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What other European countries are experiencing independence movements? UK, Spain, and now Italy have regions that have held referendums on independence or autonomy after the leaders of Italy's two wealthiest northern regions have claimed victory in a non-binding referendum, seeking greater autonomy from the central go...	Quite a few European countries have separatist movements .
What is the interest of US in implementing PEPFAR? The United States have spent more than 70 billion in funding prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS outside of their country (mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, e.g. as the Presidents Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief ). What do they expect back? Or maybe, I should rephrase my...	There may be additional benefits to Americans (reduced importation of disease back to America, better Trade, leverage on govenments) or benefits to politicians (Good publicity, seen as generous, kind, and effective, leading to better poll numbers).
Can someone explain the difference between Civil Rights, Civil Liberties and Freedoms? We encounter these terms frequently in everyday readings. Although they have almost the same meanings but there exist intricate differences. Please explain with some examples the differences and similarities between these phrases. <Q...	Civil Liberties are things that are available to everyone, but may be regulated by the government and/or protected by the government.
Why do tourists have to declare $10,000 or more entering some countries? I understand why you'd need to declare other things, but I'm not sure why money should be investigated. Why do countries have such laws in place? <Q> This requirement is usually in place to combat money laundering and tax evasion. <S> The Financ...	Requiring a declaration means the country has records of what cash is coming in and out, records that can be searched to look for suspicious behavior.
Why is there no paid maternity leave in United States (federal level)? According to this document (page 3), US is an exception when it comes to total paid leave related to maternity (paid maternity leave + paid parental and home care leave available to mothers). The OECD countries average is about one year (55.2 week...	Paid Maternity leave is offered by some private businesses, as a contractual incentive when hiring workers. A lot of it boils down to individual freedoms vs federal responsibility.
What would happen if a US president was put in prison? What would happen if a sitting United States president was put in prison? Could such a thing even happen? Would he be removed from office before this, or could he even be sentenced for anything? Also, would this affect the pension he gets for being president? I ...	Although it would undoubtedly be unpopular politically, if a sitting President were actually convicted of a crime he could pardon himself as soon as the guilty verdict was announced.
Why do some countries forbid working on Sunday rather than strictly regulating it? According to this source , Poland will gradually forbid commerce on Sundays: Poland’s ruling party approved a law that will gradually impose a ban on Sunday shopping, meeting the demand of its conservative Catholic supporters with a...	As long as the laws don't entirely forbid work on Sunday (so, for example, doctors and emergency workers can continue to work legally), you can attribute this to cultural traditions.
Why not to make law by demand by commitee of experts I wonder why there is a need for parliaments. Many countries have something like a parliament formed of elected politicians. The problem behind that is that in order to get (re-)elected, politicians become dependent on the public consent. However, public opinion is n...	The reason why expert comissions don't have any legislative power is because experts can come to completely different conclusions.
As a non-U.S. citizen, who can I write to in the U.S. government about a corrupt organization? I am a South African citizen and was involved in Scientology for some years. I have recently been watching Leah Remini's exposé documentary series on Scientology and I would like to get the Church of Scientology investigated...	If you're accusing the Scientologists of breaking laws, what you'll want to look for is a prosecutor's office and/or police department in the relevant jurisdiction.
Are there any ways, besides death, for a sitting US President to be dismissed automatically? Are there any ways that a sitting US President could be dismissed from office automatically, without a lengthy process by Congress? (Besides the trivial one: death?) Perhaps some qualifications that if lost, the dismissal is ...	The president automatically loses US citizenship if they: obtain citizenship of another country, take an oath of allegiance to another country, The obvious mechanism for removal of a sitting US President is impeachment , a process covered by other excellent answers here .
Result if a sitting president was found ineligible by surprise discovery of origin What happens if, after a few years, a sitting President was found in a surprise revelation, and through no fault of their own , to have been utterly ineligible for that office because of both where they were actually born and who their ...	Resignation - The president might be pressured to resign.
Has the Korean War actually ended? Charles Armstrong on 26 May 2010 stated that : The Korean War began 60 years ago on June 25, 1950, and it still hasn't ended. Fighting on the Korean Peninsula may have stopped with a cease-fire in July 1953, but North and South Korea have remained in a tense state of armed tru...	Since both sides could not agree to a peace treaty, it is a general consensus that the war ended in 1953 after the signing of the armistice.
What is ethical liberalism? I have recently seen a conference organized by an ex-PM which discussed about the creation of a new political party . One of the speakers mentioned that the party will be centered around "ethical liberalism", but did not explain what it does actually mean. Googling for it, I found this s...	There is a philosophy called ethical liberalism.
