feels pressure to rally support at home to head off potential civil unrest. Regardless of motive, clearly China’s actions in the weeks and months ahead will continue to have a profound impact on its region and the world at large.

only source of support for South Korea’s nuclear program. Cheong Seong Chang, a leading academic on North Korea and senior analyst at Sejong Institute, claimed that nonproliferation in North Korea has become “an unattainable goal” and that South Korea must change “the paradigm of national security” by developing a nuclear program. His argument represents a shift in South Korean academics’ thinking, which previously opposed nuclear armament.

The academics cite the potential economic savings of nuclear armament. Pointing out the high

economic cost of the nuclear umbrella provided by the United States, Dr. Cheong argues that nuclear armament will greatly reduce military spending on weapon imports. Experts also worry about North Korea maintaining the upper hand in bilateral negotiations if Pyongyang were to see Seoul as irrelevant and explicitly ignore the country geopolitically because of its heavy security dependence on the U.S. nuclear umbrella. While South Korea’s call for nuclear armament may sound unrealistic, the nuclear threat posed to its national security seems more real than ever.

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EDITOR’S NOTE:

South Korea prepares for its own provocations.

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Australia Refugee Policy Sparks Debate Regulators in Jackie Landry Australia’s alleged cruel treatment towards its growing number of refugees residing in governmentofficiated detention centers has recently come under scrutiny as the national media has highlighted poor living conditions for children in the camps. For example, the story of a baby recently sent back to Nauru’s detention center despite her need for medical attention has sparked an active dialogue to force the Australian government to rethink its refugee policies.

Australia’s current refugee and detention policies were initially responses to the mass dispersion from the Vietnam War. According to the Parliament of Australia’s website, an estimated 1.8 million people left Vietnam in 1975. However, only about 2,000 of those people landed in Australia. The Australians welcomed the refugees, but domestic concerns soon arose, such as increasing unemployment and refugees “jumping the immigration queue.” In the late 1970s, Australia built its first three immigration detention centers in Sydney, Perth, and Melbourne.

Sarah Mack When the media and academics discuss the possibility of Korean unification, potential economic, political, and social strife tends to dominate discussion. The two Koreas have been separate for over 70 years, and technically remain in a state of war after the 1953 armistice agreement that ended the Korean War. Since then, tensions have only escalated, especially in light of recent North Korean acts of aggression, including hydrogen bomb tests earlier this year, and more recently the sentencing of 21-year-old University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier to 15 years of hard labor.

However, amidst the political strife that surrounds the most isolated nation in the world and its competitive capitalistic neighbor in the South, Mr. Won Hyung Joon, a Juilliard-trained violinist from South Korea, poses a solution that is as simple as it has proven difficult to realize: he wants to organize an ensemble performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and the Korean folk

Mandatory detention was introduced in 1992 when the government passed the Migration Amendment Act of 1992. The law was originally geared to extend only to certain situations, but it soon covered all “unlawful” citizens.

Since their inception, Australia’s detention centers have become increasingly crowded with a continuous flow of immigrants

There are a total of 1,852 people in Australian immigration facilities. seeking asylum. As of 2012, immigrants who arrive by boat are processed on either Nauru or Manus Island. If they receive asylum, they can choose to live on those islands or be sent to Cambodia.

The government’s main goal is to cut down on people smuggling.

According to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s immigration detention statistics, there are a total of 1,852 people in Australian immigration detention facilities, 104 of whom are children. In Nauru, there

song “Arirang” by a joint orchestra of North and South Koreans.

Won drew inspiration from Maestro Daniel Barenboim’s successful establishment of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, where musicians of Israeli, Palestinian, and Arab descent set aside the political tensions between their respective countries of origin to create music together.

...one day accomplish his goal of uniting the two Koreas thorugh musical performance.

Due to Seoul and Pyongyang’s reluctance to cooperate, Won has continually run into barriers that have prevented him from recreating Barenboim’s project in Korea. In 2014, he tried to schedule a concert in Germany, a location chosen for its neutrality in North-South Korean relations and its symbolism as a nation that was also split by Cold War-era

are 543 asylum seekers, including 70 children.

However, living conditions in Nauru are rudimentary, and people are barely given proper necessities.

Sanitation and hygiene problems are rampant as the centers are infested with rats and other insects. Not only is there lack of care, but there also have been security breaches within the camps. A 2015 Final Report from Australia’s Parliament cites accusations of both sexual and physical abuse. Those most at risk in these poor conditions are children. Brian Owler, president of the Australian Medical Association, petitioned the government to release all children from offshore and onshore detention centers. The 2014 Human Rights Commission report shows that children suffer from large amounts of mental, physical, psychological, and development distress.

Though little attention has been given to this issue due to the Nauru government’s ban on journalists, powerful stories are emerging that shine some light on the matter. The Australian government must now think of a careful response to address this contentious problem.

differences in politics and ideology.

However, organizers had to cancel the concert when North Korean approval of the project could not be obtained.

South Korean officials indefinitely postponed yet another performance, scheduled for August 2015 at Panmunjom on the Demilitarized Zone between the countries, citing a lack of formal endorsement from Pyongyang.

Despite these obstacles, Won remains adamant that he will one day accomplish his goal of uniting the two Koreas through musical performance.

He concedes, however, that he can only do so after garnering support from the international community and political figures in Seoul and Pyongyang.

During his 2016 campaign to raise awareness of his project in the United States, Won performed and spoke at an event hosted by Georgetown Truth and Human Rights in North Korea, (THiNK) on February 23. More than 50 students attended the event, and participated in a question-and-answer session afterward.

China Grapple to Resolve Stock Market Crash

next trading day.

However, Xiao represents not the only reason for China’s stock market Xiao Gang, Chairman of mess. On the surface, margin trading, the China Securities Regulatory or borrowing money from a broker to Commission (CSRC), stepped down purchase stock, and its regulation led on February 20 in the wake of a series to high degrees of volatility. Indeed, of stock market crashes and failed many critics note that the CSRC did regulatory policies. The Communist not limit margin trading as much Party of China appointed Liu Shiyu, as it should have in the beginning, President of the Agricultural Bank and it later cracked down on it of China, as the country’s new chief excessively. But had the government stock regulator. not continuously injected confidence China’s A-share, shares of into the market, there would not have the Renminbi currency that are purchased and traded on the Shanghai been so much margin trading in the first place. and Shenzhen Trying to stock exchanges, Three crashes followed reverse the experienced one of in June 2015, August economy’s the most volatile deceleration 2015, and January periods in history in 2014, the during the second 2016, each time causing government began half of Xiao’s roughly a 30 percent to experiment term. Starting in with the idea of September 2014, loss. stimulating the the Shanghai real economy Stock Exchange through the stock market.

In theory, Composite Index, the SSE Composite a booming stock market will provide Index, rose from around 2,000 to 5,164 within 10 months. Three crashes both state-owned enterprises and private firms with sufficient funds followed in June 2015, August 2015, for production and investment. As and January 2016, each time causing a result, the government strongly roughly a 30 percent loss in the encouraged ordinary people to invest Composite Index. As for individual in the stock market. In April 2015, stocks, in the period between June and September 2015, more than 1,000 two months before the first market collapse, an article on People’s Daily stocks hit limit down every four days. still claimed that 4,000 was the To combat the volatilities, the beginning of the bull market. As a CSRC introduced the circuit breaker stock regulator, Xiao simply could system to the stock market in the not control the policy directions beginning of 2016. During the four of the central government. Other days that the system was in place factors, including the lack of talents -- the CSRC quickly suspended in the CSRC and the slow process of the system after its disastrous institutionalization, were also out of performance -- SSE plunged 11 Xiao’s control. percent.

Three days after Xiao left the Investors all over China blamed position, SSE Composite Index again the crises on Xiao’s incompetency. plummeted by more than 6.4 percent, Many demanded his resignation. reminiscent of the market crashes Disappointment and antipathy towards Xiao strengthened in January, during Xiao’s term.

Indeed, Xiao Gang might not be when the circuit breaker system competent enough. But ultimately, he failed completely. However, the stock is just another tragic scapegoat that market showed signs of improvement both officials and ordinary investors immediately following Xiao’s can spit upon. resignation; the Shanghai Composite Laixin Li

Index increased by 2.35 percent the

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EASTERN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA On Micronations, Liberty, and Trump Liberland, a micronation located on a small island in the middle of the Danube river between Croatia and Serbia, lies approximately 25 miles away from the Croatian city of Osijek. Two islands make up the new nation, the main Liberland and the smaller Liberty Island, with only one house within its three square miles of territory.

February 29 comes just once every four years, and so it was an appropriate day for a remarkable head of state to visit Georgetown. You may not have heard of President Vit Jedlikca, the current president of Liberland, Europe’s newest nation.

Thanks to its unique territorial situation, Liberland declared its independence on April 13, 2015. The breakup of Yugoslavia during the 1990s created a complicated border between Croatia and Serbia, with both sides claiming different islands all the way down the Danube. Liberland, however, finds itself in territory claimed by

neither side. The Serbian authorities maintain that their border extends to the middle of the Danube, while the Croatians officially state that their territory reaches up to the Western edge of Liberland, leaving the nation itself unclaimed. Despite Liberland’s lack of a claim, Croatian authorities prevent and detain any people trying to enter Liberland for illegally exiting its territory.

A libertarian politician, Jedlicka makes other nods to liberty in the symbolism of the fledgling nation: the yellow flag symbolizing freedom, its motto of “To Live and Let Live,” and the nation’s official beer “Liberty Ale.” According to the Liberland website, “[The] nation is based on the human desire for freedom. All liberty loving people around the world are potential members of it. You can trace its origins way back in history. Starting with the Exodus of ancient times, we saw this manifest itself again as the American revolution and recently as Liberland.”

Jedlicka has big plans for the still mostly wooded island in the middle

Source: Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Designed by Tamara Evdokimova

LIBERLAND OFFICIAL FACEBOOK

Michael Newton

Natural Gas Pipeline Built in Central Asia Alex Snyder

Liberland’s President delivered a lecture at Georgetown on February 29.

of the Danube. Liberland hosts an architectural competition that “invites architects to challenge the contemporary urban and architectural design status quo by responding to Liberland’s fundamental values.”

Zaha Hadid partner Patrik Schumacher leads the project, while Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture Professor Vedran Mimica takes the role of a fellow juror. The jury hopes that, “Liberland’s new architecture will be absolutely vital to its survival, success and advancement towards its envisioned future of maximum freedom and prosperity on the basis of an unleashed entrepreneurial creativity.”

It seems that the president’s love of liberty has resonated with many people around the world. Liberland currently has 75,000 citizens and maintains over 70 offices worldwide, including its newest consulate in Oregon, opened the day before the president’s visit to the Hilltop, and the Consulate in Greece, opened on March 6. His visit to the United States represented part of a greater world tour that will conclude in April. The president met with Libertarian presidential nominee and former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson, in addition to Representatives Justin Amash (RMI) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), and attended Conservative Political Action Conference events in both Washington and Baltimore.

