29 Jul 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. After the referendum: The challenges of a power grab in Tunisia

Syllabus: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries

Mains: Details about Arab Spring Revolution and the political crisis in Tunisia

Context

The Tunisian voters have approved a new constitution in a referendum.

Details

• The new constitution will replace the 2014 one adopted by the Constitutional Assembly of Tunisia in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring.
• The new constitution would turn the country back into a presidential system and further grant unchecked powers to the office of President Kais Saied who had earlier suspended the elected Parliament in the country.

Arab Spring The Arab Spring was a series of anti-regime protests, uprisings, and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s to bring down dictatorships. Tunisia: the Arab Spring protests started in Tunisia in December 2010, which caused the fall of the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who held power since 1987.  Tunisia was the only country that saw a peaceful transition to democracy post the Arab Spring. The protests then spread across other Arab countries such as Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and Syria.  Egypt: the demonstrators were successful in bringing down the dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt but the revolution failed to sustain further as the military seized power toppling the elected government.  Libya: the protests against Muammar Gaddhafi led to a civil war, which saw a military intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).  NATO then toppled the Gaddhafi regime but the country fell into chaos and anarchy which still exists. Bahrain: in the Shia majority country which was ruled by a Sunni monarchy, Saudi Arabia dispatched its forces to quell the protests in Manama’s Pearl Square.  Yemen: despite President Ali Abdullah Saleh relinquishing his power, the country witnessed a civil war that has resulted in the rise of the Shia Houthi rebels. Syria: the protests caused a civil war, as President Bashar al-Assad’s rivals backed his enemies, and his allies, including Hezbollah, Iran and Russia, backed the regime.  Read more about – Arab Spring

Political Crisis in Tunisia

• The Constitution drafted in 2014 established a system that was a mix of parliamentary and presidential systems. 
  • According to this, both the President and Parliament were directly elected by the voters of the country.
  • The President was entrusted to oversee the military and foreign affairs.
  • The Prime Minister who was elected with the support of a majority of lawmakers was entrusted with the day-to-day affairs of governance.
• In the elections, the Islamist Ennahda party emerged as a major party in the country, which caused concerns among the secular sections. 
• Tunisia has seen nine governments between 2011 and 2021. 
• With the country’s economy already struggling, the crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the situation.
  • Tunisia has one of the highest per capita COVID death rates in the world. 
  • The unemployment rate in the country is at 15.5%, with an annual inflation rate of 8.1 % and the situation is further aggravated by the food crisis due to the war in Ukraine.
• In the wake of an increasing economic and healthcare crisis, protests started against the government in July 2021. 
• Demonstrators stormed the offices of the ruling Ennahda party which made the President step in and dismiss the Ennahda-backed Prime Minister and suspend the Parliament which caused a constitutional crisis. 
• According to the 2014 Constitution, such crises must be resolved through a constitutional court, which was not yet set up in the country, thereby allowing the President a free hand to rule the country
  • The President then declared a state of emergency, appointed a Prime Minister to oversee the governance, dissolved the suspended Parliament and started to amend the Constitution in such a way that it gave him more powers.

Key amendments in the new Constitution

• The President has expressed concerns over Tunisia’s post-revolutionary parliamentary system and he feels that the new Constitution would protect the values of the 2011 revolution which are bread, freedom and dignity.
• The changes in the Constitution seek to cut down the powers of the Parliament making the Constitution a presidential system.
• The new Constitution accords the President the powers to form a government, select Ministers (without Parliament’s approval), appoint judges and present legislation directly to the legislature. 
• Further, the changes would make it practically impossible for lawmakers to remove the President from office.
• As per the new Constitution, the President can also directly appoint the members of the Supreme Independent Elections Commission (ISIE) who were earlier appointed by Parliament.

Path ahead

• The referendum is said to be a victory for the acting President who now claims legitimacy for his one-man rule. 
• However, the low turnout of voters (30%) and the boycott of the vote by opposition political parties suggest that the country is still vulnerable to a political crisis.
• The post-revolutionary chaos, the current economy and constitutional crisis are expected to hamper the country’s progress even in the coming days.

Nut graf: As Tunisia’s President has cemented his power grab with a referendum vote, the critics and the opposition parties fear that the new Constitution would wipe out the democratic advances made by Tunisia since the 2011 Arab Spring revolution and make the country an authoritarian state again.

E. Editorials

Category: GOVERNANCE

1. Narrow view

Syllabus: GS-2; Government policies and interventions aimed at development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Mains: Money Laundering and associated issues

Context: Recently, the Supreme Court of India overrode its own ruling to justify the Prevention of Money Laundering Act’s (PMLA) provision for bail and upheld the constitutional validity of amendments to the PMLA.

Introduction: 

• The ruling came on a challenge raised against the amendments introduced to the 2002 Act by way of the Finance Acts.
• The three-judge bench opined that money laundering is an offense against the sovereignty and integrity of the country and gave an extensive meaning to the offense of “money laundering” to add “every process and activity”, direct or indirect, dealing with the proceeds of the crime.