Can a U.S. state guard refuse to federalize? In the event that a U.S. state guard is ordered to federalize could they refuse that order? Is there any justifiable reason they could give for not following that order? <Q> The National Guard is a formal part of the (federal) Army and Air Force components of the US milita...	They can be activated (federalized) by orders of the POTUS .
Why does Denmark spend less of their budget on their universal health care than USA does? Health care makes up about 28 % of the federal spending in the US. See this. In Denmark, a country which, unlike the US, offers universal health care, which ought to be more expensive for the government, only spends about 16 % ...	Denmark spends a smaller percentage of their total budget on health care because their government budget in relation to their population is much larger.
Why is the UK so strongly opposed to private ownership of guns? Here in Czech Republic any citizen can pass a relatively simple test and receive a license to carry a handgun in public in a concealed manner. On the other hand another member of the EU - the UK is strongly opposed to personal ownership of guns to the poin...	Practically, there is no need for a gun for self-defence (at least not in the UK); this is an important part of understanding why the current restrictions are seen as reasonable, harking back to the point of 'no real reason to own them'. The decision not to arm police is an ethical and philosophical stance, dating back...
Dealing with crime in cryptocurrency based economies Most cryptocurrencies are anonymous where the origin of coins is not known and transactions are also anonymous (this may not be 100% true but lets assume perfect anonymity). The society prevents criminalization (using the coin to commit or pay for crime) of cryptocur...	Blockchain-based cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin aren't actually that untraceable, because the transfer history of every wallet is public.
Why does seemingly progressive Sweden strongly disapprove of prostitution? Looking at the map of countries that legalized prostitution one can see a paradox - Sweden seems to be one of the harsher countries in Europe, even though they're leading the world in terms of overall liberalism . Why is this the case? Is the...	Simply put, prostitution is strongly looked down upon in Sweden specifically because we have strong feminist movements (in different flavors and types) while prostitution is seen as both symptomatic and reinforcing of a structural male oppression and sexualization of women.
Is Peru's political elite uniquely diverse? Recently Peru's former President, Alberto Fujimori, was pardoned by the current president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. The human rights abuses aside, I am surprised that Peru's political elite seem to have remarkably diverse ancestry. According to this list of Peruvian presid...	Yes , Peru has an exceptionally diverse political elite.
Oldest head of government / state at time first elected to office Speculation has Bernie Sanders may run for US President in 2020 , when he will be 79. Mahathir Mohamad is aiming to become Malaysias PM (again) at the age of 92. Wikipedia has a list of state leaders by age . Many of the oldest state leaders are co...	Beji Caid Essebsi was elected President of Tunisia in the 2014 Tunesian election which took place on the 23rd of November 2014.
Can the US ask for Julian Assange's extradition without any official charges? According to this article : [21-04-2017] US Attorney General Jeff Sessions says arresting Mr Assange is a priority. No charges have been filed against him in the US but US media outlets report that federal prosecutors are considering ...	An extradition request would require at least one criminal charge; but of course, once Assange was in the hands of the US authorities, they could decide to charge him with any number of additional offences. I think that it would actually be an issue to decide by the host country.
Why are medicine and certain medical procedures so expensive? In countries such as the United States many prescription medicines are really expensive , and it seems like those medicines wouldn’t be that expensive to make. Also many medical procedures seem to be very expensive. Why is this? <Q> The US healthcare sys...	In the United States, you're essentially going to set the price to the highest price that the market will bear, but in other political systems, the government caps the price limit, so you're compelled to sell your medication more cheaply.
Does one country cutting off defensive cooperation with another country constitute a valid casus belli as per international law? I was reading an article on a developing situation in one of the most volatile regions in the world and the strained ties between US and Pakistan. It is being speculated that Pakistan migh...	Thus breaking off a defensive cooperation is no grounds for much of anything, certainly not war. casus belli just means you have a justification that most will consider sufficient something other than a minor disagreement.
What power does the Vice President really have? According to the Constitution, the Vice President is the head of the Senate, but doesn't really explain what that means except to say that he doesn't get to vote except to break a tie. Aside from that and being next in the line of succession, what power does the Vice Pre...	Presiding over the Senate and casting the tie-breaking vote are the only powers the Constitution enumerates to the VP.
Do any countries vote for representatives non-geographically? In the United States, we vote for the president representing our country, two senators representing our state, a US representative from our district, and various state and local representatives based on local laws. These people all represent a geographic loc...	A number of countries use some form of proportional representation where parties receive a number of seats proportional to their share of the vote. France had a parliament (French National Assembly of 1789) where representatives were by class.
Has there been an election where the vote in foreign consulates decided the outcome? In most national elections there is usually the option for voters to cast their ballot in foreign consulates. But as far as I can tell this is usually a mere formality as very few voters ever make use of that privilege and the "foreign...	I don't have exact voting figures, but with such a high population in the diaspora and candidates leaving the country to win their votes, I think it's safe to say that Ecuadorean expatriates make a difference in their country's national elections. The election of the US President in 2000 swung on the result in Florida,...
