Moscow’s Gold: Russian Corruption in the UK
The UK government is putting national security and democracy at risk by allowing “kleptocrats and human rights abusers to use the City of London to launder their ill-gotten funds to… Read more »
Category: Analysis
To ‘mature as a democracy’, Malaysia’s ‘sick-minded’ corruption must end
Malaysia’s new government on Monday established a special task force to probe possible criminal offences relating to country’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) sovereign wealth fund, the FT reports: The task… Read more »
After ‘sham election’, four steps for rebuilding Venezuela’s democracy
Electoral authorities declared President Nicolas Maduro, the Council on Foreign Relations notes, with about 68 percent of votes cast, the winner in a Sunday snap presidential election. Roughly 46 percent… Read more »
Armenia needs ‘institutional backbone’ to sustain democratic breakthrough
Converting Armenia ’s ‘Velvet Revolution’ into a sustainable democratic transition requires establishing an “’institutional backbone” to ensure there is no reversion to corrupt, autocratic governance, says Daron Acemoglu, a Turkish born… Read more »
Understanding Sadr’s victory: the way forward in iraq
Moktada al-Sadr, the maverick Shiite cleric, who contested the Iraqi elections on an inclusive, nonsectarian list with Communists, independents and liberal civil society groups, has emerged as the winner.. During… Read more »
Violent Extremism in Indonesia: Vulnerabilities and Sources of Resilience
The recent suicide bombings in Surabaya, Indonesia highlight the country’s continued struggle with radicalism and terrorism. Claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), these attacks typify… Read more »
Exporting Beijing’s surveillance state: sharp power in action
If China gains dominance over digital technology, it would be dangerous for freedom world-wide, says Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (2007-09) and head of policy planning in… Read more »
The moral message of Richard Pipes
Richard Pipes, the author of a monumental, sharply polemical series of historical works on Russia, the Russian Revolution and the Bolshevik regime, and a top adviser to the Reagan administration… Read more »
How Hungary explains Europe’s retreat from democracy
Last July, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán addressed members of the Hungarian right at their annual summer festival in Transylvania, notes Brookings analyst William Galston. Europe, he said, was being “de-Christianized”… Read more »
Strategic options for countering Iran: exploit political vulnerabilities
One option for countering Iran’s influence in the Middle East would involve highlighting the regime’s domestic vulnerabilities in order to undermine its capacity for regional power projection and show solidarity… Read more »