28 March 2008

DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL ISSUES

Gostin, Lawrence; Gable, Lance GLOBAL MENTAL HEALTH: CHANGING NORMS, CONSTANT RIGHTS (Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, vol. 9, no. 1, Winter/Spring 2008, pp. 83-92)

Gostin, associate dean at Georgetown University Law School, and Gable, law professor at Wayne State University, write that, “of all the vulnerable groups that face stigmatization in our society, persons with mental disabilities are perhaps the most disadvantaged.” They note that NGOs around the world continue to discover appalling conditions in institutions for persons with mental disabilities, and community mental health services are often underfunded and punitive. Widespread recognition of this mistreatment has not prevented it from continuing to occur. Human-rights violations affecting persons with mental disabilities will only be reduced by legislation and mental-health policies consistent with human-rights norms; they urge all countries to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Hammer, Joshua TRIALS OF A PRIMATOLOGIST (Smithsonian, vol. 38, no. 11, February 2008, pp. 82-95)

Primatologist Marc Van Roosmalen has been a pioneer in understanding the delicate ecology of the Amazon rainforest. In 2000, Time magazine designated him a “hero of the planet.” A Dutch native, and a naturalized Brazilian citizen, Van Roosmalen had a long history of cooperative working relationships with Brazil’s environmental agencies. Hammer’s article describes how this relationship fractured as the Brazilian government is now attempting to prosecute Van Roosmalen for illegal trafficking in rare animals and the theft of government property. The son of the 60-year-old Van Roosmalen finds all sides at fault in the dispute: “We’re talking hubris on his side. He really thinks that he’s some kind of savior. And on the other side, he’s being made out to be an enormous villain. And both versions are exaggerated.” Whatever the truth, the case is worrisome for the international community of scientists who work in many countries. The New York Times quoted a scientist emerging from a recent meeting, “If they can get him on trumped-up charges, they can get any of us.” Available online at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/roosmalen-200802.html 

Prevost, Alicia; Thurber, James DELEGATE CHEAT SHEET (Politics, vol. 29, no. 3, March 2008, pp. 38-41)

The authors, both with the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University, offer a primer on the role and selection of delegates in the presidential primaries. The Democratic and Republican parties determine the number of delegates based on a given state’s population and its past support for the party’s presidential nominee. So-called “pledged” delegates are those who have indicated their support for a particular presidential candidate. Generally, delegates are awarded proportionately, based on statewide election results, but are “winner-take-all”, in the case of some Republican statewide contests. The so-called “superdelegates” are more accurately called unpledged delegates, as they are not required to pledge support to a candidate until their vote at the party convention; almost all unpledged delegates are picked by virtue of an elected office they already hold.

Schamis, Hector E. ARGENTINA'S TROUBLED TRANSITION (Current History, vol. 107, no. 706, February 2008, pp. 71-77)

The author, professor at the School of International Service at American University in Washington, DC, writes that the transition in 2007 from one elected president to another is a sign that Argentina has largely recovered from the economic and political crises of 2001-2002. However, many of the problems of democratic governance in Argentina still persist, as the country has a “deeply rooted tendency to concentrate inordinate power in the executive branch,” a legacy of the administration of Carlos Menem in the 1990s. The stability of Argentina’s democratic system is largely dependent on the health of the economy. Schamis believes that the primary challenge for Argentina is to make their political parties and legislature independent of presidential power, so that the country’s political system is not at the mercy of the economic cycle.