July 2017

Timor–Leste consolidates its young democracy

The people of one of the world’s youngest democracies are embracing an open, public and popular electoral process, writes Damien Kingsbury In a colourful and noisy event, unblemished so far by the violence that marred the first few years of independence, Timor–Leste prepares for its fourth parliamentary elections this Saturday. By conventional criteria, it has

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India’s ban on cow slaughter: appeasing the BJP Hindu base but scoring an economic own goal?

While India’s ban on selling cattle for slaughter has triggered violent vigilantism, Peter Mayer and Mandar Oak consider its impact on the country’s economy It is common knowledge that the cow is held as sacred by many Hindus. As the English usage is ambiguous, it is important to specify that it is only females of

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Safety of cows, sacrifice of minorities: cow vigilantism in India

In a new regime that protects the welfare of cattle, the Indian government overlooks the safety and livelihood of its minorities, argues Pawan Singh Restrictions on buying and selling cows and other cattle in open livestock markets in India began in May 2017 when the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change implemented the Supreme

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