Browse Cases

Showing 101-125 of 152 results

Sierra Leone citizens defend democracy, 1997-1998

Country
Sierra Leone
Time period
May 25, 1997 to February, 1998
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
George Lakey, 01/10/2008

Sierra Leone is a West African country of 6 million people.  Now a constitutional democracy, dictators and one-party governments ruled for decades and the people endured periods of civil war.  

In 1996 the country had its first multiparty elections and freely elected its first civilian government in 34 years.  Hope soared.  The following year, on May 25, a group of young military officers led a coup that overthrew the government. The new government called itself the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).

University of Puerto Rico students strike to resist budget cuts, 2010

Country
Puerto Rico
Time period
April 21, 2010 to June 21, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Julio Alicea, 07/11/2011

Luis Fortuño was elected Governor of Puerto Rico and sworn in on January 2, 2009. Two months into his term, Fortuño announced his plan to repair Puerto Rico’s struggling economy. He called for severe budget cuts, which some speculated would result in the laying off of over 30,000 government employees. Fortuño’s economic plan would be met with much resistance from workers, teachers, and students. In May, workers organized a march to San Juan in protest against the plans. In October, workers organized a general strike to protest these same budget cuts.

Malian Muslims protest against family law revision, 2009

Country
Mali
Time period
August 22, 2009 to August 27, 2009
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Hanna King 12/12/2010

Mali, a nation whose citizens are 90% Muslim, maintains laws that adhere to the regulations laid out in the Qur’an. Current law requires women to obey their husband’s commands, sets the legal age for a girl to marry at 12, gives male children priority access to inheritance, and denies women property rights. Mali, like many other countries who limit women’s freedom, has come under criticism from the United Nations (UN) and other international organizations for their curtailment of human rights.

Jamaican workers protest sale of Air Jamaica to Caribbean Airlines, 2010

Country
Jamaica
Time period
February 3, 2010 to February 19, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
2 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Matthew Heck, 23/12/2010

In January 2010, it became clear that the Jamaican government sought to sell Air Jamaica to a foreign company.  The government and the owners of Air Jamaica saw the company as losing a lot of money and, due to heavy subsidizing, the government had a great deal of power over the future of the airline.  Some reports suggest that Air Jamaica was losing more than USD $90 million per year and was already USD $900 million in debt.  However, Air Jamaica employed over 1,600 Jamaicans.  Fearing for the loss of their jobs and the potential damage that could be done to the country

Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) transport workers strike, 2010

Country
Ivory Coast
Time period
April 12, 2010 to April 16, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jeewon Kim, 06/12/2010

The Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, commonly known in English as Ivory Coast, is a Francophone West African county that plays a key role in transit trade for neighboring landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

Since the beginning of 2010, the Ivorian government increased diesel prices twice to 645 CFA francs ($1.34) per liter. This raise set Côte d’Ivoire as the highest fuel price in Francophone West Africa.

U'wa people block Occidental Petroleum (Colombia), 1995-2001

Country
Colombia
Time period
Late, 1995 to May, 2001
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zein Nakhoda, 14/05/2011

The U’wa people have practiced their traditional culture in the Northeast forests of the Colombian Andes since time immemorial. At the end of the 20th century, there were up to 5,000 people in U’wa communities. 

Maori resistance to British land seizure at Parihaka, New Zealand, 1879-81

Country
New Zealand
Time period
February, 1879 to 5 November, 1881
Classification
Defense
Cluster
National/Ethnic Identity
Economic Justice
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zein Nakhoda 14/05/2011

The Taranaki region of present day New Zealand spreads from the central plateau of the North Island to the western coast. The Maori people, indigenous to the region, once inhabited it and the surrounding areas. By 1860, New Zealand had been a colony of Britain for nearly 20 years and land conflicts were common as growing European settlements encroached onto Maori land; British representatives were determined to assert their authority over the whole country.

Black miners strike in the Northern Rhodesian (Zambia) Copperbelt, 1935

Country
Zambia
Time period
20 May, 1935 to 29 May, 1935
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
2 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zein Nakhoda 14/05/2011

By 1924, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) was administered and occupied by the British government as an official British protectorate. While the Colonial Office headed administration, a group of interconnected companies financed by Britain, South Africa, and the United States came to control what became the ‘Copperbelt’ in Northern Rhodesia. Copper was becoming more valuable due to increased demand for electrical components and motors and regional deposits were easy to extract and profitably attracted investors.

