PS 361 Policy Brief
TO: President Barack Obama
FROM: Undersecretary of State for European Affairs, Chad Johnson
RE: Requested policy memo on recent French public opinion polls.
Mr. President,
The National Front (aka. Front National, FN) is Frances largest far-right party. In France's 2002 presidential elections, they surprised that nation by coming in second to Jaque Chirac (RPR party.) This was a surprise because polling at the time indicated that the first round would result in the second round being between Chirac and Jospin (Socialist Party.) This election in 2002 was monumental for France, and perhaps indicative of a larger trend for the country. It was the first time the second ballot run-off would be between two conservative candidates, and also the first time a far-right candidate had achieved a share of votes to win his or her way to the second round. Subsequent elections have fared worse for the FN, due to electoral reforms enacted for future elections. However, despite this setback, there have been gains made by the far-right parties. It now seems that the FN may be poised for another surprise upset in the 2012 national elections. It's undeniable that a trend is developing within European opinion polls that indicate the expansion and increased acceptance of far-right parties. The question is, has this trend reached a tipping point in France, and what are the possible causes for this trend?
Eariler this year, national media outlets in France announced that multiple polls condiucted by Harris Interactive indicated that the current head of the FN, Marine Le Pen (youngest daughter of former party leader Jean-Marie Le Pen) is showing strong against most leftist candidates that are possible contenders in the 2012 ...
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...s at this point would be relatively simple; Continue to monitor the situation as it develops, and make efforts to set an example for multicultural acceptance in our own nation. The rise of far-right parties in Europe mostly stems from issues of immigration and naturalization, along with some latent issues of nationalism. The way each country deals with these issues is unique, and so the solutions are unique. In the case of France, the reaction has been mostly to ignore the problem. The only way I could suggest directly intervening is by pressuring world leaders to address the issue, and offer our support in whatever form that would come.
Should Le Pen, or any other candidate form the far-right, come into power, or should the issue of intolerance reach larger proportions in France, we must be clear that no violation of human rights will be tolerated by our nation.
In the wake of the 2016 general election, Michael Lind published a piece on The Smart Set entitled: Can Electoral Reform Save America? This piece centered around a single question on the ballot of a single state, question 5 in Maine, and the impact on electoral reform it could have for the country according to Lind. Using deconstruction, Lind analyzes the idea of a Ranked Choice polling system, rather than the first-past-the-post system that is currently in place in the United States. His allusions to the past as well as separate government entities globally, as well as a deconstruction of both polling systems and the impact they have (or could have) allows the reader to absorb information and produce their own personal opinion.
Alexis de Tocqueville, a French observer of American politics, believed that the United States could establish democracy because it had well defined characteristics that could not be found in other countries. Those characteristics, such as minimal taxes and fertile soil, made a country with suitable and scholarly qualities also called political culture. The United States is characterized by the a wide range of opinions that adjust one another out in order to produce a system where a republic can flourish despite the fact that the American individuals can express their thoughts.
Since the Renaissance of the 15th century, societal views have evolved drastically. One of the largest changes has been the realization of individualism, along with the recognition of inalienable human rights.(UDHR, A.1) This means that all humans are equal, free, and capable of thought; as such, the rights of one individual cannot infringe on another’s at risk of de-humanizing the infringed upon. The fact that humans have a set of natural rights is not contested in society today; the idea of human rights is a societal construction based on normative ethical codes. Human rights are defined from the hegemonic standpoint, using normative ethical values and their application to the interactions of individuals with each other and state bodies. Human rights laws are legislature put in place by the governing body to regulate these interactions.
Golder, B. 2009. Foucault, anti-humanism and human rights. Published online by the Hawke Research Institute, University of South Australia, Underdale, SA, 2009.
...itism and attempting to appeal to ultra-nationalist sensibilities there is a definite racist element to their discourse. Such racism is evident in the National Front’s stance against immigration where they argue that Arab Islamic immigrants are unlikely to assimilate on the basis of the alien nature of their culture and in the idea that immigration should be banned and the rights of French citizens be made a national priority. Whilst attempts have been made to make this stance appear more moderate and in line with popular discourse in recent years, such as by aligning anti-immigration with cultural incompatibility these arguments simply attempt to mask the true nature of the National Front’s policies. Despite attempts to focus on other elements of party policy it is clear that underneath the rhetoric of Marine Le Pen the National Front is inherently a racist party.