The president is confident about the progress of Liberland in its attempt to join the international community.

Whilst many still define Liberland as a micronation, the president feels that the definition does not totally apply to his nation.

“It is very hard to [call a] country where you have 400,000 applicants and

registered people [who] are interested in citizenship...a micronation. People call even places like Lichtenstein a micronation, and Monaco a micronation. So I think on one hand, it is not an appropriate term… it is not a homegrown micronation,” he said.

The president is also pleased with the new political situation in Croatia. He stated that he saw the new Croatian government, elected in November 2015 and headed by the Croatian Democratic Union with the support of the strong libertarian group of independents, promising better relations between Liberland and Croatia. He added, however, that if the relationship does not improve, Liberland will look towards its other neighbor, Serbia.

“We are already building diplomatic bridges with Serbia. And we would like to build a physical bridge,” Jedlikca explained.

When asked about the divisive nature of politics in the United States and his ideal future relationship with the U.S., Jedlikca presented an unconventional view: “I actually think Donald Trump will be the future President. I think there is a great chance for us to install a good connection with him. He will say ‘Hey, let’s do it. Let’s make Liberland great.’

And I think that it’s one of the options of Liberland.”

Jedlicka, Liberland, and its supporters may seem like political outliers, but the very fact that they have a free unclaimed and untainted territory means that the project has real potential. Yet, the question remains: will Liberland fulfil its dream as a libertarian haven in Europe, or will its ideology get lost in the rough and tumble of European politics?

Turkmenistan,Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India finalized details of a massive 1,814 km natural gas pipeline known as TAPI in late February 2016. The project will cost $10 billion, with an additional $15 billion included to develop Turkmen gas fields, the Express Tribune reports.

According to the Economic Times of India, the new system will carry up to 90 million standard cubic meters of gas per day, with the fields capable of supplying the line for the next 30 years. Despite an anticipated 60 percent increase in domestic natural gas production by 2021, India’s total gas deficit is expected to rise from 300 million to 350 million standard cubic meters per day (MSCMD).

This deal can reliable indigenous source of revenue for Afghanistan.

While this field will primarily satisfy the growing demand in India and Pakistan, with each nation receiving nearly 52 MSCMD, Afghanistan will also receive 14 MSCMD. According to the New Yorker, Afghanistan will benefit with $400 million annually in transit fees, once TAPI opens. This deal can potentially offer a reliable indigenous source of revenue for Afghanistan, which suffered from a 20 percent budget shortfall leading into 2015 and receives over $1 billion in foreign aid from the United States alone, according to the Washington Post.

Considering that 773 km of the pipeline are located in Afghanistan, some critics have security concerns, as the Taliban stepped up its presence in the region since last year, Al Jazeera reports. In response, Pakistan’s Chief Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, has guaranteed the army would safeguard all of its major infrastructure projects.

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Kurds Retaliate Against Turkish Bombings A car bomb explosion in Ankara’s Guven Park district, home to a number of government ministries, claimed 37 lives on March 13, the Telegraph reports.

A similar attack also occurred in Ankara on February 17, killing 30 people. President Recep Erdogan’s government used this first act of terrorism as a justification to continue shelling Kurdish strongholds in Syria in blatant disregard of the ceasefire announced mid-February.

The blast on Sunday came amid a string of Turkish bombardments against Kurdish forces. According to Reuters, a Russian Defense Ministry Center in Syria, charged with monitoring the United Nations ceasefire, recorded as many as ten violations from March 12 to March 13 alone. The shelling by the Turkish government against the United Statesbacked Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) took place primarily in Syria’s Aleppo province.

These bombardments represent a further blow to the Kurdish independence movement, whose representatives did not receive

authorization to participate in the Syria peace talks held in Geneva, CTV reports.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Turkish forces of advancing across the border into northern Syria as part of a “creeping expansion.”

“They are digging in a few hundred meters from the border inside Syria,” he added.

Since the attack last month, authorities have established curfews in the cities across the southeastern region of Turkey where the minority Kurdish population predominantly resides. This comes as part of crackdown on Kurdish resistance; the Turkish government has deployed troops to the area as a reaction to violence caused by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Russia Today reports that the Turkish governor of Hakkari Province justified the curfews as a means “to ensure the physical and material safety of citizens amid increasing incidents of terrorism.” The first Turkish operations against the Kurdish forces started in July last year, ending a twoyear ceasefire.

According to BBC, the PKK

claimed responsibility for the attack on Sunday. As the capital’s third terror attack in six months (on March 13, February 17, and October 10), the most recent bombing will surely provoke the Turkish government to justify more draconian measures to suppress the Kurd minority.

On March 19, another suicide bomb exploded at İstiklal Avenue, a busy shopping area in Istanbul, killing at least five and injuring over thirty people. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu confirmed that several foreign nationals were among

the victims.

At the time of writing no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Turkish government suspects the Islamic State or the PKK of orchestrating the bombing.

Should the PKK claim credit for the March 19 attack, the Turkish government will likely escalate its offensive against the Kurds both in its southeastern provinces and Syria, further fracturing the unstable coalition held together by the U.S. against the Islamic State.

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A demonstration against the PKK in Istanbul in 2007.

Russia Pulls Out of Syria Amid Resumed Peace Talks in Geneva Jack Treval

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In a surprising move, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the withdrawal of the majority of the his forces from Syria on March 14. In a statement delivered from the Kremlin, Putin said that he considers “the mission set for the Defense Ministry and the armed forces on the whole [to

be] accomplished.”

Putin originally sent troops into Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad in September 2015.

According to the Moscow Times, Putin’s aimed to defend Assad and Syria against terrorism. However, many Western analysts note that the Russian forces had also been targeting Assad’s political enemies. They argued

Meeting on Russia’s Armed Forces involvement in Syria.

that Putin entered Syria explicitly to assist Assad, using his forces to tip the conflict in his favor.

Russia’s troop withdrawal comes amid peace talks in Geneva centered on resolving the five-year Syrian Civil war, which cost nearly a quarter million lives and led to the misplacement of over four million refugees. On March 14, the UN restarted peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition. A Russian withdrawal also comes during a partial ceasefire in Syria, established in cooperation with leaders of Great Britain, Germany, and France, the Moscow Times reports.

According to the BBC, Russia will continue limited airstrikes in Syria.

Putin stated that Russia will also maintain normal operations at the naval base in Tartus, claiming that it still needs to defend itself by “land, air, and sea” from the threat posed by Islamic terrorism. The base in Tartus, a Syrian port city on the Mediterranean, symbolizes the allegiance between the Putin and Assad regimes.

The removal of troops from Syria allows Russia to put more attention towards other military issues, such as Ukraine, where fighting has recently

increased in the Donbas region after a nearly two-year stalemate. Some fear the withdrawal represents a preparation for military escalation in Eastern Europe. According to Ukrinform, however, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak claims that “the escalation of hostilities in eastern Ukraine on the part of Russia is not linked to withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria.”

Russia may have withdrawn its troops in response to low oil prices and continued Western sanctions, implemented due to its involvement in Ukraine, which took a tremendous toll on the Russian economy.

American political analysts, such as Andrew J. Tabler of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, fear that “the Russians are no longer as available for the fight against ISIS, [putting] a longer timetable on this war and a greater burden on the United States and the West,” the New York Times reports. The withdrawal of troops may foreshadow future peace in Syria, yet the ceasefire remains tenuous.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Luis Joy

T

wo years ago, on March 18, 2014, the Russian Federation annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry took to the air to declare that one does not behave in the 21st century as one did in the 19th. In the aftermath of Russia’s reversal of the post-Cold War order, the U.S. slapped sanctions on Russia and a war broke out in Eastern Ukraine. While the East Ukraine war has received diplomatic attention, what of the Crimea? No state has recognized Crimea as Russian, but Moscow shows no signs of relenting.

Samantha Power, American Ambassador to the United Nations, recently went on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show and continued to press that Crimea was Russianoccupied Ukrainian territory.

The U.S. and Europe have issued sanctions against Russia over Crimea and have isolated Crimea from their markets. The UN General Assembly has rejected the legality of Russia’s annexation.

Human Rights Watch has noted serious human rights violations including disappearances of political opponents and the crackdown on independent media. These conditions make it imperative that the West continue to punish Russia for the illegality of the annexation.

However, despite the heated rhetoric of the past two years, it appears that the annexation of Crimea has not represented a radical transformation of the liberal international order.

Despite opposition over Russia’s involvement in Crimea and Ukraine, Russia and the West continue to have serious mutual interests in Iran, North Korea and Syria that should encourage cooperation, not competition.

Two years on, recognition should be prohibitive, and the West should still call out human rights violations in Crimea and the rest of Russia. Nonetheless, the lack of consensus around Crimea’s status should lead Russia and the West to reach a modus vivendi akin to Cold War détente such as to not impede meaningful cooperation elsewhere.

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LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN Sylvia Cesar

A

merican foreign policy often runs the risk of appearing symbolic and lacking substance.

Pictures of heads of state shaking hands and headlines that catch the public’s eye all too often aim only to advertise bilateral relations without expanding on their content. On March 20, the picture of Barack Obama shaking hands with Raul Castro at the Palace of the Revolution reached news feeds across the globe, matched with headlines like “historical” and “after 90 years.” Without a doubt, President Obama’s visit marked a milestone in U.S.-Cuba relations, just as the Cuban flag waving in the new Washington, D.C. embassy did 9 months ago.

The question that we must ask, though, remains: “So what?”

Fifteen months have passed since December 17, 2014 when Castro and Obama announced a rekindling of relations between both countries. Yet, progress to break down economic barriers has been sluggish, to say the least.

While tourism and remittances to Cuba have skyrocketed, the U.S. Treasury Department has fined American companies more than $5.2 million for violating the embargo, according to the Council of Foreign Relations.

Cubans still have an immensely hard time trying to immigrate to the U.S., especially since many Cubans took the December 2014 negotiations to mean that the U.S. government might repeal the law offering Cubans special immigrant status. Clearly, American immigration policy towards Latin Americans is a contentious issue, and the unsustainable migration accords with Cuba are not a priority on the agenda.

Although symbolism has a role in foreign policy, governments like the U.S. must ensure their foreign relations do not remain purely symbolic. Let us then absorb the news of Obama’s visit to Cuba with a critical, questioning lens, hopeful that the attractive pictures and headlines translate to concrete, progressive policy.

Brazilian Protests Spill Into Streets Colton Wade Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and other cities throughout Brazil on March 13 as longstanding ire over a highlevel government corruption scandal broke out anew. The protests have driven President Dilma Rousseff even closer to removal following calls for her impeachment. Protesters also called for the imprisonment of former President Lula da Silva, who faces investigation charges for corruption, and for the removal of his Worker’s Party (PT) from power.