What information do US voter registration rolls contain? It has been reported that Russia penetrated US voter registration rolls. From what I understand, the databases only contain information on who is registered to vote, and it seems that Russia only read data, but did not remove or add voters. It seems that Ru...	In my state, the rolls contain information such as name, date registered, party affiliation, date of birth, current address, first date of election eligibility, previous addresses I was registered to vote, and voting history (ie.
Political parties active in multiple countries The political party Sinn Féin is active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Of course, the desire of Sinn Féin is for a United Ireland, in which Northern Ireland becomes part of the Republic of Ireland. Nevertheless, it appears unusual that a single p...	The Green Party is active in quite a few countries. There are pirate parties in various countries, they have aligned policies and membership of transnational groups such as "Pirate Parties International"(PPI). Some Catalan and Basque political parties are active in Spain and France.
Is it ever better to vote against a candidate in a primary, rather than for one? In some primary elections, it is possible to vote in only one party's election. My goal is two-fold: remove one party's incumbent candidate from office, and get the other party's best candidate into office. In other words, I am as interest...	There are also situations where voting in the challenging party primary is superior.
Why are Justin Trudeau and Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with Bollywood actors? Recently, Justin Trudeau and Benjamin Netanyahu met with Bollywood actors during their respective visits to India. Given that these meetings won't persuade Bollywood to make movies in Israel or Canada, or contribute much to their already larg...	Meeting with a celebrity is often more than enough to convince that celebrity's fans to feel more positively for you, since they take it as tacit or overt show of supporting you.
Difference between Deputy Prime Minister and Vice President Wikipedia mentions this regarding deputy prime minister: The position is often likened to that of a vice president, but is significantly different even though both positions are "number two" offices. However, it doesn't explain what are the differences. ...	Deputy Prime Minister is someone who can play the role of a Prime Minister when he is momentarily absent for some reason. In India , a Vice President is the ex officio chairman of the upper house of the parliament.
What would the Kremlin stand to gain from killing the ex-spy Sergey Skripal? What would the Kremlin stand to gain from assassinating the ex-spy Sergey Skripal , now critically ill after being poisoned on March 4th 2018 with a nerve agent ? <Q> Skripal was a double-agent who used to work for the Russian secret servi...	I have the feeling Russia has more to lose than to gain.
What can a democratic government do that an autocrat cannot? I mean to ask are there any actions that an autocrat wouldn't have the ability to do but a democrat(small d) would. For instance prohibition, conscription or a hike in the tax rate. Things that would lead to revolutionary attitudes in the subjects of an autoc...	Unfortunately, the specific policies that are possible will depend on the political context of the autocratic regime and the democratic regime that you select for comparison.
Can the US president pardon a non-US citizen? Can the President of the United States pardon a non-US citizen for the crime that he/she may have committed in the United States? Or pardoning only works on US citizens. <Q> ... <S> He shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, ...	The President can pardon crimes under federal jurisdiction, what could prevent a pardon for a crime "committed in the United States" would be if someone committed crimes that also/exclusively falls under the jurisdiction of a particular state.
Why is there so little support for the Minority SafePack in Western European countries, despite them supposedly being pro-multiculturalism? In many countries in Western Europe, there is often a rhetoric about how much multiculturalism and diversity is valued, and in the meantime countries in Eastern Europe are often la...	As historian Rita Chin observes in her book The Crisis of Multiculturalism in Europe, multiculturalism has largely been opposed by Europe's minorities because of its "surprisingly undemocratic effects" source
How do these deals with rogue states and the like happen? It is mostly from Hollywood movies but I have read true story books and have seen news reports on people (not always spies) selling things from weapons, secrets, hacking products, to infiltration services and alike. In real life how would someone go about meeti...	If you had secrets you wanted to leak, you could go push them on the internet on sites like wiki-leaks If you were trying to get paid for it then you would probably start by trying to make contact with the embassies, although good luck with that as you are much more likely to get caught in a sting operation by your own...
Countries with nondemanding military? I live in Switzerland and recently had to join military. To my surprise, it turned out I can go back home during weekends. Only exception is when you're assigned to guard duty, when you need to stay over the weekend and guard the place. Other than that, you're dismissed on Saturday...	In countries in which there is conscription, the rules may vary, depending on the perceived threat.
Does Congress formally offer training to inexperienced legislators? Everyone in Congress came from somewhere. It's possible that they were once in local or state government or active in major social causes, but that's not a safe assumption. The problems and procedures faced in the Capitol are uniquely complicated, an...	The Democratic and Republican parties, and major think-tanks, host orientations for entering "freshmen" Congressmen.
