News: How Elections Are In Other Places

I hear a lot of griping about this year's election, but it's nothing compared to the mess in Zimbabwe.

In International Criminal Law, we discussed how election time can bring about paroxyms of violence even in relatively developed African nations with the rule of law firmly in place. Look at Kenya, for example - when political power (read: land distributing power) isn't up for grabs, the rule of law prevails and the country is fairly safe. But during the 2007 election, for instance, the old issues left outstanding by the British festered and coalesced into what amounted to tiny wars.

It's nice to be able to hit the button on that swanky electronic voting machine without the fear that there's some guy with a machete on the other side of the curtain.