The Declaration declares that all French citizens must be guaranteed their natural born rights of “liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.” In the Declaration, it disputes that there is a need for law that protects the citizens of Fra...
Some of the aspects of the French welfare system could not work completely in the United States, such as capping costs of medications, even if the United States would benefit greatly from the change. If France embraced some aspects of the US’s policies, they could save large amounts of money that could be used for other things. With some many aspects and pieces of both the United States’ and Frances’ welfare systems, neither can truly say that they are more democratic than the other in every
The modern French government is a unique political entity like no other in history. In my research paper I aim to show that while France's system of government appears democratic it is in actuality not. I plan to demonstrate it is more of an oligarchy than a polyarchy, polyarchy being fundamentally necessary for democracy. Drawing on research from conflict theorists I plan to show that France is not truly democratic. I plan to first draw a parallel between research on France as a pluralist state and Robert Dahl's New Haven study by showing that France like New Haven appears to be a pluralist democracy. I then plan to show just as G. William Domhoff did with Dahl's original study, that the same inequality in power exists in France as in New Haven. This power inequality leaves a certain elite with a greater control over the states political system.
In late 2014 or early 2015, the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo exercised their speech freedom in portraying the Muslim Prophet Muhammad in cartoons (“Standing Up For,” 2015). The cartoons were offensive to Muslims and against Islamic law that forbids depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, which led to a terror attack at the Charlie Hebdo office (Zhang et al., 2015). No amount of violence could ever justify such a savage assault against free expression, but there must be limits set when the conditions necessitate respect for the faith and beliefs of
We are constantly asked about our opinions. From asking questions about who you think will win the super bowl, what celebrity wore the best dress on the red carpet to who will you be voting for president. Public opinion polls are everywhere. Politicians have long relied on public opinion polls throughout presidential elections. Unfortunately, public opinion polls are not always a good source to rely on. A good example is in 1948 when the Chicago daily tribune announced a winner for a presidential election. The famous headline “Dewey Defeats Truman”. The tribune had relied on polls to come to that conclusion. This is a mistake that most likely will keep on happening because public opinion polls are either inaccurate or misleading mostly because
Throughout history religion-state issues have always occurred. In France religion does influence law making and politics. This is evident in the banning of the burqa, which is contradictory as France claims to be a secular state. The French government believes the ban reinforces their stance of secularism, and that banning the full face veil will remove a perceived social barrier between the Muslims and general society. The Muslims believe it is actually removing them from the social sphere and an attack on their rights as French citizens. From analysing both sides of the argument a solution can be hypothesised and applied to the situation.
Proponents of human rights argue that the concept’s universality rests in its non-discriminatory character- human rights are meant for every human being- rich and poor, white and black, men and women, young and old, leaders and followers, elites and illiterate, etc- and are all treated equally.
“The common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights - for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture - is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition of all other personal rights is not defended with maximum determination.” -- Pope John Paul II
There have been individuals and even countries that oppose the idea that human rights are for everybody. This argument shall be investigated in this essay, by: exploring definitions and history on human rights, debating on whether it is universal while providing examples and background information while supporting my hypothesis that human rights should be based on particular cultural values and finally drawing a conclusion. A general definition of human rights is that they are rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, simply because they are human. It is the idea that ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.’
Catalonia recognizes the fact that economic crisis undermines democratic regimes, especially newer and less consolidated ones. An economic crisis in general, reveals weaknesses and makes democracy more vulnerable. We believe that economic inequality and government corruption tend to increase during recessions and both weaken the quality and popular support for democracy. Unemployment and public deficit, due to economic crisis, makes people frustrated and that leads them to take acts, either individually or through political parties of intimidation. Frequently, these acts end to violence. Catalonia stresses that today’s economic crisis has revealed all the above, to numerous countries and their regions. One casualty of the crisis is political instability that has brought up to the surface extremist far right parties. Catalonia feels that these parties, through democratic procedures, are taking advantage of people’s dissatisfaction leading them in fascistic actions.