All Questions
15,698
questions
4
votes
2
answers
218
views
How did Turkmenistan "destroy its relationship with Russia’s Gazprom in 2008"?
According to one Carnegie article (seemingly penned by a Uzbek political analyst/scientist):
After Ashgabat destroyed its relationship with Russia’s Gazprom in 2008, only China remained as the major ...
- 131k
4
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Does using the word "state" imply questioning the status of the region as a country?
Inspired by the question asking for the difference between these two words.
I used to write "the Baltic States", simply using the words I have previously seen somewhere and was usually ...
- 13.4k
1
vote
1
answer
134
views
What is the meaning of “qualified connection” in Federalist No. 51 by James Madison?
In the sixth paragraph of Federalist No.51, James Madison wrote,
But it is not possible to give to each department an equal power of self-defense. In republican government, the legislative authority ...
- 111
0
votes
2
answers
799
views
We are individually striving for wealth to be independent from necessity to work. Why society as whole is unwilling to be independent from work? AI [closed]
My question is arising from recent ChatGTP & plugins developments which provides the great tools for automation of jobs.
I can observe that people individually are striving to gain wealth and the ...
- 365
4
votes
1
answer
400
views
What benefit does Ron DeSantis gain by delaying his Presidential campaign?
By this point, two things are more or less universally understood about Ron DeSantis among observers of current US politics.
He's planning on running for President in the 2024 elections.
He's the ...
- 849
-1
votes
1
answer
198
views
Moon countries? [duplicate]
We are about to colonize the moon. One of Nasa's officials warns about China potentially claiming territory of the Moon. Since the Moon is by definition not part of the Earth, shouldn't all countries ...
- 173
27
votes
9
answers
7k
views
What can be the reasons or advantages for Russia's candid admission of their own fighter dropping ordnance over Belgorod instead of blaming Ukraine?
Today, a report came up about a Russian attack aircraft dropping ordnance over Belgorod, causing a crater 40m wide in one of the central streets of the city. Some reports indicate that this was an ...
- 568
3
votes
1
answer
147
views
Did Saudi Arabia cut in half its oil & gas share of GDP from 2020 to 2022?
I'm seeing vastly different numbers reported for Saudi Arabia's oil & gas share in GDP. One Saudi scholar gives
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia owns 17% proven
reserves of the world and constitutes 50% ...
- 131k
12
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Is Norway a rentier and resource-dependent country?
I have been reading a lot on the rentier state literature and have noticed that papers published in the last two decades focus on the typical rentier cases such as Saudi Arabia or Venezuela. However, ...
- 189
30
votes
6
answers
6k
views
Why does a state have to have a single, well-defined, internationally-recognized "Capital"?
This is partly motivated by the question of whether or not Jerusalem is Israel's capital, but my question is broader.
Why should a state have a single, well-defined "capital city"? Why does ...
- 357
6
votes
2
answers
322
views
If the IRS has the info needed to accept/reject tax returns, why do Americans have to file?
A friend of mine had her tax return rejected because one of the numbers she entered didn't match the data the IRS had. This made me wonder, if the IRS has all the data it needs to determine if you ...
- 211
9
votes
4
answers
547
views
Why doesn't the US ratify treaties that have been widely ratified elsewhere?
The Wikipedia article List of treaties unsigned or unratified by the United States lists, among others, some famous treaties that have been widely ratified like the Convention on Rights of Persons ...
- 215
-4
votes
2
answers
203
views
Academic/technical term to describe China's "The Party" [closed]
I've read a few poli-sci books that had large sections about China, and slowly it began to strike me as very odd how unwieldy it is to describe the institutional setup in China using formal terms. It ...
- 293
3
votes
1
answer
114
views
Is the Federal government (Bureau of Reclamation etc.) legally required to provide any compensation if it diverts a river [in Western US]?
Does the Federal government have to provide any legal compensation for proprietors downstream of a river whose waters are largely diverted? Any notable examples when such compensation was provided? E....
- 131k
21
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Is Northern Cyprus the only EU territory under foreign occupation?
Northern Cyprus is a territory in Cyprus that is occupied by Turkey, according to everyone except Turkey. Cyprus is part of the EU, which makes Northern Cyprus an EU territory under foreign occupation....
- 313
10
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Why hasn't the Attorney General investigated Justice Thomas?
It sounds like Justice Thomas has made clear and egregious mistakes in disclosure,
Over the past two decades, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has reported on mandatory financial disclosure ...
- 2,868
3
votes
1
answer
948
views
Why would IS kill truffle pickers?
