After Khamenei: stable transition depends on Iran’s deep state
As Iran gears up for a leadership transition, it is important to see the Islamic Republic for what it is, and not what one may hope it can be, note… Read more »
Burma’s transition: ‘yet to give substance to strategy’
A senior Myanmar government official on Tuesday denied there was ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in the troubled northwestern state of Rakhine, where a military operation aimed at the minority… Read more »
Arab civil society crucial for democracy
Popular protests against corruption and curbs on freedom of expression are indications of the increasingly authoritarian rule of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, observers suggest. A Palestinian author is hiding in an… Read more »
Will Syria strikes trigger political transition?
The American strike on Shayrat air base in Syria is an appropriate response to mass homicide by the regime of Bashar al-Assad, said Ambassador Frederic Hof, a Senior Fellow with… Read more »
Bosnians united against ISIS, divided on partners
Stability and democracy in the Balkans have suffered even as the prospect of EU accession has stabilised relations and driven reform in a turbulent and impoverished region, Reuters reports: Kristof… Read more »
Russia Beyond Putin: Is fundamental change possible?
Is fundamental change in Russia possible? Would it overhaul the system, or modify or improve it without transforming it? And if change were to occur, will it necessarily be change Western… Read more »
Senegal needs Gambia exit strategy
Senegal’s leading role in solving Gambia’s political crisis has sealed its legitimacy to intervene and even interfere in Gambian affairs, first through its regionally mandated military force and now with… Read more »
Getting rid of North Korea’s dictator
The United States has some leverage in making a deal with Beijing on hastening the end of the North Korean regime, notes Roderick MacFarquhar, a research professor of history and… Read more »
Will Hungary get away with attack on academic freedom?
Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban has pushed a law through the Hungarian parliament which could shut down the Central European University, a graduate college founded more than a quarter-century ago by… Read more »
Transatlantica: globalization, digitalization, democratization?
Europe and North America have already joined into one community, dubbed “Transatlantica” by German management guru Hermann Simon. We may often disagree, but we will never break up, notes… Read more »