2016-11 Mosul

The right of self-determination is usually interpreted to be by a majoritty vote.  You choose your border, adjusting as necesary to ensure you have a majority, and then maybe you have a referendum.  The rut started in Northern Ireland - the border in 1920, the poll in 1973.  Then came the Balkans, the Caucasus, East Timor and South Sudan, i.e., yet more violence, everywhere.  If various bits of Iraq like Mosul or Kirkuk are to suffer the same fate, or Kashmir, or Taiwan and then Xīnjiāng, or some Moslem/Christian states in Nigeria or similar parts of the CAR or various regions in the DRC - the list goes on and on - God help us!  

2016-10 Spain, more majoritarian nonsense...

313 days of argument and bickering to form a majority government; they fail; OK, a minority administration will have to do.  Meanwhile, the West argues for Syria and Ukraine to have power-sharing.  See 'The Matrix Vote' in right-hand column. See 2016-5.

2016-9 David Cameron, the 3 'whiches'.

EU - wrong question gets wrong answer.  There's a letter in The Guardian (7th Oct), and this critique of brexit, David Cameron and the three 'whiches' which was published in Brussels and London.

http://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/david-cameron-and-the-three-whiches/

The UK referendum was bound to be 'Leave', as predicted in this press release of 5.2.2016, and this article of November, 2015.  So hence https://www.opendemocracy.net, this letter in the local press, a further letter from Phil Kearney to the Dublin press (but unpublished), and a posting on Slugger O'Toole. See also 2016-6.

2016-8 NI - dodgy elections

A prediction:  PR-STV counts are sometimes askew: in Newsletter of May 4th, suggested the count could be odd.

http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/pr-stv-is-a-good-vote-system-but-its-count-rules-need-examined-1-7364452

And sure enough, it was.  So hence this correspondence today.

2016-7 BBC, Radio 4, at last!

John Humphrys, on Today, 2nd May. (Scottish) referendums: "the realm of the absurd."  So will the BBC, at last, talk about multi-option voting?

2016-6 Scotland. The question was a fix!

Scottish Affairs has just published this review of Scotland's 2014 referendum.  See also 2016-11, 2014-12, 2013-15, 2012-13/10/1, 2011-1.

2016-5 Ireland: Let the Dáil elect a Govt.

Perfect timing again.  The outcome of the Irish Times/DCU/deBorda/CiviQ matrix vote experiment on 23rd April, could hardly have been better: the result was proportional, most of the ministers were appointed to departments for which they were appropriate and, if it had been for real, it would have been the most gender-balanced Dáil ever!  So the Irish Times published this opinion piece on 22nd  -  http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/opinion-there-is-a-better-way-to-form-a-government-than-50-days-of-chaos-1.2619525  -  and this report of the event on 25th:  See also 2016-3.

2016-4 China , 中国 , 一篇文章

International Peace-Making—Creating Post-Conflict Structures of Government is published in OJPS, which is based in Wǔhàn.  See also 2015-1, 2014-11, 2013-16/13/11.

2016-3 A new book on how to form a govt.

Perfect timing!  "From Majority Rule to Inclusive Politics - Electing a Power-Sharing Coalition" (Springer; Heidelberg and Berlin) was launched in Dublin on 23rd February, three days before Ireland's most 'chaotic' election results ever - 'chaotic' that is, for those who believe in majoritarianism

So, like Spain's now, (see also 2016-10), like Belgium's a few years ago, Ireland's post-election parliament is multi-party... and hung! Hence, an Irish Times podcast, A Shock to the System, 28th Feb, on http://www.irishtimes.com/podcasts  plus an article on the matrix vote etc. on 5th, then this letter and this one on 8th and 15th March.

We also launched our new App, Decision-Maker by conducting a role-play on the thorny subject of flags on Belfast City Hall; here's the report.

2016-2, Poland

Following 3 lectures in Warsaw, this English version of an interview was also published.  (See also 2014-2.)

http://politicalcritique.org/world/2016/all-inclusive-government-peter-emerson/