Does separation of church and state in the US apply in public schools? This is specific to holidays that are celebrated by public schools where only one religion is represented, i.e. Easter, Christmas, etc. Are public schools supposed to be a neutral ground when it comes to school holidays? Also, does separation of ch...	Freedom of Religion in the United States Technically speaking, the United States doesn't have a requirement for separation of church and state.
Why has Israel not expelled Russian diplomats in response to the Skripal poisoning? The US and more than 20 other countries have expelled Russian diplomats in response to the poisoning of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal. As of this writing, Israel has not expelled any Russian diplomats in response to this parti...	All in all, Israel has a lot to lose from upsetting Russia, and little to gain.
Why is the UK against joint inquiry into the poisoning of Sergey Skripal? Is it a deadlock? Today at an emergency meeting of the OPCW, Russia proposed a joint UK/Russia inquiry into the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy Sergey Skripal. However, the UK members described this proposal as "perverse". To me, this position seem...	As the UK government suspects the Russian government of the attack, anything offered by the Russian side would not be trusted.
Why does Turkey need so many varieties of missile defense systems? Russia to deliver S-400 air defenses to Turkey in 2020 . Ankara, Washington in talks over Patriot missiles . Turkey discussing missile defense purchases from Eurosam Turkey contracts eurosam, aselsan and roketsan to define its future indigenous air a...	Had Turkey only considered purchasing from EU or American vendors, Russia could view that as a furtherance of negating Russia's strategic missile systems and increase tensions between Turkey and Russia when both countries are trying to keep relations normal.
Why weren't any sanctions imposed on India for not signing the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons? Why weren't any sanctions imposed on India for not signing the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons? <Q> An entire international body designed for restricting trade of nuclear materials was c...	The reason India specifically hasn't been punished much is because they otherwise have a good nuclear record and claim to want stronger non-proliferation treaties.
Unclaimed pieces of land Which parts of the world are not claimed/part of any country (not Antarctica). Do they have inhabitants? If they are inhabited, what citizenship do the inhabitants hold? <Q> There is indeed a small patch of land between Egypt and Sudan not claimed by any country: Bir Tawil . <S> It is essentia...	There are, indeed (apart from those mentioned in other answers) parts of world not claimed by any country - by the Outer Space Treaty .
What would have been the aim of Theresa May refusing to join the strike on Syria? The UK is one of the main NATO members. It seems to me that Western countries almost always act in a block. Why is the UK stepping back from the line? Does she not want to burn jets in Russian fire? In this question NATO is viewed not on...	At the end of the day, Theresa May is not joining an attack on the Syrian Government, because she does not think it to be in the UK's best interest.
Do state senators and representatives have offices in Washington DC or in the state capitol? I live in Oregon, and our senators are Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden. I understand that they have offices in Washington, D.C. If that's the case, who are the senators and representatives working in the state legislature here in Or...	In the United States, the state governments are separate entities from the federal government. The federal senators and representatives likely have offices in Oregon as well as Washington, DC.
Are there examples of military forces that aren't rigidly authoritarian? We commonly think of military forces as being rigidly hierarchical, and committed to following orders to a suicidal extreme for individual soldiers. But, are there examples of military forces organized in a less hierarchical and less authoritarian...	Anarchist forces in Spanish Civil War not only elected officers but were somewhat less authoritarian. Finnish Red Guards elected their officers.
Why is Saudi Arabia pressing the USA for nuclear tech? Saudi Arabia is talking with the USA to sign a nuclear deal: probably civilian, and possibly without safeguards 1 . It is very likely that the US congress would block such a deal without safeguards 2 , 3 . Why is Saudi Arabia so late in acquiring nuclear techs? ...	Saudi Arabia also has reasonable fears and wants to be on an equal footing with Iran, so they want a civilian nuclear program so that they can hide, or pretend to hide, a weapons development program underneath it. With huge ressources available, there was no incentives for Saudi Arabia to develop nuclear energy : they ...
What has been Russia's response to the US strikes on Syria? Russia warned of consequences for the strikes against Syria, and it seems they have made warnings prior to the strikes. Has there been a response or a mobilization of their military that might indicate retaliation? <Q> Good question, though it's not popul...	Russia may do nothing at all indirectly or directly more than what's done because they may weigh their options as unfavorable, whether US military power being a reason or a better strategy being a reason.
How can a Senator be removed from office during a term for medical reasons? While the present condition of Senator McCain prompts this question I am looking for a general answer under similar circumstance for any senator, not necessarily "just McCain". Is there a mechanism for the Senate or the State (of Arizona in t...	The senate can remove a member by 2/3rd vote, it is meant as a punishment, and has only been used a handful of times for obvious problems like joining the confederacy.
