The subtleties – and limits – of China’s soft power
The Chinese government has been trying to sell the country itself as a brand—one that has the ability to attract people from other countries in the way that America does… Read more »
Cambodia’s Communist comrades now capitalist cadres
For years, Tep Khunnal was the devoted personal secretary of Pol Pot, staying loyal to the charismatic ultracommunist leader even as Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge movement collapsed around them in the… Read more »
As democracy retreats, famine recurs
The economist and philosopher Amartya Sen wrote that famines do not take place in true democracies. If democracy is in worldwide retreat, famines could make a gruesome comeback, The FT’s David… Read more »
Turkey heading for dictatorship, exposing underlying ideology
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Europeans on Wednesday that they would no longer be able to walk safely in the street if Western politicians continued with perceived provocations against Turkish… Read more »
London attack highlights challenge of jihadist radicalization
Today’s terrorist attack in London occurred on the anniversary of similar attacks in Brussels, which provides an opportunity to reflect on the challenge posed by jihadist radicalisation, write Alexander Ritzmann… Read more »
Angola ignores corruption links as activist threatened
Angola’s authorities have ignored a Brazilian firm’s admission that it paid $50m in bribes to secure contracts in the country, despite demands from watchdogs that it join international investigations into… Read more »
Russia’s anti-corruption protests ‘likely to be large’ as ‘Laundromat’ highlights kleptocratic rule
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny today declined Moscow city authorities’ proposal to hold an anti-corruption rally on 26 March in the Lyublino or Sokolniki districts of the capital, instead calling… Read more »
New cybersecurity tools will ‘Protect Your Election’
The rise of cheap digital attacks like phishing and DDoS endangers democratic elections around the world, in which a well-timed data breach or site outage can meaningfully impact –… Read more »
North Korea’s Solzhenitsyn
It was a dog-eared manuscript, 743 pages bound in string. But for Do Hee-youn, an activist campaigning for human rights in North Korea, it was nothing less than stunning, The… Read more »
Premature forum risks botching Mali peace accord
The security situation in northern and central Mali continues to be very difficult, reports suggest: This was illustrated last week by a criminal attack on an international humanitarian organisation in… Read more »