South Koreans protest government's lift of ban on US beef, 2008

Country
South Korea
Time period
May, 2008 to August, 2008
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Julio Alicea, 09/05/2011

In 2003, the government of South Korea announced a ban on beef imported from the United States. Prior to the ban, South Korea had been the third largest purchaser of U.S. beef product. The decision to ban the product came after an animal in Washington was discovered to suffer from mad-cow disease. All together, more than fifty countries decided to ban U.S. beef imports after the incident, and consequently, the value of U.S. beef exports declined by $2.4 billion dollars over a three-year period.

Nuxalk People obstruct logging of Itsa old-growth forest, 1995-1998

Country
Canada
Time period
September, 1995 to October, 1998
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
William Lawrence, 08/05/2011

The Nuxalk people live mid-way up the British Columbian coast, in the region around the town Bella Coola. The Nuxalk have long refused to enter into any treaties with Canada or cede any of their ancestral territory to the national or provincial government. As such, they still claim sovereign rights to much land that the government claims belongs to it. One of those areas is King Island. On King Island is a valley called Itsa, which, according to the Nuxalk, is the sacred place of origin of their people.

Hondurans in Tacamiche resist eviction by Chiquita Banana company, 1994-1997

Country
Honduras
Time period
June, 1994 to November, 1997
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Human Rights
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Alex Frye, 06/05/2011

In response to labor strikes on banana plantations throughout the country, which were a result of a large drop in wages for plantation workers, Chiquita Brands International closed its plantation in Tacamiche and three other farms in June of 1994 due to their heightened involvement in the strikes. The closure was not only devastating to the strike, which soon after conceded to a pay increase, which due to inflation was far below the amount from before the strike, but also for the people living on the plantations.

Chinese students protest the Treaty of Versailles (the May Fourth Incident), 1919

Country
China
Time period
May 4, 1919 to July 22, 1919
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Samia Abbass 14/11/2010

Post-WWI China was fraught with political turbulence and social unrest. The Qing Dynasty was overthrown in 1911 and the Republic of China was instated in its place, ending thousands of years of imperial rule in the country and generating a host of new streams of intellectual and political thought. However, warlords still ruled strong throughout many of the provinces, fueling a chaotic and backwards politics that an emerging intelligentsia sought to change.

Indigenous Peoples in Sakhalin, Russia, campaign against oil extraction, 2005-2007

Country
Russia
Time period
January, 2005 to January, 2007
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Hannah Jones, 04/02/2011

Sakhalin, an island off the eastern Russian coast and home to many indigenous groups, has long been of extreme interest to oil and gas companies. Exxon, Shell, British Petroleum, and their subsidiaries (Sakhalin Energy being a main one) had been extracting oil on and around the island for 8 years. Shell started working on Sakhalin II, the world’s largest integrated oil and gas project, in 1999.

Tahitians campaign to stop French nuclear testing, 1995

Country
French Polynesia
Time period
June 29, 1995 to January, 1996
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Peace
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Hannah Jones, 22/03/2011

France has conducted nuclear tests in its colonies since before the Cold War began. It conducted atmospheric nuclear tests in Algeria up until 1962 when they won their independence. Consequently, France began testing in French Polynesia in 1966 instead, and by 1974, had moved to underground tests. From 1966 to 1992, France conducted 41 atmospheric tests and 138 underground nuclear tests in French Polynesia. 

Chilean women occupy empty mine to protest job losses, 2010

Country
Chile
Time period
November 16, 2010 to November 30, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sachie Hopkins-Hayakawa, 24/04/2011

On February 27, 2010 a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile and was soon followed by a tsunami. In total, there were as many as 800 deaths and $30 billion in damage because of the earthquake. Following the earthquake, much of Chile was ravaged and thousands of people were left unemployed. In response the Chilean government began instituting employment programs in the Bio Bio, Maule, and O’Higgins regions, where unemployment rates were particularly high. The programs paid residents to help rebuild their communities and to clear rubble from the towns.

Japanese workers on U.S. military bases strike against salary cuts, 2007

Country
Japan
Time period
November, 2007 to December, 2007
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sachie Hopkins-Hayakawa 08/04/2011

In October of 2007, the Japanese Ministry of Defense proposed a cut in the salaries of Japanese workers employed on United States Military installations. Japan was struggling under huge national debt and the Defense Ministry saw the abolition of a workers’ allowance as a way to save a significant amount of money. The Defense ministry would have been projected to save about 10 billion yen a year with the salary cuts. On the other side, the allowance made up about 10% of each worker’s salary.

South Vietnamese Buddhists initiate fall of dictator Diem, 1963

Country
Vietnam
Time period
8 May, 1963 to 1 November, 1963
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
7 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zein Nakhoda, 19/04/2010

Following the collapse of French colonial administration in Vietnam in 1954, the country was temporarily divided, with Ho Chi Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam in North Vietnam, and Emperor Bao Dai's State of Vietnam in the South. The Geneva Conference peace agreement ending the French Indo-China war included a provision for nationwide elections in 1956. Soon after the country was divided, Ngo Dinh Diem had proclaimed himself president of South Vietnam by means of a fraudulent election.