According to the statistical analysis firm Datafolha, the protest which erupted on Avenida Paulista, the main boulevard in Brazil’s largest city of São Paulo, involved 500,000 participants, the largest showing the boulevard has ever seen. The number of participants this time is also double that of the previous largest demonstration against Ms. Rousseff when 210,000 people took to the avenue on March 11 of last year. Officials estimate that 1.4 million demonstrators participated throughout the city, joined by thousands in state capitals throughout

the country. Organizers of the protest in Rio de Janeiro claim that an additional 1.5 million demonstrated against the Ms. Rousseff there.

Their grievances largely stem from the Petrobras corruption scandal, which has tied countless government officials to a money-laundering scheme involving the country’s state-run oil company. While investigators have not yet linked Ms. Rousseff directly to the scandal, she faces criticism for alleged mismanagement of government funds and for using Petrobras money to fund her 2014 political campaign.

Public outcry strengthened when Ms. Rousseff appointed Mr. da Silva as her Chief of Staff on March 17, a move seen by many as an attempt to shield him from his own corruption charges. According to Brazilian law, the Supreme Federal Court can only try cabinet ministers and other highlevel government officials, which results in a cumbersome process with little success. Leaked phone calls between the two leaders suggest the appointment functioned as a means to stop the investigation, therefore amounting to an obstruction of justice.

In response, many thousands more took to the streets.

Venezuelan Court Extends State of Emergency Valeria Balza The Venezuelan Supreme Court approved a 60-day extension of the presidential decree of economic emergency on March 14. The court also declared the decree constitutional after the opposition-led Congress rejected the order. The regulation grants the executive branch the power to enact special measures to address the spiraling economic situation.

The president’s decree points to a “structural crisis of the economic model due to the abrupt fall in oil prices” and to the supposed “economic and financial boycott carried out against Venezuela.” Falling oil prices have contributed to inflation rates of 180 percent and sweeping shortages in two-thirds of food and medicine products, as Panorama reports.

In February, Maduro devalued the bolívar and raised gasoline prices, but according to Bloomberg Business, these

measures have failed to halt declining government revenues and soaring inflation. Members of the Venezuelan opposition have expressed that the “solution to the grave problems that affect the Venezuelan economy is not the granting of exorbitant powers to a government that already has an enormous concentration of powers, but a profound reformation of the economic policies that have been in place.”

Since parliamentary elections last December, tensions between the government’s judicial and executive branches on one side, and the new opposition-controlled legislature on the other, have escalated. The Supreme Court revoked the National Assembly’s power to act as a comptroller, inhibiting Congress from supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of the executive and judicial branches, as well as the military.

The scandal particularly damages da Silva’s reputation, who has openly stated that he plans to run for the presidency again in 2018. Da Silva represents Brazil’s most popular president, having led the movement against the military regime to establish democracy in Brazil. He left office in 2010 with the highest approval rating of any modern Brazilian president, after having revived the Brazilian economy with social programs which raised millions out of poverty.

A Folha also reports that congressional leaders have called new sessions to discuss the ongoing impeachment proceedings and an important vote that will decide the fate of Rousseff ’s case will take place in May. With opposition against Rousseff reaching a fever pitch and da Silva’s widespread adoration quickly evaporating, the future of the PT remains uncertain, except for the fact that it rests firmly in the hands of the people.

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EDITOR’S NOTE:

Protesters take the streets of São Paolo.

COFFEE IN LATIN AMERICA

Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world after oil and Latin America is the world’s leading coffee producer.

Kilograms of Coffee Beans Produced in Latin America per year

World Coffee Production

Designed by Tamara Evdokimova

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Mexican Students Protest Establishment Looking Abroad, Over 30,000 students at the University of Veracruz took to the streets on March 10 to protest against the budget and policies of state governor Javier Duarte.

Proceso reports that faculty joined the students and other protesters, with whom they braved heavy rains and packed public spaces in the state capital of Xalapa. The protesters demanded that the government of Veracruz honor the debt of over 2 billion pesos (over $110 million) owed to the university system and even called for Duarte to resign.

Protesters also demanded that the state government set aside five percent of its budget to fund universities, instead of the three percent proposed

by Governor Duarte.

The government has acknowledged the demands of the demonstrators and agreed to repay the university system, beginning with a payment of 40 million pesos: only a small portion of the total debt.

In response, university rector Sara Ladrón de Guevara has described the

government’s actions as insufficient and behind schedule. “The debt keeps growing. Why? Because in the year 2016 we have yet to receive a single peso from the state budget as set in the Laws of Expenditure.”

Unlike public universities in the

The protests in Veracruz may represent just one face of the antiestablishment political sentiment which divides Mexican politics.

United States, where tuition can cost thousands of dollars a semester, public counterparts in Mexico run virtually tuition free. Under the budget proposed by Governor Duarte, the University of Veracruz would have to charge its students tuition, which university administrators such as Ladrón view as unwelcome privatization of higher education.

Because public universities operate tuition free, Mexican states spend tens of thousands of pesos per student

and often amass significant debts.

Veracruz represents only one of many states to see such unrest. Dominio Radio reports that Nuevo León has seen similar protests, with students voicing their displeasure with the the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The PRI, currently in power under President Enrique Peña Nieto, ruled Mexico uninterrupted for most of the 20th century. Pew Research Center polling indicates that Peña Nieto’s government has faced sliding approval ratings due to perceived corruption and its handling of education and law enforcement.

The protests in Veracruz may represent just one face of the antiestablishment political sentiment which divides Mexico and its political system. In 2015, voters in the state of Nuevo León elected Jaime Rodriguez Calderón, a PRI dissenter and the first person to win a Mexican state gubernatorial election as a political independent. The demonstrations against Governor Duarte, whose term ends this year, suggest that a similarly seismic shift may be underway in Veracruz.

Happening Around Campus: Georgetown Launches Latin America Initiative Bryce Couch Georgetown University launched the Latin America Initiative on March 16 in an attempt to strengthen the university’s dialogue about and engagement with the region. Through the initiative, Georgetown hopes to build upon already established connections while fostering new ones for the future.

The celebratory launch event featured a discussion regarding the future of Latin America and the challenges and opportunities for the United States in the region going forward. The discussion featured renowned panelists including Ricardo Ernst, a professor at the McDonough School of Business, Samuel Lewis, former Vice President of Panama, and Thomas Shannon, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs and former U.S. ambassador to Brazil.

Their discussion highlighted three particular topics: governance and the rule of law, economic growth and innovation, and social and cultural inclusion. Contextualizing the conversation, Ernst highlighted the apparent contradictions of the

Latin America paradox: persistent development underscored by pressing problems. Specifically, despite steps forward in relation to the three established themes, Latin America continues to face issues including violence, corruption, and a lack of transparency in governance.

Far from harping on existing problems, the discussion embraced the possibilities for the future. Due to the rapidly changing political and social environment, Latin America finds itself at a pivotal juncture in history.

To this end, the discussion heavily emphasized the need for the United States to harness democratic trends in order to solidify the recent developments in the region. Doing so requires looking beyond the traditional paradigm of security, wrought with the dangers of narcotics and illegal immigration. The panelists suggested redefining the U.S. relationship with Latin America in order to shed the typical points of contention and create a path to the future.

Lewis’s closing remarks epitomized

the essence of this initiative and its significance to the Georgetown community as a whole. When asked his advice for future leaders hoping to play a role in this development, he challenged the Georgetown community to function as agents of change. He reminded the audience that privilege gives each and every member of the Georgetown community the responsibility to aid. By harnessing the opportunities provided at Georgetown, including the available education, the networking connections, and the skillbuilding possibilities, every person can have an impact. Most importantly, Lewis presented the initiative as a tool for Georgetown students to make a difference in the world.

The Latin America Initiative symbolizes another step in the most profound experiment of the century— democratization. By channeling the landscape of the developing world and broader global trends, Georgetown hopes to strengthen connections and contribute to forward thinking dialogue with powerful impacts on the global stage.

Nicaragua Explores TPP Membership Anastasia Chacón

Per the initiative of President Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua expressed its interest in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on March 1 in a public announcement by the country’s first lady, Rosario Murillo, as reported

by La Prensa. 12 countries, which together represent 40% of global production, negotiated the TPP in 2015. The Nicaraguan government also announced that it would initiate dialogue between different domestic sectors to start analyzing the potential benefits of the TPP to Nicaragua.

The government, which stated its goal of a 5% growth rate for the next five years earlier in the month, has made its stance on the TPP quite clear. According to the government’s official blog El 19 Digital, the Minister for Promotion, Industry and Trade (MIFIC) stated that joining a trade agreement as influential as the TPP would generate greater employment and give an opportunity for national products to enter new international markets. In addition, he reiterated the important role that foreign direct investment plays in developing countries and the necessity to open his country to foreign capital.

On his part, the President of the Central Bank Ovidio Reyes emphasized consumer benefits due to lower tariffs and prices. Further still, he highlighted the TPP’s stipulations

on labor rights, intellectual property, and environmental standards, which he opined were beneficial to the Nicaraguan economy. Moreover, Nicaragua’s private sector has declared its support for the president’s initiative via the Superior Council of the Private Enterprise (COSEP).

Although Nicaragua’s largest labor union, the National Front for Labor (FNT), has yet to confirm its official position, it has agreed to participate in the dialogue. The FNT’s SecretaryGeneral stated, nonetheless, that they support any policy that will bring more employment, more education, and an overall better standard of living for Nicaraguan workers.

However, there are concerns that not all economic sectors stand to benefit if Nicaragua joins the TPP. Notably, the textile industry would face competition from countries with lower production costs. The risk of trade diversion could be reduced if all countries faced similar tariff schedules and export conditions.

Even if Nicaragua ultimately decides to join the TPP, which still awaits ratification, the original member countries have towould have to approve Nicaragua’s admission.

While the ambitious trade agreement has stirred up a fierce debate all across the globe, and hopeful developing countries like Nicaragua look to it as a potential source of progress, the future of the TPP remains uncertain.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Bret Reinking

President Ortega and First Lady Murillo announced Nicaragua’s Intentions.

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MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA Dam May Leave Mosul, History Underwater The Embassy of the United States in Iraq released a fact sheet on February 28 indicating that the Mosul Dam, located in the north of the country, has an “unprecedented risk of catastrophic failure with little warning.” The statement renewed concern about the structural flaws of the dam, which looked steady until the self-styled Islamic State (IS) captured the city of Mosul in June 2014. According to The Economist, the city could suffer half a million deaths from flash flooding within hours if the dam fails.

The dam was built in 1984 on unstable and water-soluble types of bedrock. To offset the subsequent damage, about 600 Iraqi workers have tirelessly filled the holes with a cement-based grout. “We inject cement continuously. We work in three shifts: morning, evening and night,” reported dam technician Azim Ibrahim to Al-Monitor.

After seizing the city of Mosul, IS fighters took over the dam and halted

regular maintenance. The government recaptured the dam three weeks later, but about half of the Iraqi workers refused to return to the site, and maintenance remained a practice of the past.