Can a Member of Congress be "Impeached"? On a tangent to the initial question posed in How can a Senator be removed from office during a term for medical reasons? the possiblity that a sitting member of the Senate might be "impeached" has been suggested. The example raised was that of Senator William Blout . In the ...	Senators can be impeached -- and have been impeached.
What type of corruption did Trump campaign against? In conversation with a young person recently, I mentioned that Washington, DC, had a lot of corruption when I lived there, e.g. if you couldn't get a building permit on the up and up, you could get one anyway through unethical practices. He remarked, "That's just the...	He said he'd 'drain the swamp' of all the lobbyists who had hurt the country’s working class.
What civic rights do green-card holders have? I know that Permanent Residents of the US are " generally not allowed to vote " or hold public office but I haven't been able to find more detailed information about their civic rights on the USCIS website . My question can be broken down into several specific ones: Are ...	Some special districts (e.g. a ditch association) or proposed special districts (including, e.g. annexation petitions) afford a right to vote based upon property ownership in addition to, or instead of, based upon residency.
What is the difference between a separatist and a rebel? The internet does not give a satisfactory explanation as to the slightly differing nuances of these two notions. Question: When speaking politically, what is meant by "separatists" and "rebels" and where do they differ in ideology? <Q> Separatists desire to be ...	Peaceful Separatist s are people who use politics to get separated from a country. Violent Separatist s are people who use violent means (usually armed struggle) as a tool to become separate from a country. A rebel is not interested in splitting off from the government.
Why did Russia ban Telegram but not WhatsApp, given the latter uses end-to-end encryption by default? Quite recently (in April), Telegram has been banned/blocked in Russia for refusal to give up encryption keys to Russian agencies. Telegram's defence was built around the fact that they don't even have the encryption ke...	In other words, some "terrorists" purportedly used Telegram to exchange messages and Telegram refused to "collaborate" with the FSB in decrypting those messages.
Why was Schengen a problem in distributing refugees based on quotas? I'd often heard here in Czechia that quota couldn't really distribute refugees, as everyone has the right to move freely within the EU. Is the Schengen Agreement so strict it is So hard to adjust so that it's illegal to change your assigned count...	Within the Schengen area there are supposed to be no identity checks when you travel across borders.
Why does the U.S. oppose the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project? Why does the U.S. oppose the €9.5 billion Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project? <Q> This article suggests multiple reasons behind US opposition of Nord Stream 2 project: <S> Europe's energy independence Ukraine loss as less gas would transit it m...	Especially economic: EU and Russia are natural partners, Russia needs European finite products and technology.
Why isn't approval voting used more often in elections? Approval voting is a single-winner electoral system where each voter may select ("approve") any number of candidates. The winner is the most-approved candidate. On paper, approval voting seems like an excellent system: It is easy to explain You can use the ...	The biggest problem that I have with it is that it doesn't allow me to say that I prefer one candidate to another except in the approval.
Is a tariff on software (or "information") possible? Thinking about the recently imposed trade tariffs by the Trump administration and counter-tariffs from Canada , I noticed they're all on physical tangible goods that pass through customs: metals, lumber, certain consumer products and so on. But often a country or...	Fixed value taxes (e.g. $100 per item of software) could be applied in theory, but in practice are too vulnerable to tax avoidance by playing games with the definition of "item".
Political distinction between Surveillance and Wiretapping? In a recent comment Kdog alludes to: ...those guys that think electronic surveillance and wiretapping semantic differences are somehow important. In the US, is this distinction procedurally important? My layman's notion is that wiretapping is merely a ...	You don't need a warrant for many kinds of surveillance.
What reasons do pro-trade politicians use to justify retaliatory tariffs? The general "neoliberal" position towards trade is that it benefits both sides and low tariffs/subsidies are beneficial. This has been the dominant trend in wealthy nations for the last thirty plus years, with free trade agreements and descending...	The nature of retaliatory tariffs is that they're used in retaliation for illegal or otherwise objectionable tariffs.
Why do the Europeans and US consider Hezbollah Terrorists? Some years ago and after the start of the Syrian war, Europe considered Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, while during the Syrian war this organization defeated terrorists such as daesh and alnusra in several battles and in the same time the US is attac...	"Terrorist" is a label that is given due to the nature of the actions, not due to the goals of the organization.
Is there continued movement towards unification of electric power wall socket/plug standards? As we all know, when traveling abroad we usually have to use electric power socket adapters, since there are several form factors in use in the world, and most are incompatible with each other (i.e. not physically pluggable; I...	The EU apparently was asked to consider standardising plug/socket types recently but (as expected) rejected doing so. The fundamental problem is that for a country that currently has strong electrical standards and is able to enforce them a transition will almost certainly meet strong resistance due to the medium term ...
