BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT URL:http://www.russianmix.com/events/viewevent/5033-have-recent-elections-changed-international-affairs/ DTSTART:20171003T183000 DTEND:20171003T201500 SUMMARY:Have Recent Elections Changed International Affairs? DESCRIPTION:United States to Europe to Sub-Saharan Africa, the nature of elections has changed and the means of governing and becoming elected have visibly been altered. A series of developments including the proliferation of new technologies which have increased transparency and communication, the rise of populist movements led by once silenced working class and disenfranchised majorities and the acceptance of looser standards of political correctness have allowed uncomfortable national conversations to arise and changed international diplomacy and mechanisms of leadership.   For democratic countries and partially democratic nations, elections are supposed to be the voice of the people. Indirectly, they determine a nation's economic, social and foreign policy and directly, they determine the face and personality of each nation. In a globalized world where nations are expected to diplomatically coexist, controversial national elections or the premise of contentious elections can project the international community and a nation into chaos. The uncertainty in the following countries are examples of contentious recent and upcoming elections which may determine the direction of the world.  As we explore these elections we will discuss How have international/ national conditions changed to promote/allow this outcome?   Is there a movement towards holding leaders more accountable for corruption and economic despair in a nation? Is there an international movement to the right? How has the left responded? How will this impact human rights?  Is there and international youth movement or are the old guard still determining policy? Is there an international movement towards isolationism and how will this impact ongoing global conflicts? Are these positive or negative developments and where do you see the end result going? In Europe, Germany's Prime Minster Angela Merkel has risen as a world leader in her liberal stance on immigration, push for EU cooperation and nuanced foreign policy, however her decisions on immigration have been highly controversial with the German people and may be propelling her high school drop out competitor from the Social Democratic party a toward September victory.  In a world that looks to Merkel for moral and diplomatic leadership, how might a changing of the guard impact future developments in refugee policy and BREXIT negotiations ? In Asia, Prime Minister Jargaltulga Erdenebat of Mongolia and his Cabinet have been voted out over corruption charges in connection with contracts worth $328 million. Is this Cabinet reshuffle better or worse for Mongolia's economic outlooks? Given Mongolia's trade and social relationship with North Korea has partially allowed North Korea to survive sanctions from the international community, how could government uncertainty impact future North Korean negotiations with other nations?  In Africa, Kenya's the August 8 re-election of Uhuru Kenyatta was annulled by the Supreme Court amid charges of technological errors in voting and new election is set for October 26 despite claims that the electoral issues remain. Is this a step towards less corruption in African and post colonial democracies or the preface to electoral chaos and misguided distrust in democratic institutions? In Russia, incumbent Vladimir Putin has not indicated if he will run for a second term in 2018. How would a second term vs. a new leader impact the ongoing conflict in Syria, relations with the US, and Russian Ukrainian Policy?  In South America Venezuela's, Nicolás Maduro is using autocratic means to maintain power in his economically battered country after what the State Department declared as "Sham" elections.With US threatening military action to remove Madura, is there a viable replacement in the wings and how might the destabilization of a once prominent South American economy impact it's neighbors? In the Middle East, though elections are rare in Saudi Arabia, municipal elections are possible in the near future and there is a growing movement to increase female participation in the polls in the next elections. Will the relaxation of gender based discrimination in Saudi Arabia be contagious in the region?  http://indianexpress.com/article/world/german-election-2017-all-you-need-to-know-from-angela-merkel-to-christian-lindner/  http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mongolian-prime-minister-voted-graft-allegations-49678433  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/20/kenyan-election-rerun-not-transparent-supreme-court  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vladimir-putin-russia-president-election-not-leave-russian-presidency-second-term-re-election-sochi-a7854621.html  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/maduro-calls-trump-hitler-after-u-s-president-slams-venezuela-n802766  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35075702 LOCATION:Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood Library, 3160 16th Street Northwest, Washington, DC, 20010 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR