International Polity - Current Affairs for November, 2017

The Russian Security Council has asked the country's government to develop an independent internet infrastructure for BRICS nations, which would continue to work in the event of global internet malfunctions. The initiative was discussed at the October meeting of the Security Council, which is Russia's top consultative body on national security. President Vladimir Putin personally set a deadline of August 1, 2018 for the completion of the task, the RBC news agency reported. While discussing the issue, members of the council noted that the increased capabilities of western nations to conduct offensive operations in the informational space as well as the increased readiness to exercise these capabilities pose a serious threat to Russia's security. They decided that the problem should be addressed by creating a separate backup system of Domain Name Servers (DNS), which would not be subject to control by international organizations. This system would be used by countries of the BRICS bloc - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The issue of excessive dependency on global DNS has previously been addressed by Russia. In 2014, the Russian Communications Ministry conducted a major exercise in which it simulated the "switching off" of global internet services and used a Russian backup system to successfully support web operations inside the country.

Robert Mugabe resigned as Zimbabwe's President on November 21, shortly after Parliament began an impeachment process to end his nearly four decades of rule. The 93-year old clung on for a week after an Army takeover and expulsion from his own ruling ZANU-PF party, which also told him to leave power. Wild celebrations broke out at a joint sitting of parliament when Speaker Jacob Mudenda announced Mr. Mugabe’s resignation and suspended the impeachment procedure. The origin of Mr. Mugabe’s sudden downfall lies in rivalry between members of Zimbabwe’s ruling elite over who will succeed him, rather than popular protest The Army seized power after Mr. Mugabe sacked ZANU-PF’s favourite to succeed him, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to smooth a path to the presidency for his wife Grace Mugabe, 52, known to her critics as “Gucci Grace” for her reputed fondness for luxury shopping. Mr. Mnangagwa, a former security chief known as “The Crocodile”, is expected to take over as President.

Chancellor Angela Merkel was left battling for political survival Monday after high-stakes talks to form a new government collapsed - plunging Germany into a crisis that could see it hold fresh elections. Ms. Merkel had been forced to seek an alliance with an unlikely group of parties after September's elections left her without a majority. But after more than a month of gruelling negotiations, the leader of the pro-business FDP, Christian Lindner, walked out of talks, refusing to forge a government with Ms. Merkel's conservative alliance CDU-CSU and ecologist Greens. Voicing regret for the FDP's decision, Ms. Merkel vowed to steer Germany through the crisis. The Greens' leaders also deplored the collapse of talks, saying they had believed a deal could be done despite the differences. The negotiations, which turned increasingly acrimonious, had stumbled on a series of issues including immigration policy. Merkel's liberal refugee policy that let in more than a million asylum seekers since 2015 had also pushed some voters to the far-right AfD, which in September elections campaigned on an Islamophobic and anti-immigration platform. The parties also differed on environmental issues, with the ecologists wanting to phase out dirty coal and combustion-engine cars, while the conservatives and FDP emphasise the need to protect industry and jobs. Ms. Merkel could now try to convince the Social Democratic Party, which has been junior coalition in her government since 2013, to return to a partnership. But after the SPD suffered a humiliating loss at the polls, the party's top brass has repeatedly said its place was now in the opposition. Ms. Merkel, who has been in power for 12 years, could also lead a minority government although she had signalled that she was not in favour of such instability. Germany could likely therefore be forced to hold new elections. But that is not without peril for Ms. Merkel, who would face questions from within her party on whether she is still the best candidate to lead them into a new electoral campaign.

The military in Zimbabwe launched a 'coup' on November 15, 2017, calling it a "bloodless correction" to target "criminals" surrounding long-time leader Robert Mugabe. Robert Mugabe is the only leader Zimbabwe had since it won freedom from British colonial rule in 1980. At 93, Mr. Mugabe is the world's oldest head of state. His poor health has fuelled a bitter succession battle as potential replacements jockey for position. His lengthy rule has been marked by brutal repression of dissent, mass emigration, vote-rigging and economic collapse since land reforms in 2000. On October 30, 2017, Mr. Mugabe sacked long-time ally and Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, widely expected to succeed the former and take control of the ruling ZANU-PF party. Mr. Mugabe's move is seen as an attempt to install his wife Grace - 41 years younger than her husband - as Vice-President and eventually take over the top job from him. Though the action had all the hallmarks of a bloodless coup, the Zimbabwean military chose to avoid the word coup. Instead, it used state television to vow to target "criminals" close to Mr. Mugabe. Army veterans called the action "a bloodless correction". The main opposition MDC party called for civilian rule to be protected.

Priti Patel, Britain's first Indian-origin cabinet minister resigned as International Development Secretary on Nov 8 evening, as the political crisis engulfing the British government intensified. Ms. Patel's resignation came following an intense day at Westminster amid further revelations about Ms. Patel's dealings with senior Israeli politicians and a visit to Israel during a "family holiday" over the summer. On Monday, Ms. Patel had publicly apologized for failing to disclose 12 meetings with senior Israeli politicians including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a "family holiday" to Israel in August. After initially suggesting the FCO and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had been in the loop since the outset, she admitted they had been made aware of the meetings while the trip was underway. While Downing Street initially stood by her, subsequent revelations have made her position increasingly tenuous. It also emerged that Ms. Patel had since commenced discussions within her department over sending aid money to the Israeli army for work in the Golan Heights. The decision to allow Ms. Patel to stay after the initial details of the undisclosed meetings emerged faced widespread criticism both from within the Conservative Party and from opposition parties, including Labour, which called for her resignation or an investigation into whether the ministerial code had been breached. Other UK India-origin Leaders

• Mancherjee Bhownagree, Conservative MP; second Indian MP in British Parliament (deceased)
• Parmjit Dhanda, Labour MP.
• Nirj Deva, Conservative MEP.
• Piara Khabra, Labour MP (deceased).
• Ashok Kumar (British politician), Labour MP.
• Claude Moraes, Labour MEP.
• Dadabhai Naoroji, Liberal MP; first Indian MP in British Parliament (deceased)
• Shapurji Saklatvala, Communist MP.
• Marsha Singh, Labour MP.
• Parmjit Singh Gill, Liberal Democrats.
• Shailesh Vara, Conservative MP.
• Keith Vaz, Labour MP; longest-serving British Asian MP; former Minister for Europe and Privy Council member.
• Virendra Sharma - Labour MP and councillor in Ealing.