Why didn't Western countries boycott the 2018 World Cup? According to this article Russian government believes that 2018 World Cup will help Russian economy on the medium term: a survey by the Russian government last week. It said the World Cup's boost for the country's gross domestic product (GDP) would be betwee...	For many countries, the decision to attend or not is deferred to the national football association.
Can a Western democracy prevent private groups from using the country’s name/purporting to represent that country e.g. at the World Cup? In this question about countries boycotting the World Cup , it was pointed out in several answers, quite correctly, that the national football leagues in question aren’t government a...	The government‡ does not have exclusive rights to use of the name of the nation.
What would Norway have lost if they had joined the EU? A referendum on joining the European Union was held in Norway on 27 and 28 November 1994. But, the "No campaign" won the referendum. One of the reason was that, Norway has an economy based on natural resources (oil and fish), meanwhile the European union mostly...	Outside the EU, Norway can control its own waters, which are rich in natural resources.
Is it known who replaces whom on SCOTUS if there are two vacancies? Speculation is that Clarence Thomas may also retire while Republicans hold the Presidency, presumably to ensure his replacement is a Republican-appointed Judge. Let's assume that happens soon, and there would exist two simultaneous vacancies on SCOT...	Generally speaking, we know who is replacing whom on SCOTUS
Why doesn't Theresa May sack hard-Brexiteers from cabinet? Theresa May's cabinet is highly divided between soft-Brexiteers and hard-Brexiteers . She clearly belongs to the former (she was actually against Brexit before the referendum), whereas people like David Davis, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove belong to the l...	The whole thing is balanced on a knife edge and firing an extremist would cause the whole thing to come crashing down around her. Theresa May is beholden to these MP's and does not have the political support of her party in terms of taking these actions.
Why do people call for office holders to resign? What consequences does that bring? Oftentimes amid a scandal or issue the public or other politicians will call for an office holder to resign. It seems strange to me to try to shame an individual into stepping down if they truly are terrible, and to my understanding it ...	It pressures the one being asked to resign for the good of the party.
Did any group in Russia oppose Crimean annexation? Did any group in Russia oppose Crimean annexation? If Yes , I have a few more questions: Were they political groups or non-political groups? What was their objective: only to oppose Putin, or, to show solidarity with Ukraine? Were they arrested? <Q> The lar...	Yes, there were plenty such groups within the Russian opposition. The Peace March mentioned above was sanctioned by the local Moscow authorities and saw very few arrests despite the strong police and military presence. Yabloko were perhaps the largest official political party that openly opposed the annexation.
Has Trump ever criticized the human-rights record of any country after he became president? The Guardian has an article about Trump not wanting to criticize North Korea's human rights record before their summit, which is perhaps undestandable from a realpolitk perspective. I want to know if Trump himself ever critici...	President Donald Trump has criticized human rights violations in Turkey, cited even by a newspaper hostile to him, New York Times: During Wednesday’s phone call, the White House said, Mr. Trump also voiced concern about “destructive and false rhetoric coming from Turkey.”
How common is pairing? This question introduced me to an interesting legislative behavior called pairing . In some legislatures, when a member of one party is unable to vote the opposing party may decide to ask one of their members not to vote also. The linked question is about the UK. But I wonder, how common is p...	Pairing is not mentioned explicitly in the rules for the Belgian Senate , however, they're also commonplace there
Why is exorcism still allowed (legal) in highly developed countries? According to this article exorcism still receives legal protection in US: The Texas Supreme Court on Friday threw out a jury award over injuries a 17-year-old girl suffered in an exorcism conducted by members of her old church, ruling that the c...	Exorcism, at least that performed by mainstream churches like Roman Catholics or Pentecostals usually does not injure subject of ritual directly, but could cause indirect mental harm and possibly self-injury.
What are the steps for a person to become a US Ambassador, after the nomination? I have heard on radio about the US Ambassador in Romania, Hans Klemm, being recalled to Washington: US Ambassador Hans Klemm will be recalled to Washington, Romanian FM Teodor Melescanu has confirmed on Monday evening. Melescanu said ...	First, the president must nominate someone for the post; he will either ask the US Department of State for a list of candidates that will fit the job (career diplomats) , or just select someone (political appointment).
Does tax amnesty have any benefit except for potentially uncovering undeclared wealth? Reading the Wikipedia article about the tax amnesty, my understanding is that the main benefit of a tax amnesty is to encourage individuals to declare their wealth: Introduction of Amnesty scheme in any fiscal year is to help State...	It also leads to arrear taxes being paid that would not be paid unless the tax office is able to uncover and prosecute the tax evasion.
