Welcome to our roundup of news and current events related to ethics and international affairs! Here’s some of what we’ve been reading this past month:
September 2024 flooding in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Photo credit: Kamil Czaiński via Wikimedia.
New York Times: What We Know About the Deadly Floods in Central Europe
Floods over the last week in Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Austria have killed dozens of people and put many thousands more out of a home. The disaster is the result of a storm, Storm Boris, that has hung around Central Europe for many days, and does not show signs of moving elsewhere in the near future. In Romania and Poland, government officials report that the situation is dire, with their only intent being “save as many lives as possible.” In the Czech Republic and Austria, there have been fewer fatalities, but the damage is still immense. Helicopter rescues are nearly commonplace and thousands of volunteers have been recruited to help pump water out of houses and schools, as well as rescue people from flooded areas. Many are worried about not only the short-term prospects for more rain but also longer-term climate change impacts on the drought and flood cycles.
Read more about natural disasters, climate change, and ethical solutions in Ethics & International Affairs:
Migration, Climate Change, and Voluntariness (2023: 37-4)
Introduction: Representing Vulnerable Communities and Future Generations in the Face of Climate Change (2022: 36-2)
Communities and Climate Change: Why Practices and Practitioners Matter (2022: 36-2)
Protesters in Hong Kong during the 2019 pro-democracy, anti-extradition law movement. Photo credit: Studio Incendo via Wikimedia.
Reuters: First conviction under Hong Kong's new national security law for wearing "seditious" T-shirt
On September 16, 2024, a man in Hong Kong pleaded guilty to doing an act with a seditious intention under the city’s new national security law, which was passed in March of this year. His case is the first conviction under the new law, "Article 23,” paving the way for further convictions and usages of the wide-ranging ordinance. The man was initially arrested on June 12—the anniversary of the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong—for wearing a T-shirt and mask with slogans from the 2019 protests. The city law, a separate ordinance that acts as an addition to Beijing’s contentious national security law, expands the ruling to include acts of sedition and acts with seditious intent. The U.S. government has expressed concern that Article 23 could be used to quash dissent broadly.
Read more about the rights of protestors and the movement toward (or away from) democracy in Ethics & International Affairs:
Global Justice in a Turbulent World (2024)
Deconstructing Nonviolence and the War-Machine: Unarmed Coups, Nonviolent Power, and Armed Resistance (2021: 35-3)
The Ethics of (Un)Civil Resistance (2019: 33-3)
Hezbollah soldiers during a ceremony in 2017. Photo credit: khamenei.ir via Wikimedia.
AP News: Hezbollah hit by a wave of exploding pagers and blames Israel. At least 9 dead, thousands injured
At least nine people were killed in an apparent remotely-controlled attack in Lebanon and Syria after hundreds of pagers exploded in the hands and pockets of people across the two countries. Most of the pagers were owned and used by members of Hezbollah, which acquired the devices in the last six months. The group points fingers at Israel for the attack, though the Israeli military has declined to comment on the event. The attack comes as tensions continue to rise between Israel and Hezbollah, with Israel recently announcing that an official war goal is the return of residents in northern Israel to their homes. The Israeli defense minister stated that time is “running out” for a diplomatic solution between Israel and Hezbollah.
Read more about the ethics of warfare, weapons, and “targeted” strikes in Ethics & International Affairs:
International Law and the Humanization of Warfare (2024: 37-4)
Mapping the Lethal Autonomous Weapons Debate: An Introduction (2023: 37-3)
Image of the São Paulo cityscape in 2007 showing the divide between neighborhoods. Photo credit: Kyle Taylor via flickr.
Financial Times: Rightwing self-help guru takes São Paulo mayoral race by storm
Pablo Marçal, a populist far-right candidate running for mayor of São Paulo, is a divisive figure, even by the “acrimonious standards of Brazilian politics.” A professional influencer and self-proclaimed economic success story, Marçal is considered a serious contender in the mayoral race for São Paulo due to his antiestablishment mentality and weaponization of evangelical Christianity—similarly used by previous Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. In a city with extreme social inequality, Marçal’s personal wealth story is a major draw for many voters who identify him as a radical solution. While the incumbent rightwing candidate is still favored to win the race, Marçal is making gains in both polling and citizen popularity, an example of the increasing turn to right wing extremism in nations around the world.
Read more about right-wing politics and liberal democracies in Ethics & International Affairs:
Contested Past, Contested Future: Identity Politics and Liberal Democracy (2024: 37-4)
The Risks and Benefits of National Stories (2022: 36-4)
Healing Liberal Democracies: The Role of Restorative Constitutionalism (2022: 36-4)