On March 2, an Italian company called the Trevi Group signed a contract to make emergency repairs to the dam. The engineers, however, need at least two months to assess the damage and could take up to six months before they import necessary equipment and begin work. The Trevi contract has failed to promise a permanent solution.

In addition to the humanitarian concerns, the potential collapse of the dam carries severe cultural and historical implications. The Assyrian capitals of Nimrud, Nineveh, and Khorsabad date back to the first millennium B.C.E. and lie in the projected path of destruction.

“Thousands of archaeological sites and heritage sites would essentially be wiped away,” said Michael Danti, professor of archaeology at Boston

Moez Hayat

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Preetham Chippada

Hezbollah Declared Terrorist Group

An overhead view of the Mosul Dam and its spillways.

University, when he spoke to National Geographic. These Assyrian capitals remain uninvestigated and contain a wealth of historical information that could shape the future identities of Iraqis.

Despite the magnitude of the risk, the people of Mosul remain more concerned with IS than with the status of the dam. A resident named Saba reported to Al-Monitor that “It’s not true, the dam will not explode,” and that “IS (Islamic State) is more dangerous than the dam. IS kills and cuts hands.”

These two issues, however, are hardly separate. The risk of the dam collapsing has hindered Iraq’s plans to retake Mosul from IS. Iraqi forces fear that IS fighters could strike the dam if they lose control of the city.

Mosul represents a cultural hub where a broad range of groups live in peace, including the Kurds, Sunni and Shiite Muslims, the Turkmen, Assyrians, Christians, and Jews. Liberation of Mosul would help prevent conflict between these various groups.

Saudis Target Houthis, Al-Qaeda in Yemen Andrew Schneider Saudi-led forces conducted a series of airstrikes in Yemen aimed against both Al-Qaeda and Houthi rebel forces on March 13. The first wave of airstrikes took place in the southern port city of Aden, killing 17 AlQaeda fighters and wounding at least 20 others, according to Al-Jazeera.

The strikes specifically targeted the Al-Mansoura district in Aden, which has often been used as a base for AlQaeda fighters.

Another round of air raids took place in the northwestern province of Haja, killing 41 and wounding 75.

The Times of Oman noted that strikes hit an outdoor market, and that civilians made up the majority of the casualties. The Saudi-led coalition has reportedly begun an investigation into Tuesday’s strikes in response to the reports of mass civilian casualties.

The coalition of states responsible

for these strikes, led by the Saudi’s, aims to fight Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Houthis, a Shi’ite group with strongholds in north-west Yemen, control large portions of the country, including the Yemeni capital of Sana’a.

The coalition of states responsible for these strikes aims to Yemen.

The Saudis and its coalition began the war against the Houthis last year in order to protect and now restore the Yemeni government to power in the country. The military effort began amidst reports that the Saudi’s regional rival, Iran, had begun funding and supporting the Houthi rebels.

At a meeting of the Arab League chaired by Egypt, the League voted unanimously on March 11 to declare the Shi’ite Lebanese militia and political party Hezbollah a terrorist group. Only Lebanon and Iraq have refused to adopt these declarations.

Lebanese foreign minister Gebran Bassil explained later on social media thatd Hezbollah’s political role in Lebanon motivated the decision.

This marks a turning point in relations amongst actors in the Middle East.

The vote came on the heels of an Arab foreign minister conference to discuss the state of the Middle East, and a recent Gulf Cooperation Council meeting, which also declared Hezbollah to be a terrorist organization.

This marks a turning point in relations amongst actors in the Middle East. Middle Eastern nations have never considered the revolutionary political and paramilitary movement a terrorist group until now, motivated partly because of The League’s staunchly anti-Israel policies. These have included military harassment of Israel and Israelis soldiers in the early 2000’s that, as Al-Monitor points out, helped lead to Israel’s withdrawal of troops from Lebanon.

However, Hezbollah also heavily supports Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria. Iran, who provides much of Hezbollah’s training and funding, has also stood alongside al-Assad’s regime.

Iran’s ties to Hezbollah have severely damaged its image amongst Sunni countries in the region, especially with Saudi Arabia. In fact, the Saudis recently ended weapons contracts with Lebanon to punish their toleration of Hezbollah’s hold on power, and to hopefully exert influence against Hezbollah within Lebanon.

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Bahraini Human Rights Advocate Arrested Local police in Bahrain’s capital of Manama arrested prominent Bahraini human rights activist, Zainab alKhawaja with her 1-year-old son Abdulhadi, on the charges of ripping up several photographs of King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa on March 14. Zainab has been repeatedly arrested since major “Arab Spring” uprisings swept across Bahrain and the wider Middle East in 2011.

The Bahraini government appears to see human rights advocates as key players in protest.

Zainab’s use of social media and hunger strikes to advocate for the release of her jailed father rose her to prominence on Twitter, where she’s known as @AngryArabia.

She has heavily criticized Bahrain’s government and its arbitrary arrests, as well as the United States for “standing behind the dictator and giving him the green light to do whatever he

wants with the people of Bahrain,” as reported by CNN. Though officials report her prison sentence will last for two months, her lawyer commented that this period will likely extend farther, given plans to try her on older allegations dating back to 2012. She has refused to attend appeals hearings.

Zainab’s well-known father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, currently faces a lifelong sentence for inciting the 2011 uprisings through his social media activity, while her sister lives in exile in Denmark. Many Bahraini advocates of human rights, including many other members of Zainab’s politically active family, have been targeted by the Sunni government, in an attempt to crackdown on Shi’ite popular unrest.

The Bahraini government appears to see human rights advocates as key players in protest. “Those of us who know Zainab know that she is exactly the sort of person Bahrain needs if it is to get itself out of its current mess. She should be playing a full part in creating a new, modern, Bahrain, not silenced in jail,” argues Brian Dooley of Human Rights First.

2016, the five-year anniversary of the “Arab Spring” revolutions, has thus far demonstrated reinvigorated

Margaret Schaack

U WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Elizabeth Humphrey

Zainab al-Khawaja in her jailed father’s former home.

protest and government crackdown in Bahrain. As a member of the Gulf Coast Coalition (GCC), the Kingdom of Bahrain is close allies with Saudi Arabia, and Saudi and Emirati troops have played a key role in controlling the Bahrain’s Shi’ite protests since 2011.

Given their close relations, the shifting regional status of Saudi Arabia may further influence Bahrain’s internal changes. Most recently, Saudi Arabia’s execution of celebrated Iranian Shi’ite cleric Nimr al Nimr in January drove hundreds of Bahraini

Shi’a into the streets of Manama, and resulted in violent exchanges between police and civilians. More broadly, Saudi Arabia’s increasingly negative discourse regarding Iran and its role in feeding the Syrian and Yemeni conflicts appears to be inflaming sectarian tensions within neighboring Bahrain.

In this vein, Bahraini officials just confirmed the deportation of ten Lebanese families with alleged ties to Hezbollah, the Shi’ite terrorist organization supported by Iran.

Tug of War Between Tunisian Government, IS Guillaume Biganzoli

militants barricaded themselves in local homes.

According to the Ministry of Defense, nine gunmen were arrested while 49 were killed. Another dozen soldiers and police officers were killed, as well as seven civilians, including a 12-year-old girl. So far, no terrorist organization has claimed responsibility for the attack, but government officials asserted to the Middle East Eye that the

assailants had affiliations with the selfstyled Islamic State (IS).

Tunisia has hosted two terrorist attacks in less than a year.

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Around 50 gunmen raided Ben Guerdane, a small, poor Tunisian town located about 20 miles away from the border with Libya, on March 7, causing about 60 deaths. The assailants attempted to take control of the city’s military barracks, but military forces pushed them back. The bulk of the assault lasted two days after several

President Beji Caid Essebsi meets with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

The Middle East Eye reported that Tunisian President Béji Caid Essebsi described the attacks as “unprecedented” and vowed to “exterminate these rats.” Prime Minister Habib Essid declared that “the purpose of the attack was to disrupt the security situation in our country and establish a Daesh [Arabic for IS] emirate in Ben Guerdane.”

Essid admitted that “most attackers were Tunisians,” and a 71-year-old resident of Ben Guerdane stated that the militants “knew the people here very well.”

Tunisia has hosted two terrorist attacks in less than a year, where more than 60 people died. Last November, 12 members of the presidential guard died in a suicide attack meters away from the Ministry of Interior. Most recently, United States air strikes targeted an IS training camp in the

Libyan city of Sabratha, located 133 miles from Ben Guerdane, which may have prompted the militants to attack neighboring Tunisia.

In order to combat Tunisia’s terrorism problem, the government has adopted several policies with varying degrees of success. It has notably built a 125-mile fence which stretches along the Libyan border to stop militants from infiltrating to Tunisia. It has also decided to increase the defense budget and the size of the military, and has received increasing financial assistance from the U.S., the EU and NATO. However, it has yet to tackle the root of the problem: economic and social disparities. Indeed, almost 5,000 Tunisians have left to join IS and other jihadist groups as a result of increased unemployment and a sluggish economy. Nonetheless, governmental efforts to address and redress the economic exclusion of Tunisia’s “dark regions” seem to have come too late.

Since January, thousands of Tunisians from the internal regions have been demonstrating against the government and consider themselves to be “time bombs.”

nited States Secretary of State John Kerry, backed by the House of Representatives, declared on March 17 that the self-styled Islamic State (IS, also known as Daesh) has been committing genocide against Yazidis, Christians, and Shiite Muslims in both Syria and Iraq. The Islamic State’s “entire worldview is based on eliminating those who do not subscribe to its perverse ideology,” he said. “Daesh is genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology, and by actions — in what it says, what it believes, and what it does.”

Although Secretary Kerry’s statement seemed powerful, the State Department undermined his declaration soon after. It clarified that the identification does not result in any new legal obligations for further action by the U.S. government against the terrorist group. For this reason, some critics are questioning why such a declaration was even necessary. If new terminology does not precipitate a new approach or commitment to a solution, why waste time moving through the formalities?

This view neglects to recognize how important terminology can be in the fight against a horrific threat. With respect to the use of the term “genocide,” the United States is late to the game. UN human rights investigators accused the group of war crimes and genocide in May, and the International Association of Genocide Scholars has argued since last year that IS is committing genocide against a variety of other religious sects.

While the mere use of the word genocide does not guarantee action, it does provide a sense of justice and recognition to the victims of violent acts perpetrated

by IS. Instead of being classified as normal civilian casualties, the use of “genocide” ensures that the full magnitude of pain and loss suffered by minority communities in occupied territory will not be brushed away. A joint, global recognition of the systematic brutality employed by IS forces under a single, unified definition may be an early step on the long road to combat the Islamic State’s poisonous rhetoric and disgusting tactics.

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SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Jonathan Dörnhofer, Anirudha Vaddadi

A

s global leaders met last month for the Munich Security Conference (MSC), the threat from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) dominated the discussion. Opinions on countering ISIS have captivated western security talks for several years.

Simultaneously, however, an equally brutal group has been active for years with little attention from these same leaders. Boko Haram has terrorized Nigeria since 2002 and has recently expanded its operations to Cameroon, Niger, and Chad. And yet, the West has not launched airstrikes nor taken many other steps against it.