Why is abortion considered an individualist dilemma? In this question: If conservatism believes in individualism, then why do conservatives often support regulation of personal decisions? , the questioner asks why right-wingers regulate "personal decisions", despite claiming that they believe in individualism. I thi...	Abortion involves the life of somebody other than the person making the decision.
Why doesn't Sweden, seemingly extremely progressive country, abolish monarchism? Sweden is widely considered one of the most leftist or progressive country in the world, and one of the core ideologies leftists have is egalitarianism. But they still employ monarchism, and it is fundamentally incompatible with egalitari...	Tradition/cultural heritage, popular support, apolitical head of state, representation Tradition/cultural heritage Monarchs have been players for power on the Scandinavian Peninsula since before the countries there were even known by their present day names.
Are member states compelled by law to implement EU directives and regulations? Are European Union member states compelled by law to implement EU directives and regulations, or can they choose not to implement them for any reason? <Q> The meaning of "regulations" and "directives" are specified in Article 288 of the Tre...	In a nutshell, the EU Commission or, in very rare cases, other member states, can bring an EU member state in front of the Court for failing to implement directives or correctly apply EU law.
Does a (US) presidential proclamation have a time limit? tl;dr : Other than the power to declare war, are any of the powers afforded the U.S. president limited as to how long the action is effective? When I was in school (late 90's, US mid-Atlantic region), we were taught that the government had a separation of power...	Under the National Emergencies Act — a post-Watergate law intended to rein in presidential emergency powers — the president needs to renew the emergency each year or it lapses. Technically the President can't declare war at all, the constitution requires congress to declare war and the president to carry out that war. ...
What is the reason for organ donation "soft opt-out" even if the person has explicitly allowed organ donation? According to this BMJ article , in many countries that have a presumed organ donation policy, the family can override person's decision related to donating his/her organs: (..) although Spain is often said ...	Another issue would be that if the donor's family delays the organ removal for even a short period of time after death, the organs will no longer be usable.
What's the point in holding a second Brexit referendum? Closely related to: What would be the subject of a second Brexit Referendum? Currently, there is discussion about a possible second referendum fueled by Labour, and there seems to be the publicly voiced conception that Lord Kerr (who is regarded as being somewha...	If you want to Leave, there is no point in a second vote.
What issue does the EU take with the UK's Chequers proposal? It's said that the UK's Chequers proposal is "dead in the water" . Different questions here have dealt with UK politicians supporting or opposing the proposal, but I'm interested in the EU's perspective. What issue does the EU take with the proposal, eit...	The EU fundamentally cannot accept the trade portions of the Chequers proposal which in short propose Single Market access for goods from the UK, without requiring the UK to accept freedom of movement.
What does Kanye (Ye) West actually mean by "Abolish the 13th Amendment"? On his Saturday Night Live appearance on the 29th of September 2018, Kanye West spoke on "abolishing the 13th amendment " . (This may have been stewing for a while, but that is when I first became cognizant of it.) 13th Amendment Section 1....	If I had to guess, given that he also mentions prisons in the same sentence, he might be alluding to the exception of prison labor in the 13th amendment and it disproportionately affecting black people as well as its link to slavery (see e.g. here ).
Does the EU mandate certain requirements for citizenship of member states? Does the EU mandate certain requirements for citizenship of member states? For example, criminal background checks, multiple nationalities. The origin of my question is that EU Citizenship, introduced with Maastricht Treaty might mean that the...	With respect to the OP's question, it is worth noting that the EU does not impose any particular requirement on Member States for national citizenship. EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding has said applicants should have "a genuine link to the country" - not just the ability to pay.
Are there any countries besides Canada where the flow of goods is restricted between the country's provinces? This year, Canada's Supreme Court ruled as following : The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled unanimously that provinces and territories have the constitutional right to restrict the importation of goods acro...	Some of the United States (if you consider those "provinces") have restrictions on (and/or would require you to pay state taxes when) transporting alcohol across state lines.
In the US, how much power does the president have over the federal budget? If the president wants to change spending in one direction, like to adjust the deficit without changing taxes, how much could they move it? I suspect that the president would just get impeached in that scenario and have no power. But if there ...	Most budgets these days delegate a lot of decisions to the president so he has a lot of arbitrary spending power within designated limits.
Why would US NOT sanction Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi's possible killing? We have a question about motivating western countries to start sanctions against Saudi Arabia. It is rather simple question - murdering and torture in embassy are hard things to explain And what is on the different side? Why US (as main western ...	If the US would start imposing sanctions on SA, they'd threaten their own position in the middle east and a lot of money, the only reason why they'd impose sanctions is to give a signal to SA, that they shouldn't do this stuff again, but Trump doesn't seem to be very interested in that, he cares a lot more for the 100-...