IS militants have repeatedly preyed on those searching for the fungus, with more than 150 people killed this year.
[...] A kilogram (2.2lb) can fetch more than the country's average monthly wage.
[...]...
- 131k
4
votes
2
answers
537
views
Are there PRC plans for the people of Taiwan following a successful reunification?
I know that the range of possibilities is broad, but some officials, such as the Chinese ambassador to France already spoke about unspecified re-education:
https://twitter.com/badiucao/status/...
- 369
10
votes
7
answers
3k
views
Why does British Humanist Association advocate for abortion rights? [closed]
When going over the website of the Humanists.UK I discovered that this organization advocates for extended abortion rights.
This looks to me highly counterintuitive. I was always convinced that a ...
- 13.4k
3
votes
0
answers
110
views
Precedents for member states unilaterally overriding EU trade policy (or at least attempting to do that)?
The European Commission has rejected bans introduced by Poland and Hungary on Ukrainian grain imports.
The two countries said the measures were necessary to protect their farming sectors from cheap ...
- 131k
20
votes
14
answers
7k
views
How is the 'right to healthcare' reconciled with the freedom of medical staff to choose where and when they work?
Medical staff consisting of doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, etc...
The reason for asking is because there doesn't seem to be any theoretical explanations reconciling these competing rights. (At ...
- 1,305
-4
votes
2
answers
159
views
Is political correctedness meant to reduce offence or to let people perceive a rosier reality? [closed]
This question reminded me the controversy about the usage of the "Master/Slave" terminology. According to an answer posted to the question that terminology is being replaced by less ...
- 6,899
0
votes
1
answer
136
views
Does Ireland's single-transferable vote (STV) system weaken party discipline?
Ireland uses single-transferable vote (STV) for pretty much all elections.
I wonder if this voting system weakens party discipline, since candidates with strong local brand can theoretically quit the ...
- 10.2k
8
votes
3
answers
355
views
Can governments avoid being trapped between the choice to let a big bank fail or increase banking concentration?
The too big to fail situation in the banking system has been criticised multiple times, but banking concentration in the US and Europe is still rising. The problem is not only the systemic risk, but ...
- 6,899
22
votes
3
answers
6k
views
How can Russia enforce the Wikimedia fines?
There have been quite a few articles online (such as this one) about the Russian government issuing fines to the Wikimedia foundation for not taking down Wikipedia pages on the war in Ukraine. These ...
- 323
3
votes
1
answer
254
views
What are famous studies that ended up deeply changing how the police operate?
In the book “Talking to Strangers” Malcolm Gladwell talks about how novel scientific approaches to policing ended up finding out that stop and frisk of motor vehicles could drastically reduce crime, ...
- 131
7
votes
2
answers
481
views
What does Emmanuel Macron mean exactly when he said “We want allies, but we want to be able to choose them” in his recent speech in The Hague?
I can't find a transcript of the whole speech, so I can only rely on what I read in media. For example, the journalist Dave Keating says:
President Emmanuel Macron is right now delivering a landmark ...
- 173
2
votes
1
answer
422
views
What does the Honorable Chairman mean?
I simply want to know what does the Honorable Chairman Nominated mean?
Javed Akthar is a nominated Rajya Sabha member hence nominated, but what is that Honorable Chairman, how is that title earned.
...
- 1,280
2
votes
1
answer
519
views
"America is a marshmallow" statement from president Putin in 2016 after Trump was elected [closed]
I am looking for more information on a quote that I heard in 2016 and barely remember.
After President Trump was elected in 2016, a reporter on a NPR news program mentioned that Putin mentioned in a ...
- 718
5
votes
1
answer
301
views
Has the Taiwan / Republic of China (ROC) government ever made any territorial claim on areas in Arunachal Pradesh, India, like the Chinese PRC Govt.?
The BBC's April 4, 2023 Arunachal Pradesh: India rejects China's attempt to rename disputed places led me to read Wikipedia's Arunachal Pradesh. The introduction of that article, until a few days ago, ...
- 15.4k
22
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Where do I send a nomination for the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
I want to nominate someone posthumously for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Where do I send my nomination?
- 339
3
votes
2
answers
197
views
What decides the scope or limits of presidential executive orders in the US? [duplicate]
An executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government
I searched around on the internet, and it seems like there isn't even a formal ...
- 4,375
17
votes
4
answers
5k
views
What is the role of the U.S. Marines under contemporary joint warfare doctrine?