What would appear on the surface to be a recipe for an easy Boko Haram victory across Africa has turned out to be an indicator of the MSC consensus’ overblown sense of selfimportance. Ultimately, African states have been the ones to take the initiative to eradicate Boko Haram. In 2012, five African states formed the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to execute counterterrorism operations.

Even without Russian and Turkish airstrikes and American and French warships, the MNJTF has yielded remarkable results against a group once thought to be superior to any African military.

Boko Haram has seen its supply routes cut and has had to work with improvised explosive devices and makeshift weapons. Although ongoing suicide bombings reflect the organization’s resilience, they also underscore its reduced capacity.

Although Boko Haram has gone almost unnoticed by an international community glued to Syria, a local response to a local problem in West Africa has yielded remarkable results. While the fight against Boko Haram is far from over, and more attention from Western superpowers is still necessary, the MNJTF has underscored the fallacy in assuming that Russian MiGs and American Marines are the only solutions to security dilemmas.

Kenyan Government Invests in Nairobi Tech Sector Andrew Frank Kenya’s Information, Communications and Technology Ministry announced on March 17 that it would revise the sector’s policy guidelines, due by June 2016, in an attempt to introduce new technology and expand public investment in the booming tech sector based in Nairobi, the country’s capital.

Since 2010, the Kenyan economy has consistently grown at four to six% per year, bolstered by high population growth, urbanization and a burgeoning tech market. Under the leadership of former President Mwai Kibaki from 2002 to 2013, Kenya began heavily investing in communications and technology projects, such as The East African Marine System (TEAMS) and the Notational Optic Fiber Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI). TEAMS, completed in 2009, links Kenya’s port city of Mombasa with the United Arab Emirates through a fibre-optic undersea cable, while NOFBI has greatly enhanced the country’s data integration and transmission network with final work on the project to be

completed later in 2016.

By way of its many technology infrastructure projects, Kenya has undergone a tech boom. According to a Bloomberg report, Kenya’s tech sector accounted for approximately 8.4% of GDP in 2014 and could possibly be worth as much as 1 billion USD in the next three years.

Nairobi, often called Silicon Savannah, is currently home to over 300 startups, many of which focus on microfinance, developing mobile payment systems, and increasing online market access.

One of the most renowned startups, M-Pesa, was pioneered in 2007 by Kenya’s largest local telecom firm, Safaricom, which noticed that its customers were using mobile airtime as a proxy for payments. A formal framework was developed allowing subscribers to securely deposit money into mobile accounts and send the money to relatives or customers of their own. In 2012, over 37.2 billion USD (one third of Kenya’s GDP) was transacted through the mobile money-transfer service.

M-Farm, another Nairobi startup, provides farmers with real-time

Nigerian Senate Rejects Gender Equality Bill Jessica Hickle The Nigerian Senate overwhelmingly rejected a bill seeking gender equality on March 15 when Senate President Bukola Saraki put it to a vote. The bill focused on equality in marriage, education, and employment.

If ratified, the law would have declared that women “shall not be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment” and would have given women “the right to an equitable share in the inheritance of the property of her husband.” The bill overtly incorporated several aspects of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. It would have also set 18 years as the minimum age for marriage.

Senate Minority Whip Biodun Olujimi, who introduced the bill,

argued that the legislation has become necessary due to “increasing discrimination against women in education and employment.” The bill was also to eliminate discrimination against any person, regardless of gender, in any manner.

Opponents of the bill have urged Nigerians to adhere to traditional religious marriages and argued that the bill contradicted the Constitution of 1999. This is the third time the Senate has rejected a gender equality bill on religious and constitutional grounds.

Since the rejection of the bill, Saraki has advised Olujimi to reintroduce it. A report from Saraki’s office stated that the bill is “crucial to the development of [the] nation,” according to The Nigerian Eye. The Senate has encouraged Olujimi to eliminate religiously controversial aspects of the bill.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS | MKIMEMIA

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Nairobi and its tech industry are enjoying booming growth.

market prices and the opportunity to sell their goods online, where customers can browse for products like tamarinds, cabbages, and watermelons.

As Nairobi vies to be the tech hub of the African continent, competing against a more populated Lagos in Nigeria and wealthier Cape Town of South Africa in particular, its fundamentals remain strong. A 2012 study from The Economist Intelligence Unit projects Nairobi to be in the top 40 growing cities in the world by the

end of 2016, due to skilled workforce and low cost of living. Internet penetration continues to accelerate, as 43% of the Kenyan population has access to the Internet and 82% owns a cellphone as of 2014, according to the World Bank.

With the Kenyan government’s continued financial and moral support for the tech industry, including the opening of 30% of public contracts to young entrepreneurs by executive decree, Nairobi’s looks to be a tech hub for years to come.

UPCOMING EVENTS AT GEORGETOWN: Book Launch with Dr. Mohammed Keshavjee March 30, 12:30 PM (ICC 462)

This event is to launch “Into that Heaven of Freedom” which is about the story of Dr. Keshavjee’s family in South Africa from 1894 to today.

African Studies Graduate Wine and Cheese March 31, 5:00 PM (ICC 462)

Event for all graduate students interested in Africa, wine, or cheese.

Rethinking Religion in World Affairs April 8, 10:00 AM (Copley Formal)

Several speakers discuss the role religion plays in world politics, a topic especially relevant to Africa where religious elements continue to hold sway over elected leaders.

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Next Einstein Forum Held in Dakar Women’s Day World leaders, scientists and entrepreneurs gathered in Senegal in the beginning of March for the inaugural Next Einstein Forum (NEF). The event, which took place from March 8 to 10, is the first global scientific convention of its kind to be held in Africa. The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), founded by Neil Turok, collaborated with the Robert Bosch Foundation to put together this historic meeting.

In his opening remarks, Turok said, “When new cultures enter science, especially disadvantaged cultures, transformation can happen. I believe that the entrance of young Africans into science will transform science for the better.”

The NEF showcased the work of 15 innovators on the continent who are leading the way in tackling Africa’s most pressing development challenges.

One NEF Fellow, Evelyn Gitau, a native of Kenya, has developed rapid disease-testing technology to quickly diagnose a multitude of symptoms for those living in isolated, rural communities.

Another Fellow, Axel Ngonga of

Jonathan Dörnhofer After 37 years in power, Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has announced his intention to step down from power on March 11. Now 73 years old, dos Santos has ruled Africa’s third largest economy for all but four years since it achieved independence from Portugal in 1975.

Dos Santos made the announcement in anticipation of parliamentary elections slated for 2017, scheduling his own resignation for the following year. This has triggered global speculation about whom dos Santos will pick as his successor to lead a government often criticized for its undemocratic values.

Educated in the Soviet Union in the late 1960s, dos Santos returned to Angola in time to fight in the final years of its bloody war for independence from Portugal. With support from the Soviet Union and Cuba, Angola defeated Portugal in 1974 upon which dos Santos and the rest of the politburo of the revolutionary army established a socialist state, one of the first in Africa.

Cameroon, has focused his research on semantic web technologies to harness the power of big data to make information readily accessible across the continent.

The NEF also held a pitch competition to showcase the ideas of some of the most ambitious entrepreneurs on the continent. Moses Bangura presented a civilian drone system he has developed to transport medical supplies and clinical samples to isolated rural communities in his home country of Sierra Leone. He hopes to expand the project across Africa, enabling health officials to bypass dilapidated roads to deliver aid quickly to where it is needed the most.

In addition to displaying the continent’s top talent in STEM fields, NEF organizers hope that by bringing scientists, private firms and governments together, they can create a space for better collaboration and coordination.

The forum also reflects the growing need for African countries to invest more in higher education. Many of the fellows obtained their degrees in other parts of the world where there were more opportunities and resources.

Recently, private universities on the

continent have grown significantly, but government investment in education is on average less than 1% of GDP, contrasted with 1-3.5% in European countries.

A major long-term goal of the event is to curb the continent’s brain drain by incentivizing Africa’s top minds to make an impact at home, both during their education and as members of the workforce afterwards.

AIMS has created six centers across Africa to foster innovation by drawing upon local talent and encouraging investment.

Under-allocation of resources by governments to STEM has been a major driver of emigration to research centers outside of the continent, and this is one problem AIMS and other groups are attempting to fix.

The NEF highlighted some of Africa’s best, most innovative achievements and offered a glimpse of what may lie ahead if states and companies divert more efforts towards education in STEM fields. The ultimate hope of the NEF, as its name suggests, is that the next Einstein may be African.

After the death of Angola’s first president in 1979, dos Santos acceded to the presidency and has not relinquished it since. During his tenure he has been widely credited with modernizing Angola’s oil industry, a critical driver of the country’s economy, and with engineering its entrance into the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2007.

However, his first two decades in office also saw him preside over one of the bloodiest civil wars in African history as his communist forces took on a right wing revolt backed by Apartheid South Africa.

During the global collapse of communism in the early 1990s, dos Santos repudiated the socialist label for Angola, though he managed to seamlessly retain power without altering many policies throughout this transition from a nominally Marxist command economy to a nominally capitalist market economy.

Dos Santos’ announcement has raised questions about who will succeed him in Angola’s highest office, with most observers considering it unlikely that a successor will

be chosen through free elections.

Vice president Manuel Vicente and dos Santos’ son Jose Filomeno are considered likely contenders for the post. Neither is expected to usher in significant political change in the country that has come under fire for imprisoning dissidents and suppressing human rights.

These abuses gained global attention late last year when musician Nicki Minaj gave a private performance in Angola for dos Santos’ family, inciting widespread criticism of her role in implicitly supporting the regime.

Dos Santos and his family have also come under fire for siphoning state funds into their own pockets, amassing billions in personal wealth over that time.

This is not the first time that dos Santos has promised to step down.

He did so already in 2001, promising to retire after the next elections.

When these were postponed to 2008, however, he made no more mention of his earlier promises.

Angola’s parliamentary elections are provisionally scheduled for late summer 2017.

Celebrates Progress in Africa FLICKR | GOVERNMENT OF RWANDA

Anirudha Vaddadi

Rwanda’s Parliament leads the world with 64% female membership.

Helen Alemayehu The global community recognized and celebrated the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women on March 8. International Women’s Day, an annual initiative by the United Nations, is intended to be a global campaign. However, in some regions the celebration of gender parity achievements is not present in the mainstream.

Patrimonial societies have characterized the African continent for centuries. All across Africa, constitutions often fail to provide women with the same rights as men, and cultural practices can include female genital mutilation, forced marriages, and child brides.

Despite the lack of coverage, Africa has much to celebrate when it comes to the progress of gender parity. The continent has a long history of courageous women leaders and women-led movements.

In recognition of the significant role women play in the continent’s development, the African Union (AU), whose commission includes an equal amount of men and women, designated 2015 as the year of the women’s empowerment. The role of women in state government and within the AU goes to show that it’s not just talk; the move towards gender parity in Africa is real.

