The political culture of Europe is in fl ux right now, both as awhole and also with its individual nations. Political culture consists of the political system of that country, the process through which that system makes political and policymaking decisions, and what policies are actually put into effect.
The European Union is experiencing growing pains, and theUkraine experiencing the brunt of it. According to The New York Times, the EU has offi cially dropped Ukraine from consideration of admittance. President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barosso, said, “Ukraine is not ready, and we are not ready.” This is a major setback for Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko who is currently trying to form a coalition government that will keep him in power.
In England, Muslims are not on the good side of the Englishpolitical culture. The Labour government of Tony Blair has beenpondering out in the open about the possibility of banning veilson Muslim women, deeming them “unsocial” and according toworldnewswatch.com, the conservative deputy party leader hasgone as far as saying that Muslim women are “creating apartheid by shutting themselves off,” with their use of the veil. France attempted to do this recently, but it failed to be effective.
Almost exactly one year ago, France had riots in the streets byMuslim citizens after two Muslim men were killed. This fueled the anger Muslims had toward the French government because they felt they were being discriminated against.
To many peoples’ surprise, America is no longer the leader inarms dealing to third world countries. In fact, it is now third, behind Russia and France. Russia, according to Yahoo News, has a $700 million-plus contract to build an air defense system in Iran and will supply China with eight new aerial refueling tankers. While these deals may catch some people off guard, it is relatively easy to see how these three authoritarian-like governments can wheel and deal given the political culture present in these countries. With no effective legislature to curb their power, these governments are able to make whatever deals they wish without interference from opposition parties or bureaucracies.
King Juan Carlos of Spain was acquitted this week of shooting adrunken bear during a trip to Russia. Supposedly the animal had been plied with vodka. If this is any sign of the political culture that evolving in Spain, we should all be worried.