Once again, polls forecasting the outcome of a U.S. election were way off target. Why are pollsters so often wrong? Can polls be made more accurate? A 1947 survey for the Gallup Poll at the University of Iowa library in Iowa City, Iowa, 11 December 2012 (AP Photo/Ryan...
Youth in Nigeria, angry over police brutality, have formed a movement that started with street protests and which some see as a potential political force. Youth protest against Nigeria’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Lagos, Nigeria, 9 October 2020....
Joe Biden’s win over Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election is cause for celebration. But it’s also time for America to heal its deep divisions. A Biden supporter hugs a Trump supporter after an impromptu debate between members of both political...
Two savvy Africans urge frustrated youth activists to drive political change by holding officials to their word and harnessing innovative ideas and words. Are you a young person yearning for change and a better world? Do you feel that global leaders are not listening...
There were huge hopes for democracy at the end of the Cold War. But the West has squandered its leadership, leaving the world rudderless. A Muscovite woman leaves a food store with empty shelves in downtown Moscow, 28 October 1991. (AP Photo/Yuri Romanov) Below are...
A candidate can win the U.S. presidency without winning the most votes. Americans don’t like the Electoral College, but it seems here to stay. Senate pages carry presidential electoral ballots to a joint session of Congress, Washington, DC, 6 January 2017....
To understand our world of today, students need to know where we came from. But history in a vacuum can be a turnoff if it’s not connected to current events. Bernd Debusmann’s decoder offers a historical look at the curious institution of the U.S. Electoral College, while connecting the dots to today’s political events in that country. The article links to documents that open the door to further study and poses three questions at the end that are fodder for classroom discussion.
Hong Kong youth are protesting again against the city’s rulers in China. The stakes are sky-high for the world’s economy and, potentially, security. A protester in Hong Kong, China, 24 May 2020 (EPA-EFE/JEROME FAVRE) Is capitalist, free-wheeling Hong Kong...
Protesters across the Middle East had been hoping for a second Arab Spring. COVID-19 has driven them off the streets. But for how long? Workers disinfect around the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, 7 March 2020. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) Imagine yourself...
Protesters upset over economic inequalities have thrown free-market darling Chile into disarray, prompting a crackdown decried by rights advocates. Demonstrators protest against the Chilean government, Santiago, Chile, 10 January 2020. (EPA-EFE/ELVIS GONZALEZ) This...
Britain’s election could mean a return to normal politics after rancour over Brexit. But the jury is out in the U.S. Can decency in democracy be saved? U.S. President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania, 10 December 2019 (AP Photo/Matt...