Category: Analysis

Steer Middle East policy toward democracy promotion

     

The next U.S. administration should steer its Middle East policy toward democracy promotion across the region, argues Charles W. Dunne, a Middle East Institute scholar and former U.S. diplomat. The… Read more »

Islam and democracy: What’s the problem?

     

Can Muslim-majority countries strike a balance between faith and democracy? Al Jazeera asks. Or, is there an irreconcilable tension between liberal values and Islamic beliefs? When we discuss political Islam… Read more »

Ukraine struggles to shake off legacy of kleptocracy

     

A case of possible influence-peddling under review by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau is hardly the only worrying sign for a government swept into power in 2014 on a wave of… Read more »

Peru’s fragile democracy still faces twin threats from Fujimorismo

     

Peru’s presidential election hung in the balance on Monday, with the economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (left) holding the narrowest of leads over Keiko Fujimori, daughter of a disgraced former president, The Financial Times… Read more »

27 years after Tiananmen, an opportunity for a political opening

     

Tens of thousands of people gathered in a Hong Kong park on Saturday evening to do what people across the border in mainland China could not: commemorate the anniversary of… Read more »

Russia’s election countdown: ‘No one untouchable’ on violations?

     

The head of Russia ‘s Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, said that an interdepartmental working group is being set up to quickly react to election violations, the Moscow Times reports:… Read more »

‘Time is running out’ for Tunisia

     

  The United States and Europe must engage in a joint transatlantic approach to support Tunisia’s democratization, says a new report. They should work to avoid duplication of assistance efforts… Read more »

Hard-liners rebound: no more nonsense about ‘moderation’ in Iran

     

Backers of Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, who has pledged to improve the economy and relations with the West, won a sizeable minority in a parliament that has been under the… Read more »