Category Archives: Politics

UW research: World population could be nearly 11 billion by 2100

A new statistical analysis shows the world population could reach nearly 11 billion by the end of the century, according to a United Nations report issued June 13. That’s about 800 million, or about 8 percent, more than the previous projection of 10.1 billion, issued in 2011.

The projected rise is mostly due to fertility in Africa, where the U.N. had expected birth rates to decline more quickly than they have.

“The fertility decline in Africa has slowed down or stalled to a larger extent than we previously predicted, and as a result the African population will go up,” said Adrian Raftery, a University of Washington professor of statistics and of sociology. (more…)

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‘Germany means protection for my life’: Nouroudeen (34)

Q: How are you?

Nouroudeen: I am fine.

Q: How long have you been living here?

Nouroudeen: I came to Germany two months before.

Q: Where do you come from?

Nouroudeen: I come from Benin. (more…)

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The tea party and the politics of paranoia

Members of tea party claim the movement springs from and promotes basic American conservative principles such as limited government and fiscal responsibility.

But new research by University of Washington political scientist Christopher Parker argues that the tea party ideology owes more to the paranoid politics associated with the John Birch Society — and even the infamous Ku Klux Klan — than to traditional American conservatism. (more…)

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The politics of climate change

U.S. residents who believe in the scientific consensus on global warming are more likely to support government action to curb emissions, regardless of whether they are Republican or Democrat, according to a study led by a Michigan State University sociologist.

However, a political divide remains on the existence of climate change despite the fact that the vast majority of scientists believe it is real, said Aaron M. McCright, associate professor in Lyman Briggs College and the Department of Sociology. (more…)

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On governance and leadership in Africa

Mo Ibrahim, founder of Celtel International, one of Africa’s leading mobile telephone companies, gave the Coca-Cola World Fund at Yale Lecture,  “Governance, Leadership, Civil Society, and the Private Sector: An African Perspective,” on April 23. Ibrahim is also the founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to improve the quality of governance in Africa. *Source: Yale […]

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New book explores Harry Truman’s record on civil liberties

Richard Kirkendall is a University of Washington professor emeritus of history and editor of the new book “Civil Liberties and the Legacy of Harry S. Truman.” He answered a few questions about the book for UW Today.

Q: What’s the scope of the book?

A: The book surveys the civil liberties issue during the Truman presidency of 1945-1953, an especially important time in the history of this essential feature of the American political system.

The book begins with two chapters on Truman as a civil libertarian, one on his identification of himself, the other on his relations with Japanese-Americans, the victims during World War II of a major violation of American principles. (more…)

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UA Researchers Solve Mystery of Lincoln’s Funeral Train

With the 2015 sesquicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s death approaching, interest is rising, and with new tools, UA researchers have turned their attention to one of the last remaining mysteries about what reportedly was the largest traditional funeral in American history – the train’s color.

A trove of information exists about Abraham Lincoln’s funeral, which drew millions of mourners during a two-week railway procession across the Northern states.

But until now, the precise color of the president’s railcar had been lost to history. (more…)

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