One of Africa’s greatest advancements in gender parity is the continent’s growing number of women holding government positions. Africa’s nations have seen a steady increase in women’s political participation since the mid-1990s, and today the continent boasts some of the

world’s highest rates of representation.

In terms of membership, Rwanda, where women hold 64% of legislative seats, is ranked first in the world.

African women have also played an important role in bringing an end to a number of the continent’s conflicts and have contributed to post-conflict reconstruction. Liberia’s 14 year civil war was ultimately brought to an end by a non-violent women’s campaign for peace in 2003.

The study of these trends is relatively new, but research by the United Nations has found that the inclusion of women’s voices in policy making and peacekeeping operations yields better overall outcomes.

Other development sectors such as public health and education have also seen improvements as a result of women-led movements. Female doctors and nurses were at the forefront in the fight against Ebola.

In the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia has adopted a women-centered health system composed of health extension workers and trained local women.

Since its implementation in 2003, this system has expanded the provision of healthcare to rural communities.

In South Africa the #FeesMustFall student protest movement was led and organized women.

All this is not to say that women in Africa are not facing real challenges.

Even the success stories of the continent may have underlying flaws and, like women around the world, African women are subjected to a reality marred with inequalities. Still, it is essential to recognize the progress that has been made as the continent continues to make strides towards gender parity.

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GU Impacts: Making a Change in India Phalguni Vetrichelvsn GU Impacts is in the midst of deepening what Program Manager Matthew Fortier calls a “hallmark partnership” with the Mann Deshi Foundation in India. The GU Impacts program, an organic Georgetown initiative housed in the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, creates immersion opportunities for students who wish to explore realworld issues. Every summer, fellows admitted to the program gain valuable experience through a summer project where they cultivate diverse skills that can be utilized to create social change.

The program chose to collaborate with the Mann Deshi Foundation, a nonprofit in India, as the vision of the Foundation lined up very closely with that of the Beeck Center.

The primary objective of the Mann Deshi Foundation, whose founder Chetna Sinha is considered a local hero, is to empower rural women and fight injustices based on gender, caste, and class. Mann Deshi Mahila Bank,

one of the organization’s key initiatives, provides women with loans, savings plans, pension, and insurance. Since its creation in 1997, Mann Deshi has supported over 325,000 women and girls.

India today remains a conservative society where women struggle to gain the proper business skills to succeed as entrepreneurs.

Last year, GU Impacts fellows helped to write a successful funding proposal to Mastercard and developed promotional videos showcasing the work that Mann Deshi has done for women in the local community.

Currently, the three available positions with Mann Deshi include two business planning and program fundraising entrepreneur initiatives and one

videostudio position.

In order to understand and measure its impact, the program asks both students and organizations about their experience and uses those reviews to determine if the program should be continued the following year. The program’s commitment to student and organization feedback is evident; three previous programs have since been discontinued due to their lack of impact. According to Mr. Fortier, the program is valuable for fellows as they operate in an entirely different environment. In the middle of rural India during the hottest time of the year, they immerse themselves in a life very different from their own.

Equipped with translators, fellows interact directly with the women they are trying to help--something that forever changes their outlook.

Students also acquire basic financial literacy and learn to procure funding and incorporate social media into their work. The need for the GU Impacts program in India is clear, as Mr. Fortier states. India today remains a conservative society where women struggle to gain the proper business skills to succeed as entrepreneurs.

Furthermore, this serves as a model which could be applied elsewhere in countries facing similar issues.

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Chetna Gala Sinha, Founder of Mann Deshi Foundation giving a talk.

Since Mann Deshi is a key component of the GU Impacts program, Mr. Fortier explains that in the future, “The program will aim to go deeper, rather than expand.”

The program hopes to do more with students and Mann Deshi in order to strengthen the relationship before it expands to other organizations and locations. The GU Impacts vision is not to create big change, but to start small

Cambodia Curtails Women’s Labour Rights Jessica Li Cambodia’s parliament is set to vote on new trade union laws on April 4. The build-up to next month’s vote has put Cambodian workers’ rights conditions in the media’s spotlight following the release one year ago of a Human Rights Watch report detailing the government’s failure to protect women workers’ rights.

Women comprise nearly eighty percent of the garment industry in Cambodia and continue to encounter problems which remain poorly addressed by the government. Many women work 70 hours a week and face other mistreatment such as forced overtime, pregnancy-based discrimination, and anti-union practices. Union action which could protect the women from these abusive practices is restricted, as factory managers will often try and dismiss or intimidate new union leaders.

Srey Mao, a union member

garment worker who has been fired twice, stated, “If they see any girl talk to me, they will fire her.”

Female garment workers also face one of the worst crimes in the workplace—sexual harrassment.

Garment worker Louk Saven described, “They will fire older women and recruit young girls because they

Many women work 70 hours a week and face other mistreatment... want pretty girls to work in their factory.” Many older workers will even lie about their age to get jobs.

The worst of the labour violations occur in smaller subcontractor factories which do not directly export goods and are consequently not monitored by the government.

It is predicted that the Cambodia People’s Party will pass the new

and make that change as impactful as possible. While GU Impacts Program’s Indian presence is currently limited to only Mann Deshi and could definitely expand to include more non-profits which need greater support, it is clear that through the Beeck Center and Mann Deshi, Georgetown students are making a real difference.

Trade Union Law next month despite an investigation conducted

by Human Rights Watch which revealed the law’s potential failure to conform to international labor laws and human rights standards.

The law prevents unions from acting contrary to public order, or from causing trouble with the sole objective of serving a political tendency.

Ultimately, capitalism is the primary motivation behind passing the controversial new Trade Union Law. Cambodia’s garment industry is a multibillion dollar industry and the government must keep wages low and production high in order to maintain competitiveness. Big brands like H&M, Adidas, and Gap receive their product from Cambodian factories, but Cambodia faces stiff competition from other countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Thailand. CPP’s Spokesman Cheang Vun demonstrated the capitalistic interests of the government and described, “if we changed [the law] to meet demands by workers and unions, it will cause problems with investors and they will withdraw their capital.”

M A R. 30, 2016 | 13

Policy Spotlight: Kerala’s Healthcare Provision Arista Jhanjee A state that has long been praised for its achievement of highly favorable social indicators alongside relatively low levels of economic prosperity, Kerala continues to outperform other states within India in terms of social well-being. In 2011, it achieved the highest Human Development Index within the country. Today, its infant and maternal mortality rates stand at an impressive 12 per 1000 live births (relative to 40 at the national level) and 66 per 100,000 live births (relative to 178 at the national level) respectively. Such success has been fueled by a centuries-old history of state involvement in and commitment to healthcare provision.

After the unification of Kerala in 1956, the state government dedicated itself to the creation of an integrated, multi-tier health system that prioritized the provision of highquality healthcare services at low cost.

With the share of healthcare spending in government expenditure averaging an annual growth rate of 13.4%, the period from 1956 to the early 1980s saw a significant expansion of government healthcare services and facilities.

Various health indicators—including infant mortality, life expectancy, and birth and death rates—improved consistently and remained low relative to country-level statistics and those of other states.

The 1980s and 1990s saw significant changes in the nature and source of healthcare provision. A rise in state government deficits led to a decline in government spending on health facilities and vital medical supplies, though total health expenditure remained steady. As the quality of public health services declined, people turned to the private sector, raising concerns about affordability.

In an effort to revitalize and regain trust in the public healthcare system, the state government wisely opted for decentralization. Under the 1996 People’s Campaign for Decentralized Planning, the state government transferred a significant portion of fiscal, administrative, and managerial authority for primary healthcare centers and subcenters to villagelevel institutions. Village panchayats, or governance institutions, were granted access to 35 to 40% of funds allocated to the state government’s five-year plan system. They were also

given responsibility for conducting community-level needs assessments and developing and implementing solutions in a participatory and inclusive manner.

revitalize and regain trust in the public healthcare system, the state government wisely opted for decentralization.

However, public healthcare institutions continue to face challenges related to medical staff shortages, lack of facilities and equipment, and a high rate of hospital infections resulting from the prevalence of poor wastemanagement conditions and pollution.

In 2012, the private sector provided 80% of healthcare services and employed 85% of healthcare personnel within the state but private institutions too have their own problems. Not only are private healthcare institutions often guilty of admission denials, but

their profit-driven motivations also tend to lead them to overcharge for and over-provide services, as well as administer expired medicines.

In light of these challenges, state governments would do well to dedicate further resources and planning to the revitalization of public healthcare institutions and services. Greater efforts to work with village-level panchayats could be undertaken to ensure that resource allocation addresses general facility and institutional quality concerns alongside specific community healthcare priorities. For example, state health officials could work with village leaders to determine ways to establish innovative incentive structures that would allow for the retention of health personnel in public facilities.

Kerala’s policy of decentralization, while commendable in its efforts to empower local communities and its improvement of health outcomes, should not preclude cooperative policy-formulation.

Nonetheless, its healthcare system serves as an illuminating example to other states, the country and even the wider region.

Philippines: An Unhealthy Obsession with Beauty Theresa Romualdez

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Last December, Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach’s response to a question about American military presence in the Philippines incited controversy as some construed her comments as favoring the reestablishment of military bases in the country. A resurgent focus upon the American military presence issue by domestic policy advisors, senators and chief justices followed soon thereafter. Politicization of beauty

pageants in the Philippines, however, is not a recent phenomenon. In the 1950s, Imelda Marcos became the first beauty pageant runner-up turned First Lady to confront policy advisors, court justices and senators. Indeed, the fact that even prominent beauty queens in the Philippines have a voice in the country’s political sphere show that beauty can be power.

In the Philippines, beauty pageants have become an obsession. Beginning in 1969 with the country’s first Miss Universe, Gloria Diaz, the Filipino

Winners of the Binibning Pinipinas 2008 Beauty Pageant.

fascination with beauty pageants has remained consistent through the years. This fascination has manifested in the rise of the cosmestics industry.

According to market research firm Euromonitor International, the domestic skin care industry saw a 4 percent increase in value in 2014.

There are 40,000 barangays—the smallest administrative division— in the Philippines and each has its own collection of beauty pageants.

Wurtzbach, like Diaz and Janicel Lubina, Miss International and Miss World runner-up of 2013, went through six months of beauty boot camp. Girls spend hours duckwalking, learning how to stand and smile, how to look sweet and how to handle tripping on stage. They are trained by beauty queen makers nine hours every day, in addition to time spent in the gym getting into shape.

In an age of political correctness, it is surprising that these boot camps still exist. Yet, feminist writer Jessica Zafra states, “it is [a] part of [their] history,” that is hardwired into Filipinos.

According to 1985 Miss Philippines

Joyce Burton-Titular, another possible reason for the obsession with beauty pageants could be the associated opportunity to escape poverty. A majority of the girls that participate in these beauty boot camps come from impoverished backgrounds, including Lubina, locally know as Filipina Cinderella. Lubina had been working as a maid before she was scouted at the age of 16, moving on to a boot camp at the age of 18 and then winning Miss Philippines International. While few pageant hopefuls make it in the end, those who do become idolized and influential women in the country, acting as a means for advocacy and source of national pride while embarking on lucrative endorsement careers.

The massive scale of the Philippines’ beauty business is not an isolated phenomenon. In Brazil, for instance, the Young Miss pageants, wherein preteens compete for the title, are viewed as means for girls to survive and break out of a hostile environment in which they face racism, poverty and violence.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Bohesa Won

W

hile Europe’s experience with Syrian refugees has clearly taken center stage in international media recently, the equally worrying situation in Southeast Asia has received comparatively less concern, even as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees describes the Bay of Bengal as “three times more deadly” than the Mediterranean.

From 2012 to 2015, the numbers of Rohingya Muslim refugees and Bangladeshi migrants leaving Myanmar and Bangladesh by boat tripled to 63,000. Notably, a standoff in May 2015 between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand over accepting incoming boats caused approximately 8,000 migrants to be stranded in Southeast Asian waters and prompted widespread international criticism.

The region’s subsequent actions allowed room for cautious optimism.

Within a month, Indonesia and Malaysia signed an agreement to take in and harbor 7,000 migrants for up to one year. Today, as the May 2016 deadline approaches, Indonesia has worked on an emergency response mechanism for the crisis and will host the Sixth Bali Process, an international forum on human trafficking, at the end of the month.

Despite these improvements, the region’s resolve seems to be dissipating as government promises to prosecute human traffickers remain unfulfilled.

Regional inaction stems from various factors. Indonesian policymakers in particular oppose increased dependence on international organizations, which provide muchneeded aid for accommodating refugees. Thailand, a predominantly Buddhist country which itself struggles with Islamic insurgency, fears that accepting the Rohingya Muslims will threaten stability.

As wealthier countries in the region like Australia continue to turn away migrants, resentment has built up in countries like Indonesia, which feel they are victims to richer countries which have passed off the burden of sheltering refugees.

While it remains to be seen if the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will play a significant role, it is clear that resolving the refugee crisis means different things for different countries. As such, current calls for regional solutions are at best uninformed, if not naive.

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WESTERN EUROPE Revised French Labor Code Sparks Outrage Waves of protests shook France after the federal government announced planned revisions to the country’s labor code on March 9, Le Monde reported. The revisions would allow workers to work more than 60 hours per week, authorize severe redundancy plans even if a company is economically stable, and reduce compensation in case of illegal dismissal. Prime Minister Manuel Valls stated that the law is necessary to encourage employment in France and create a more flexible atmosphere for employers. The law has come under criticism from the left wing, further dividing Valls’ Socialist Party (PS).

During an interview on the French radio channel RTL, Valls claimed that the law would bring employers greater freedom in hiring practicesrs and allow for more dialogue between employers and employees. Furthermore, Le Figaro reported that the Prime Minister has not excluded the possibility of using an executive order if a majority of France’s

National Assembly does not approve the law.

The proposed changes have reinforced existing divisions within the Socialist Party. Martine Aubry, former Secretary General of the Socialist Party, wrote an open letter to Manuel Valls, published in Le Monde, decrying the government’s actions.

She strongly criticized the reform plan, claiming that she felt bewildered by the labor code reform, which appeared to be “a pact with the MEDEF [a French employer federation] which will reveal itself to be a fool’s deal.”

Aubry believes that she, not Valls, represents the progressive wing of the Socialist Party. She expressed her intense worry about the disregard for Socialist principles within the government.

Additionally, French feminist and socialist militant Caroline de Haas launched a petition asking for the withdrawal of the law the day after its official announcement. Within four days the petition already had

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Sweden Postpones Contentious Visa Law Rachel Rodgers

A crowd demonstrates against recent revisions to France’s labor code.

400,000 signatures; within two weeks that number reached one million, an unprecedented achievement for a petition in France. The petition highlights a number of points which greatly undermine workers’ rights under the law.

French labor unions have also organized several protests.

Approximately 500,000 people have attended, according to L’express. The protests have occurred throughout France, and critics plan to continue protesting until the law is abolished.

Many of France’s liberals continue to worry about the absence of socialism in the government’s political agenda.

Conditions at Idomeni Camp Prompt Worry Andreas Paraskevopoulos

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Jean Luc Mélenchon, president of the Leftist Party (PG), claimed on his personal blog that President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Valls only follow the directives of the MEDEF and Brussels. He added that the government is recycling the rightwing and National Front’s propositions and turning its back on socialism.

Valls and his ministers have reviewed the law and changed several clauses in light of public protests, according to Le Monde. However, the lack of unity within the Socialist Party makes it unlikely that the law will be ratified by the National Assembly without the use of an executive order.

Approximately 700 refugees attempted to cross the border into FYROM (Macedonia) from Greece on March 14 following the deterioration of living conditions at the Idomeni refugee camp, Proto Thema reported.

Conditions at the camp in northern Greece have become intolerable, forcing migrants to trespass through the closed border.

According to Euronews, Greek health officials have said that rainy weather conditions have deteriorated the already appalling camp, making it muddy, dirty and humid. At least one Syrian girl has been diagnosed with Hepatitis A due to poor sanitation and a lack of clean water.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) estimates that at least 40 pregnant women live in the Idomeni camp, Ekathimerini reports. Christian Reynders, Deputy

Coordinator of the organization, told Ekathimerini that “there are many babies at the camp, and they are vulnerable to respiratory infections.”

He added that “refugees... burn everything, wood, plastic bags, old clothes. The smoke is toxic and we are afraid that respiratory infection especially for newborn babies might create permanent problems to their breathing system.”

Approximately 60 children suffer from the effects of humidity and smoke each day. The picture of a mother washing her newborn baby in muddy water recently captivated viewers around the world.

With new refugees constantly arriving on Greek shores, and the borders of the “Balkan Route” securely closed, many critics have increasingly called upon the governments of the European Union and Turkey to address the whealth crisis.

Sweden has postponed the implementation of a controversial new law that would limit immigrants’ ability to obtain permanent residence visas. The current law allows refugees to receive these visas and to live and work in Sweden indefinitely.

The proposed law would have placed a quota on the number of refugees eligible to receive permanent residence visas. The rest would receive temporary resident visas, which limit time in the country to a duration determined at the time the visa is granted, although the visa-holder can apply for extensions. Temporary resident visas do not make holders eligible to work in Sweden, which requires an additional work visa.

Initially, the proposal was set to take effect on May 31. As of March 14, the Swedish parliament will now vote on the proposal on June 21. “The law now can only come into force after the vote, that is, during the summer,” wrote Minister of Migration Morgan Johansson in a statement to Svenska Dagbladet, a prominent Swedish newspaper.

Many of Sweden’s nongovernmental organizations have criticized the bill. The Children’s Ombudsman, an international organization that aims to protect childrens’ rights, released a statement saying that the proposal violated the United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol. The protocol calls on nations to treat refugees as they would all other aliens.

The quota system on permanent resident visas is not in place for nonrefugee aliens seeking residence in Sweden.

Nevertheless, Johansson believes that this harsh criticism is unlikely to lead to any changes in the proposal before the vote on June 21. “I think in some cases, it’s just an issue of clarifying how to interpret the law.

Much [of the criticism] depends on how the international conventions should be interpreted, I assume, and I think we will be able to solve it.”

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AFD Party Surges in German Elections The Alternative for Germany (AFD) Party broke through parliamentary elections in three German states on March 13. The party’s victories helped it gain seats in state governments for the first time in Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, and SaxonyAnhalt.

Beatrix von Storch, Vice Chair of the radical, right-wing political party, cheered at her party’s celebration in Berlin. She announced that the AFD is no longer only an East German party, but has arrived in the Western states.

The AFD secured its greatest victories in these state elections, winning 15.1 percent of votes in Baden-Württemberg, 12.6 percent of votes in Rhineland-Palatinate, and 24.2 percent of votes in SaxonyAnhalt, according to Die Zeit.

The party captured voters who felt abandoned by establishment parties like the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). 69-year-old Herbert Wermter told Süddeutsche Zeitung that the AFD is the only party that pays attention to his concerns. The AFD harvested public anger by firmly

condemning Chancellor Angela Merkel’s refugee policy.

The AFD not only won over voters from establishment parties but also mobilized voters who had previously been apathetic towards politics.

According to the Tagesschau, 70 percent of first time voters in Saxony-Anhalt voted for the AFD, demonstrating that populist campaigning mobilizes new segments of the population.

The most divisive electoral issue was Chancellor Merkel’s refugee policy. Merkel has refused to cap the number of refugees Germany will accept. Although the AFD made shocking gains condemning these policies, Bernd Ulrich explains in Die Zeit that approximately two-thirds of Germans voted in favor of a party that supports either Merkel’s refugee stance or an even more liberal policy.

In fact, the Süddeutsche Zeitung argues that supporting Merkel’s refugee policy helped some parties win more votes, as the general populace desires reliability and stability in uncertain times. Hence, candidates who supported Merkel, such as the Green’s Winfried Kretschmann and the SPD’s Malu Dreyer, outperformed candidates from parties that attempted

to distance themselves from Merkel’s refugee policy.

Therefore, despite the AFD’s stunning net gains, other parties remain dominant in each state government. Die Zeit reports that the CDU retains the most seats in SaxonyAnhalt with 29.8 percent of the votes, the Green Party won the most seats in Baden-Württemberg with 30.3 percent of the votes, and the SPD won the most votes in Rhineland-Palatinate with 36.2 percent of the vote.

Moreover, no party won enough votes to attain a majority in any of the three state parliaments. In fact, in Baden-Württemberg and Saxony-

Anhalt a three-party coalition will most likely govern, requiring compromise and cooperation. Both the SPD and the Greens expressed their desire to support Merkel’s refugee policy, the Tagesschau reports. Together these three parties can counter the AFD’s marginal presence in parliament, and Merkel’s refugee policy will remain on course.

Nonetheless, the AFD’s success is a wake up call for establishment parties.

Already, Reiner Haseloff, front-runner of the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt, told the Tagesschau that his party must respond on all levels to win back the AFD voters.

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Ann-Kathrin Merz

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Beatrix von Storch celebrated the AFD’s gains in Germany’s state elections.

Calais Refugee Camp Closed in Northern France Mary Zuccarello

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

French police continue to demolish a large migrant camp in Calais, a process they began February 29, despite protests from refugees and external organizations.

The camp is known as “The Jungle” for its large population and poor living conditions. The closure of the camp has given way to disorder and chaos as French officials attempt to deal with large numbers of displaced people

hoping to reach the United Kingdom.

Calais has been a stopping point for refugees fleeing the Middle East and Africa since 2009, largely because of its proximity to the English Channel.

According to BBC News, many migrants in northern France have attempted to flee to the UK by hiding on commercial ferries and large trucks.

On March 8, The Telegraph released a report from British Home Office officials stating that 3,600 migrants were prevented from entering the

Tents crowded the Calais refugee camp before it was destroyed.

