Illustration by Be Boggs.
Letters to Zócalo
Can a Third of My Neighbors Really Be Far-Right Extremists?
I Joined a United Germany When the Wall Fell. Now I Fear for Its Future
I grew up in East Germany, in the former German Democratic Republic, and I am still here today.
In the fall of 1989, we liberated ourselves from dictatorial conditions through a peaceful revolution. That was a beginning. Freedom “from something,” however, must lead to freedom “for something.” We discussed how we wanted to develop our country. The possibilities seemed endless.
Then the Wall fell. People oriented themselves towards the West. It promised prosperity, which had a stronger allure than taking our own uncertain path.
So, I became a citizen of the Federal Republic …
Pakistan’s General Election Is a Generals’
Election
Since the Country’s Founding, the Military Has Ruled Over Civilian Affairs—This Vote Won’t Change That
Maybe it’s best to ask if Pakistan’s 2024 election is to be called a general election, or a generals’ election.
As a lawyer and rule of law consultant for different development …
I Bought a Pricey Plane Ticket in Hopes of Voting for a United Taiwan
But Now There’s No Viable Party I Can Support
I’m 72 years old, but recently I made a rookie mistake. I believed that Taiwanese politicians, when they signed an agreement, would honor that agreement and seek unity.
Forgive me for …
In Dhaka, the Roadblocks to Democracy Are Roadblocks
As the Election Looms in Bangladesh, Blockades Are More Than a Metaphor for the Obstacles Facing Voters
It’s election season in Bangladesh—the roads are closed, vehicles are burning, and the threat of violence is close.
As I write these sentences, the country’s chief opposition party—the Bangladesh Nationalist Party …
2024 Will Be the Biggest Election Year in World History
And That’s Not Good News for Democracy
2024 will be the biggest election year in history. Some 4.2 billion people, or more than half of humanity, live in the 76 countries that are scheduled to …
New York’s First New Year’s Eve Countdown Was Thanks to 19th-Century U.S. Navy Timekeeping
Lovely article. It would appear that your author is not familiar with Ian Bartky’s Selling the True Time: Nineteenth-Century Timekeeping in America (Stanford University Press 2000). In it, she would find that the concept of counting down to an event had its origin in the telegraphic dissemination of time, which began with the Navy in the 19th century. The concept became a public event when the Navy installed a time ball on Manhattan in the early 20th century for the ships in New York Harbor. It connected that ball to the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. To mark that event, it publicized a public event for New Year’s Eve with the idea that New Yorkers would know exactly when the new year began. I haven’t looked at the book for several years but I believe the year was 1906.
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