Is the U.S. Marine Corps, as a separate branch, largely a historical artifact, or does it fulfill a distinct purpose within the context of modern joint warfare doctrine?
Please note, this is not ...
- 295
23
votes
5
answers
8k
views
Why would Putin refer to Lukashenko as Potato Moose?
I'm unsure whether my question is on-topic, but I learn Russian and got really curious when reading a Radio France Internationale article of September 2021 written in Russian and quoting a Russian ...
- 3,423
3
votes
1
answer
64
views
Constitutional amendments of India
Despite Article 4 stating that a constitutional amendment is not necessary for Articles 2 and 3, why was the 7th constitutional amendment passed for state reorganization?
- 33
-3
votes
1
answer
253
views
How do India's courts solve the issue of "public morality"?
India provides that restriction on freedom of speech and expression is permissible if it's made by law and for reasonable restrictions for the purpose of public health, order and morality. See Article ...
- 882
4
votes
3
answers
619
views
What would happen if the FDA refused to follow the order on mifepristone?
Yesterday a Texas judge said the FDA’s 2000 approval of mifepristone – one of the drugs used to terminate a pregnancy – must be halted.
What would happen if the FDA said they refuse to follow that ...
- 217
35
votes
10
answers
7k
views
"Communism in the Soviet Union, China, etc., wasn't real communism" - is that true? [closed]
To my knowledge, communism is a classless society in which everyone contributes and receives according to their ability and needs.
When people bring up the Soviet Union or China as examples where ...
- 493
-6
votes
2
answers
334
views
Why did Russia started war with Ukraine? [closed]
As you know when Russia declared war on Ukraine many countries had declared embargo on Russia.
And Russia didnt want to annex Ukraine completly or even making Ukraine Puppet.
So why is Russia declared ...
-5
votes
1
answer
124
views
does international law recognise any limit to soveriegnty? [closed]
Can crimes against humanity and humanitarian aid ever be used to justify attacks on soveriegnty ? and does soveriegnty in international law mean sovriegnty without "responsibility" (as ...
- 509
5
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Who usually writes laws for legislators?
I can't imagine elected representatives come in with complete knowledge of how to write laws in legalistic language. The point of democracy is that people from all walks of life - most of whom are not ...
- 10.2k
1
vote
3
answers
205
views
is it possible for crimes against humanity to be stopped by international law?
The Genocide¹ and apartheid² conventions both have withdrawal clauses
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide_Convention¹
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid_Convention²
same for the statute of ...
- 509
0
votes
1
answer
59
views
What led to the broadening of the scope of Article 21 of the Indian constitution to mean "due process" instead of "procedure established by law"?
The drafting history of article 21 is as follows:
Draft Article 15 was debated in the Constituent Assembly on 6 and 13 December 1948. It provided for the right to life and personal liberty, subject ...
- 882
24
votes
4
answers
3k
views
What does the term "Equity" mean, in "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion"?
The use of the term Equity has been on the rise for years, especially with the emergence of the new political term of "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion", or DEI, being bandied about in the US....
- 43.8k
1
vote
3
answers
453
views
Is the US support for Ukraine significantly because of Biden
Is US's position on Ukraine significantly the result of Biden himself?
On other questions, I keep reading assumptions - stated or not - that the US supports Ukraine only because Biden does.
On the ...
- 316
21
votes
15
answers
6k
views
Why do the right claim that Hitler was left-wing? [closed]
This is taken from a speech by Adolf Hitler, April 12, 1921:
There are only two possibilities in Germany; do not imagine that the people will forever go with the middle party, the party of ...
1
vote
4
answers
836
views
How can a country balance its demographics ethically and morally? [closed]
As a kind of follow-up from this question, I have another question.
How can a country balance its demographics ethically and morally?
Of course, mass genocide and rapes are some of the ways, but they ...
- 405
0
votes
2
answers
273
views
In what sense did Trump put a notch on his belt? [closed]
The following extract is from UStoday site:
Trump's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told NBC's "Today" show on Friday that Trump was initially "shocked" when notified of the grand jury's ...
- 1,103
16
votes
6
answers
7k
views
Why is China worried about population decline?
There are (old?) news on the internet that China is worried about their population decline and they try to take active measures against it.
Colleges in China are now allowing students an entire week ...
- 405
-2
votes
4
answers
327
views
Does German constitution provide preference to people who are ethnic German?
Does German constitution provide preference to people who are ethnic German?
How does it define related terms? For example -
what does ethnicity mean? Who are ethnic German?
Does it mean that people ...
- 129