UK throughout the summer of 2015, while over 1,000 secretly made it past border security. Numbers for 2016 are currently unkonwn due to the increasingly large numbers of refugees and the secrecy associated with sneaking into the country.

In response to the influx of hopefuls arriving at the United Kingdom’s doorstep, both the UK and France have implemented new measures to keep migrants out. As part of this new strategy, a court in Lille approved plans to raze parts of the Calais camp on February 25.

Throughout the first week of March, police began lighting parts of the camp on fire and spraying tear gas to force people away. French officials pushed some refugees to apply for asylum in France and attempted to deport others, though many have simply relocated to smaller camps nearby.

Euronews reported that some migrants have refused to leave “The Jungle” and remain in Calais despite facing tear gas and demolition. Some remaining refugees include seven Iranian and Iraqi migrants who sewed their lips together to protest police

action. One refugee stated, “I cannot live in the Jungle anymore because CRS [French riot police] no leave me alone [sic], destroyed my shelter, and I don’t know where my life is going.”

A court in Lille approved plans to raze parts of the Calais camp on February 25.

Many human rights agencies have criticized the actions of the French and British governments. Marta Welander, founder of the UK-based Refugee Rights Data Project, told The Guardian on March 1 that eviction “is unlikely to provide a viable solution to the current humanitarian crisis on our doorstep.”

Some French officials disagree, as one told the BBC that clearing the camp was a “humanitarian operation.”

These differing opinions reveal how “The Jungle’s” closure has undeniably introduced a new level of uncertainty to the ongoing migrant crisis for both former residents of the camp and for France and the United Kingdom.

Brandon Greenblatt, Mary Zuccarello

T

he United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network released its annual World Happiness Report on March 16, and an analysis by Euronews reveals that Europe is home to many of the world’s happiest countries.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon instituted The World Happiness Report in 2012 as an attempt to measure citizen satisfaction across the world. A series of metrics, including life expectancy, GDP per capita, equality, and perceived freedoms, constitute the United Nations’ best attempt to quantify happiness.

This year, Denmark topped the list, while its Scandinavian neighbors of Finland and Sweden peaked at 5th and 10th, respectively. An array of other Western European nations, including the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Luxembourg made the top 25 as well.

Not all of Western Europe fared quite as well, however, as Cyprus was ranked 69th, Portugal was ranked 94th, and Greece was ranked 99th out of 156 ranked countries.

Happiness is undoubtedly a subjective emotion, but the fact that many Western European nations ranked favorably based upon the United Nations’ metrics showcases the region’s widespread economic strength and attractive liberal values.

Strong business sectors, many of which are located in STEM industries, and free trade policies have contributed to relatively high incomes for Western European residents. Vibrant political discourses facilitate a lack of corruption and high emphasis on personal liberties, while a comprehensive healthcare system has increased life expectancies.

As the UN examines results from the survey, other countries around the world have begun to look to Europe for guidance and insight into the key to true happiness. Still, it remains unclear as to whether or not Europe’s policies can be successfully implemented elsewhere in the world.

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THE ANCHOR Panama Papers Sam Kim, Nicole Carolin

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ohn Barnhill, who affirmed that “when government fears the people, there is liberty”, would find the current criterion for government accountability nothing short of breathtaking. International leaders have struggled to prevent efforts to unearth past corrupt practices, which are under scrutiny by monitoring firms and hackers protected by the anonymity of the Internet.

This growing phenomenon termed “hacktivism” offers an opportunity for individuals to seek their own vision of justice.

This brand of vigilante justice is certainly invigorating, but the chances of its abuse are high. It can lead to slander without consequences, as users realize that their actions are protected by the vastness of the webspace. It jeopardizes national security because it forces government agencies to focus on public perception of their actions rather than their actual mission, protecting the United States.

While it may be preferable for a government to be held accountable by its citizens, the possibility that a government may be deemed incompetent is also a chilling prospect.

Panama Papers, from pg. 1 have been connected to these practices as a result of the leak, prompting public outcry that has affected the domestic politics of numerous countries.

In the Middle East, a number of major players have been implicated in the leak. This includes President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, members of the House of Saud in Saudi Arabia (including King Salman), the family of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and a number of Israeli companies and shareholders, among others.

The largest backlash occurred against Assad. His main opposition in the brutal Syrian Civil War has sought to use these revelations to find and freeze the assets of Assad and his associates in an effort to harm the Syrian president financially. In Pakistan, there have been calls for Sharif to resign in light of information gathered from the leak. The reaction to the other revelations, including the involvement of the Saudi Royal family, has been more muted.

In Europe, similar calls for resignation have already ended a career. In Iceland, the Prime Minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, resigned after mass public outcry and demonstrations because of his connections to shell corporations in

Rainier Go Publisher Andrea Moneton Editor-in-Chief Nivu Jejurikar Executive Director EXECUTIVE BOARD Kathy Wang Director of Sales Rainier Go Director of Fundraising Sarah Bothner Jee Young Kim Julia Rhodes Luis Joy Tamara Evdokimova Kyle Tillotson Sylvia Cesar Margaret Schaack Nick Simon Ho Yao Nian Bohesa Won Jonathan Dörnhofer Anirudha Vaddadi Samuel Kim Nicole Carolin Brandon Greenblatt Mary Zuccarello

EDITORIAL BOARD Copy Chief East Asia and Oceania Editor East Asia and Oceania Associate Editor Eastern Europe and Central Asia Editor Eastern Europe and Central Asia Associate Editor Latin America and the Caribbean Editor Latin America and the Caribbean Associate Editor Middle East and North Africa Editor Middle East and North Africa Associate Editor South and Southeast Asia Editor South and Southeast Asia Co-Editor Sub-Saharan Africa Editor Sub-Saharan Africa Associate Editor The Anchor Editor The Anchor Associate Editor Western Europe Editor Western Europe Associate Editor

the British Virgin Islands. He is the first government official to resign as a result of the Panama Papers. In the UK, Prime Minister David Cameron faces calls for an investigation after it was revealed that his father once controlled an offshore trust fund that did not pay taxes and that he had profited from after selling his (and his wife’s) interest in the fund. Though he claims he paid all appropriate taxes, the outcry continues.

But it is in Latin America where the Panama Papers may have the greatest influence. The leak has created significant political havoc in an area already dealing with political turmoil. Brazil is still reeling from the fallout of the Petrobras scandal, in which the state-owned oil company was used for money laundering purposes. 57 individuals previously involved in the scandal, including a member of the opposition party heavily involved in impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff, are implicated. At this point, these disclosures have not halted the

impeachment process.

In Argentina, the Panama Papers revealed that newly elected President Mauricio Macri, who ran on a platform of transparency and disclosure, acted as the director of a Bahamian shell corporation from 1998 to 2009, a fact that he did not mention during the electoral process. Macri is now being investigated for these activities, though he claims that none of them were illegal and that he has nothing to hide. The Panama Papers also implicate members of the administration of the previous President, Christina Kirchner, as well as other entities connected to Mossack Fonseca that may have assisted in the theft of millions of dollars from government contracts.

Some good has come from the Panama Papers revelations. Within Panama, the headquarters of Mossack Fonseca were raided by Panamanian police as part of an investigation into possible illegal activity by the firm.

On an international scale, regulators and lawmakers have moved to increase oversight and regulation of

multinational corporations in an effort to reduce tax evasion.

In the EU, the European Commission has put forth legislation that would force multinational corporations to reveal their profits earned within the union, and taxes paid to each member of the EU, on top of revealing all their finances connected to tax havens. Most recently, tax investigators from 28 countries met in Paris in order to work towards a plan to reduce tax evasion on an international scale.

The data and names released thus far forms only the tip of the iceberg considering the sheer mass of data involved in the leak. As more names are revealed, pressure will mount for the creation of an overarching structure to fight tax evasion and other fraudulent activities throughout the world. Ultimately, the Panama Papers could prove to be a force that increases global transparency and government accountability.

Academic Spotlight

America’s first war on terrorism during the Reagan administration in an attempt to illuminate lessons from that period which could be applicable to today.

When asked what he liked to do in his free time, Professor Hoffman let out a thoughtful sigh and chuckled as he responded, “I’m working almost all the time is the sad truth.” Nonetheless, what hobbies and passions he does pursue in his spare time is a compelling story on its own. He described, “I like music a lot, especially live music.”

He professed to be the least musical person in his family—his son plays the guitar while his daughter is very good at singing—but at the moment, he is trying to learn to play the piano.

As a big dog lover, he spends a lot of time with his labradoodle and he also confesses that he immensely enjoys writing—whether articles for his academic work or long commentaries on subjects he is passionate about on Facebook.

Professor Hoffman’s love for films is particularly pronounced: having lived in Los Angeles for 14 years, watching films is a big part of his life. He concluded that he also enjoys hiking, particularly in the desert or in Scotland, “which is two very different environments,” he added. The statement only underscores a truly unique personality: a terrorist expert with a deep-rooted appreciation for the arts.

Edward Snowden

Academic Spotlight, from pg. 1 really stupidly, I decided to go to these conflict zones firsthand.”

Professor Hoffman would continue on to become a globally recognized terrorism expert and hold the Corporate Chair in Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency at the Rand Corporation, writing critically acclaimed books, and acting as Scholarin-Residence for Counterterrorism at the Central Intelligence Agency in 2004. He came to Georgetown in 2004 to teach as a professor and serve as Director of the Center for Security Studies and of the Security Studies Program.

Although he will be stepping down from his position as Director of the Center for Security Studies at the end of the semester due to his upcoming sabbatical leave, Professor Hoffman explained that serving as director has been the most impactful experience in his career. “Working with the faculty and the staff and the students and building something that really served the needs of our students in a way that either propelled their career forward or opened up the door for their careers: I think that has really been the most meaningful.”

During his sabbatical leave, Professor Hoffman will work on his next book, which involves research in archives in California, Britain, and D.C. The upcoming book will analyze

Edward Snowden, from pg. 1 as “a polemic figure” having been “awarded various distinctions for courage, public service, integrity, and peace.” Lecture Fund also described him as “a prominent thought leader in the field of global cybersecurity, espionage, data, and technology.”

The clearly one-sided headlines that describe him were refreshing and unexpected, especially given Georgetown University’s extensive connections with leaders in the security field.

Reflecting on his actions, Snowden stated that “public representations were different than private realities”, pointing out that the leaks were rooted in neither protest nor activism.

The unresolved component of the discussion rests on that exact remark. Professor Doyle, the event’s moderator and adjunct law professor at Georgetown, posed a question that Snowden must answer if he wishes to return to the U.S.: can Snowden win a lawsuit against the NSA by proving that its surveillance program is harmful to society and violates individuals’ privacy? At the same time, could he provide greater transparency regarding his perceived hypocrisy, criticizing the U.S. with the protection of an arguably insincere Russia? While the session was too short for a satisfying answer for the questions, it is certain that actions will speak louder than words in both cases.