Bolivians end foreign-owned water privatization in Cochabamba ‘Water War', 2000

Country
Bolivia
Time period
December 15, 1999 to April 10, 2000
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Anjali Cadambi 01/11/2010

Throughout the 90s, Bolivia came under increasing pressure from the World Bank to privatize public goods in order to fulfill loan conditionality. In September 1999, in response to this pressure, the Bolivian government auctioned off the municipal water system ‘SEMAPA’ of Cochabamba, a city of 800,000 residents. When the auction drew only one bidder, the government signed water resources over in a 40-year concession to Aguas del Tunari, a foreign-led consortium of private investors dominated by the Bechtel Corporation.

Pearl Continental Karachi workers sit-in over labor disputes, Pakistan, 2010

Country
Pakistan
Time period
24 February, 2010 to 20 March, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zein Nakhoda, 11/04/2010

The Pearl Continental is a luxury hotel in Karachi, Pakistan, “located in the heart of the business hub and 15 km from the airport, [it] is a preferred choice for discerning corporate and leisure travelers,” according to their website. In September 2001, Pearl Continental management abruptly fired 300 workers due to a 'decline in bookings,' initiating a many year struggle between management and the Pearl Continental Karachi union.

Central African Republic teachers strike for arrears, 2002

Country
Central African Republic
Time period
October, 2002 to April, 2003
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Nicole Vanchieri, 27/03/2011

Starting in 2001, rebels supporting the leader François Bozize attempted coups to overthrow President Ange-Félix Patassé in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. The political unrest during this time resulted in a drop of the country’s economy. The government fell behind in payments to many civil servants, such as teachers, and made a priority of paying soldiers to fight the rebels. The teachers demanded that the government pay them nine months of their salaries from the total of twenty-three months in arrears.

Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) forces end of World Bank funding of Sardar Sarovar dam, India, 1985-1993

Country
India
Time period
1985 to early, 1993
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zein Nakhoda, 09/03/2010

After the country won its independence, India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, began calling for the construction of dams to aid in India's development. Many of these dams were proposed on the Narmada River, which flows through the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. In 1978, the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal approved the Narmada Valley Development Project, which included 30 large dams, 135 medium dams, and 3,000 small dams. The most controversial dam was the Sardar Sarovar Project in the state of Gujarat.

Cook Islands churchgoers protest Sunday flights, 2008-2010

Country
Cook Islands
Time period
June, 2008 to November, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Human Rights
National/Ethnic Identity
Democracy
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Samantha Bennett, 19/03/2011

For approximately two years, beginning in June 2008 and ending in 2010, churchgoers in the Cook Islands protested airplane flights taking place on Sundays. The protesters viewed Sunday as the day of rest but many local businesses retorted, saying that Sunday flights were crucial for the economy. The protesters’ ultimate goal was to ban all flights from taking off and landing (specifically on the island of Aitutaki) on Sundays.

Ecuadorians defend their land against mining, 1995-2007

Country
Ecuador
Time period
1995 to September, 2007
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Arielle Bernhardt, 01/04/2010

Residents of Junin faced the first assault on their land in the early 1990s, after the Ecuadorian government signed a contract with Bishi Metals, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi. The contract allowed the mining company to prospect in and around Junin, a community in the mountainous region of northern Ecuador. Junin and its surrounding region, Intag, have exceptional biodiversity and rich water resources. Junin also happens to be rich in metals—copper in particular. The arrival of Bishi Metals raised immediate concern among Intag residents.

Niger opposition groups protest President Tandja’s attempts to stay in power, 2009

Country
Niger
Time period
May, 2009 to August, 2009
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Samantha Bennett, 08/03/2011

For three months in 2009, opposition groups in Niger protested President Mamadou Tandja’s attempts to change the constitution so as to allow him a third five-year term in office (extending past December when his mandate was supposed to expire). President Tandja ordered a referendum on the matter to take place in early August. The Front for the Defense of Democracy (FDD) led most of the protests and strikes.

Belizean unions strike to increase political participation and prevent increased taxation, 2005

Country
Belize
Time period
January 20, 2005 to February 14, 2005
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Meghan Auker Becker 04/04/2010

Belize formally became an independent nation in 1981 and quickly established itself as a parliamentary democracy with a high degree of electoral participation and a Constitution that guaranteed basic rights and freedoms to all citizens. In 1998, the People's United Party won a landslide victory and party leader Said Musa was sworn in as Prime Minister - a position he held until 2008.