Case studies politics

Describe New Zealand: women’s suffrage

• Led by Kate Sheppard and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, activists organised public meetings, wrote to newspapers, and submitted petitions to Parliament. 

• Their final 1893 petition contained 31,872 signatures, and more than 109,000 women enrolled to vote within two months of the Electoral Act becoming law.

Describe trump populism technique

• During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and insisted that Mexico would pay 100% of the cost. 

• The pledge became the defining slogan of his campaign rallies

• By portraying undocumented immigrants as a threat to American jobs, Trump tapped into xenophobic sentiments among segments of the electorate. 

• Yet, such a promise was inherently unrealistic, as the United States had no legal or diplomatic means of compelling a sovereign nation to finance a domestic infrastructure project.

• After entering office, Trump failed to fulfil this signature pledge. 

• Instead of being funded by Mexico, the border wall was financed through more than US$16 billion in U.S. federal funds.

What is populism

• Populism: political approach that seeks to win popular support by appealing to the emotions and frustrations of ordinary people, often through simple and attractive promises

Describe Singapore: case of Pedra Branca

• Pedra Branca (White Rock) is a small granite island at the eastern entrance to the Singapore Strait -> strategically important location along one of the world's busiest shipping lanes

• The dispute intensified in 1979 when Malaysia published a map placing Pedra Branca within its territorial waters, which Singapore formally rejected.

• After years of unsuccessful negotiations, both countries jointly agreed in 2003 to submit the dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rather than allow tensions to escalate

• On 23 May 2008, the ICJ ruled that Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore and the Middle Rocks belongs to Malaysia.

Describe Green Belt movement

• Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977 after rural Kenyan women reported that deforestation had reduced their access to firewood, clean water and food. 

• The movement trained women to plant trees and earn income

• Opposed government land grabs and the destruction of public spaces such as Nairobi’s Uhuru Park. 

• By the early 2000s, it had planted approximately 30 million trees

• Maathai won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize

Describe India Vacine Maitri

• Despite being a lower-middle-income country and facing significant domestic vaccine shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic, India began exporting vaccines shortly after launching its own vaccination programme

• By early 2022, it had supplied approximately 162.9 million doses to 96 countries, including 14.3 million donated outright to developing nations and 200,000 doses to UN peacekeepers

Describe Sino-Japanese relations

• Following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Japan provided rescue teams, relief supplies and financial assistance to China

• Three years later, China responded in kind after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake by dispatching rescue personnel, humanitarian aid and relief supplies

• Despite enduring tensions over wartime history and territorial disputes, bilateral trade between the two countries reached approximately US$292.6 billion in 2024

• Although these acts appeared altruistic, they were underpinned by deep interdependence