Read more on the recent judgment in CNA dated July 28, 2022 

Shortcomings of the Judgment:

• The method of introduction of the amendments through Money Bills itself is contested. 
• Money laundering has transnational consequences negatively affecting the financial systems and sovereignty of the countries.
• Concentrating completely on India’s commitment to the international community on strengthening the domestic legal framework for combating money laundering might lead to the violation of fundamental rights.
• However, experience suggests that money laundering in the Indian context is linked to offenses that are attached to the Act as a schedule. 
  • These scheduled offences ought to be ideally limited to grave offences such as narcotics, terrorism, corruption, smuggling and serious forms of tax evasions. However, in practice, the list contains offenses such as forgery, fraud, kidnapping, cheating and even copyright and trademark infringements. 
• The provision of disclosing and submitting documents, and then signing them under the pain of prosecution can be seen as a violation of fundamental rights under Article 20(3).
• Misuse of ED’s power by the executive to target opponents in future might be seen as the judiciary’s failure to protect personal liberty from executive excess.

Way Forward:

• ED should use these enhanced powers with greater responsibility without any executive intervention.
• Judiciary along with ED shall work together to expeditiously clear the cases and improve the conviction rate.

Nut Graf: Recent judgment upholding provisions of PMLA for effective and stringent measures to combat the menace of money laundering has certain shortcomings and it is the duty of the judiciary to protect the rights guaranteed by the Constitution with a strict overview.

Category: ENVIRONMENT

1. What numbers do not reveal about tiger conservation

Syllabus: GS-3, Conservation

Mains: Tiger conservation and genetic drift

Context: Global Tiger Day is celebrated on July 29th  every year to raise awareness about Tigers. The first Tiger day was celebrated in 2010 when the 13 tiger range countries came together to create Tx2 – the global goal to double the number of wild tigers by the year 2022. 

Introduction:

India is home to over 50% of the world’s wild tigers with an estimated 2,226 tigers and is reporting an increased number of tigers since 2005, and recent data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature shows that tiger numbers have increased by 40% since 2005. This is cause for celebration. 

Is the rise in tiger numbers enough to prevent their extinction?

Genetics and connectivity:

• Several studies on evolution show that the numbers are crucial to preventing extinction. 
• Species with populations of less than 100 breeding individuals have a high probability of extinction. 
• Also, for populations to endure, they need to be part of larger landscapes with other such populations that are connected. 
  • Isolated and small populations face a high probability of extinction because of genetic drift.
• Also, individuals in small populations are more likely to be related, causing inbreeding depression, and reduced survival and reproduction of inbred individuals. 

Research Findings on Genetics and Connectivity of Tiger Population:

• Most tiger ranges have tiger ‘populations’ smaller than 100. 
• Based on movement data sourced from radio-collared tigers and their biological data it is evident that,
  • Tiger reserves that show shared genetic variation are well connected — the inference is that the intervening landscapes facilitate connectivity or movement whereas sets of tiger reserves that share less genetic variation must have barriers or landscapes that impede movement and connectivity.
  • The presence of settlements, infrastructure and high-traffic roads greatly obstruct tiger movement.
  • Given the specific land-use changes in the next 100 years, simulations show that the development projects such as highway widening would make them barriers, thereby increasing extinction significantly.
  • Fencing tiger reserves thereby isolating them also resulted in high extinction.

Genetic effects of Isolation:

• A recent study on black tigers/pseudo-melanistic found in Simlipal, Odisha has shown the genetic effects of isolation.
  • Tigers in Similipal form a small and isolated population where 60% of them carry at least one copy of genetic variant DNA resulting in pseudo-melanistic tigers that are common only in Simlipal.
• In another study, genome sequences from wild tigers of Ranthambore tiger reserve showed inbreeding among individuals. which might affect the survival and the reproduction of tigers in Ranthambore in future. 

Read about Tiger Conservation in the linked article.

Way Forward: 

• Future development policies should be in line with conservation goals.
  • For example, having an underpass or eco bridges to allow wildlife movement and connectivity.
• To retain the evolutionary potential of tigers as a species, we should work to conserve the entire extant gene pool, range of habitats, behaviors that are culturally inherited, and manage populations so as to retain their unique evolutionary trajectories while addressing fragmentation caused by developmental activities.
• Special attention is needed for populations that are becoming isolated and facing the genetic consequences of such isolation. 
• Synergy between data and management strategies must be promoted to ensure their survival. 

Nut Graf: There is sufficient evidence to show genetic differences amongst tigers due to vicariant events and local selection which might lead to their extinction in future. As long as we manage landscapes outside tiger reserves to allow tiger movement, and protect prey and tigers inside tiger reserves, extinction can be avoided.

Q1. Consider the following statements: (Level – Difficult)

Q2. Which of the following are the initiatives for the welfare and upliftment of the minority
 Communities? (Level – Medium)

Q3. With respect to Samudrayaan Mission, which of the following statements is/are incorrect?
 (Level – Difficult)

Q4. Consider the following statements (Level – Difficult)

Q5. Which one of the following lakes of West Africa has become dry and turned into a desert?
 (Level – Medium) PYQ (2022)

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. Is rescuing loss-making BSNL a good use of public funds? Critically examine. (10 marks, 150 Words) (GS III – Economy)
2. The Arab Spring which offered hope of democratic change across the Middle East and North Africa has failed. Substantiate. (15 Marks, 250 Words) (GS II – International Relations)