Portal:Politics

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Politics is the process and method of gaining or maintaining support for public or common action, the conduct of decision-making for groups. Although it is usually applied to governments, political behavior is also observed in corporate, academic, religious, and other institutions. Political philosophy is the study of topics such as politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why (or even if) they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it should take and why, what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any, and when it may be legitimately overthrown, if ever. Political science is the field devoted to studying political behavior and examining the acquisition and application of power, or the ability to impose one's will on another. Its practitioners are known as political scientists. Political scientists look at elections, public opinion, institutional activities, the ideologies behind various politicians and interest groups, how politicians achieve and wield their influence, and so on.

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Selected article

The Power of Nightmares is a BBC documentary film series, written and produced by Adam Curtis. The series consists of three one-hour films, consisting mostly of a montage of archive footage with Curtis's narration, which were first broadcast in the United Kingdom in late 2004 and have been subsequently aired in multiple countries and shown in several film festivals, including the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. The films compare the rise of the American Neo-Conservative movement and the radical Islamist movement, making comparisons on their origins and noting strong similarities between the two. More controversially, it argues that the threat of radical Islamism as a massive, sinister organised force of destruction, specifically in the form of al-Qaeda, is in fact a myth perpetrated by politicians in many countries—and particularly American Neo-Conservatives—in an attempt to unite and inspire their people following the failure of earlier, more utopian ideologies. The Power of Nightmares has been praised by film critics in both Britain and the United States. Its message and content have also been the subject of various critiques and criticisms from conservatives and progressives.

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A campaign poster from the National Union Party during the US election of 1864, showing presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln (left) and his running-mate Andrew Johnson. The Republican Party changed its name and selected Johnson, a former Democrat, to draw support from War Democrats during the Civil War.

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News and Current Events

Wikinews on Politics and conflicts

• May 22: Commonwealth confirms receiving Zimbabwe's application to rejoin the bloc
• May 22: Greek police arrest four for attacking Thessaloniki mayor Yiannis Boutaris
• May 16: Dublin mayor suggests not sending Irish representative to Israel for Eurovision 2019; two European Parliament lawmakers support boycott
• May 15: German beer company Eichbaum issues public apology for printing Saudi Arabian flag on beer bottle caps
• May 12: Berlin court: neutrality law above German religious freedom, bans teacher headscarves in primary school
• May 11: Pakistani parliament passes bill for transgender rights
• May 4: Leader of South Korea requests foreign involvement in decommissioning of nuclear test site
• April 25: India: Jammu and Kashmir government orders private tuitions to shut down for 90 days
• April 23: India: Cabinet approves capital punishment for rape of girls under age twelve
• April 14: United States Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announces retirement

Selected biography

Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) led the Soviet Union during the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964. Khrushchev was responsible for the partial de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, for backing the progress of the world's early space program, and for several relatively liberal reforms in areas of domestic policy. Khrushchev was born in the Russian village of Kalinovka in 1894. With the help of Lazar Kaganovich, he worked his way up the Soviet hierarchy. He supported Stalin's purges, and approved thousands of arrests. Stalin's political heirs fought for power after his death in 1953, a struggle in which Khrushchev, after several years, emerged triumphant. On February 25, 1956, at the Twentieth Party Congress, he delivered the "Secret Speech", vilifying Stalin and ushering in a less repressive era in the Soviet Union. Hoping eventually to rely on missiles for national defense, Khrushchev ordered major cuts in conventional forces. Despite the cuts, Khrushchev's rule saw the tensest years of the Cold War, culminating in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Did you know...

• ...that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned literacy tests as a voting qualification in the U.S.?

• ...that Nazi scientists claimed to have trained a dog to call "Adolf Hitler" as "Mein Führer"?
• ...that for many years, the Russian Soviet Republic did not have its Communist Party?
• ...that the World War II idea of Polish-Czechoslovakian confederation was eventually discarded by the Czechs, whose leader chose instead to believe in the Soviet Union promises of alliance?

• ...that Chinese Taipei is the designated name the Republic of China (Taiwan) uses in most international organizations?

• ...that Roman embassies to China are reported in Chinese historical accounts from as early as 166?

In this month

• May 5, 2005 – A General Election in the United Kingdom sees Tony Blair's Labour government returned to office with a reduced majority of 66.
• May 14, 1948 – The Declaration of Independence of Israel is made.
• May 18, 1948 – The first Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking.

Related portals

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