What exactly is "hyper-partisanship"? Though I'm not a native English speaker I've still a rough idea what hyper-partisanship is. But that's not good enough: I'm looking for some kind of definition - and not only a primitive dictionary definition. Background: In public and the media there's a long list of complaints a...	In multi-party systems, the term is used for politicians who strongly support their party's policies and are reluctant to compromise with their political opponents " Hyper " excessively highly excited
What would be the effect of a change in the US Senate? The 2018 midterms seem likely to flip the US House of Representatives from a Republican to a Democratic majority. This change would impact the Trump/Republican agenda. Apparently much less likely, the US Senate could flip also. What would be the effect of a flip in...	The biggest effect with a flipped Senate would be on confirmations - anybody Trump wanted to confirm as a judge/justice, or a cabinet member, would have to be someone at least some Democrats in the Senate would support to get to 50 votes (Pence would retain the tie breaker).
Why are some airlines canceling their flights to Iran after the US sanctions and others do not? After the recent US sanctions against Iran, some major European airlines (Air France / KLM, British Airways) have stopped their scheduled flights to Iran. However, other major airlines (Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines) have not...	But when some airlines do cancel flights, it can actually increase the likelihood that a competitors flights will be full enough to make a profit. German airliner Lufthansa and its subsidiary Austrian airlines will offer new flights to Iran amid a growing demand as a result of the business and tourist boom in that coun...
What is the main disagreement between Palestinian groups? Based on Wikipedia , there was supposed to be an election for the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2014, but it has been postponed because of disagreements between Fatah , and Hamas . What are their main disagreements? What are the proposed solutions t...	Hamas supports destruction of Israel by force.
Does the introduction of proportional representation lead to extremists getting elected to parliament? Whenever there are attempts to introduce proportional representation in North America, proponents of FPTP claim that it could contribute to the rise of far-right parties. For example, the " Vote No to Pro Rep " websit...	So in answer to the question directly, PR does tend to result in more people from the fringes of the political spectrum getting elected to Parliament.
How do states trust each other to comply with treaties? There is no global power that enforces treaties so when entering into one a state has to make a prediction about whether the other parties will comply with it. I'm guessing they base their predictions on the reputation of the state. I'm also guessing that the pred...	Past history plays a huge role here. There are various international arbitration systems for resolving disputes, such as the WTO.
What are some examples of rights that cost money? Most of the rights that I am aware of (at least in the USA) are rights that are granted to me free of charge, by virtue of being born here. I don't need to fill any paperwork or pay any fee. I can publish a newspaper without paying anything (other than business expenses...	Every right, that is enforced when it needs to be, cost money.
Why was Google grilled by congress for prototyping a censored search engine? Sudar Pichai was summoned and grilled by Congress regarding numerous topics: among them was the Dragonfly censored search engine for China. What exactly is the problem with Google creating a state censored search engine for China? Congres...	Something that helps China in a big way is not going to be seen positively necessarily.
Is Trump an isolationist? Concerning foreign policy is President Trump an isolationist? If he is, to what extent? His anti-globalist 'America First' rhetoric and his anti-alliance talk would indicate he is an isolationist yet his interference in Syria and possibly his role in brokering talks with North Korea indicate ...	The positioning of American armed forces is a much better indicator of a president's isolationism than are words coming out of pundits mouths , because the president is the commander-in-chief. Isolationism isn't a binary "yes" or "no" choice. When Trump comments about Brexit or the Russian conflict with Ukraine, it is ...
What if the House of Commons votes no confidence in the Prime Minister? If the House of Commons votes No Confidence in the government then a general election follows (IIRC the last time this happened was 1979, resulting in the election of Mrs Thatcher). But Jeremy Corbyn has said that he will propose a motion of No ...	Losing a vote of no confidence in the Government means that the chances of a General Election are significantly reduced and the Labour Party is currently strongly committed to getting that General Election.
Why do bills with a veto-proof majority in Congress go to the President? If a bill receives a veto-proof vote in Congress, why does it go to the President to sign or veto, only to go back to Congress in the case of a veto, instead of immediately becoming law? The differences between the two systems, as well as I can as...	The rejection of the bill by the President is intended to cause the members of Congress to reconsider their support.
Will there be a border between Ireland and the UK if they can't agree on a deal? Please help me understand this. Some brexiteer colleagues say it won't be a border, because of the Good Friday Agreement but WTO rules mean there must be a border. Will the UK then decide to break WTO rules consistently and prefer to upset...	There will be a border in any scenario short of Irish unification.
Why do some Muslim countries criminalize atheism? I've heard that in several countries, including Malay and Iran, being an atheist can get you a death sentence . All of these countries are Islamic countries. Now, Islam itself is already pretty close to atheism, rejecting all gods but one (Allah). So it's legal to bel...	Other religions are still not fully accepted and in some countries, Atheism and other religions are punished equally.

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