Dalai Lama urges Suu Kyi to address Rohingya tensions
The horrific violence in the Middle East, which in the case of Syria has led to the greatest refugee crisis in a generation, and appalling terrorist attacks — as we were sadly… Read more »
Category: Civil Society
Life after Putin: ‘no doubt that political transition looming’
The EU is set to roll over its Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia for a further six months despite signs of the mood towards Moscow softening in some of the bloc’s member states,… Read more »
Iran’s Islamic Republic ‘in a period of flux and tension’
The 2016 elections resulted in important gains for moderates in the parliament and the Assembly of Experts, reaffirming developments that have been visible in Iranian politics since 2013, Stanford University… Read more »
When Russia glimpsed freedom – for a moment
In the years since the Soviet Union imploded in 1991, Russians experienced the longest period of freedom in their thousand-year history — and then lost it, notes David E. Hoffman,… Read more »
Tunisia: From Political Islam to Muslim Democracy?
The European Union today approved a 500 million euro ($570 million) loan to help Tunisia address economic challenges and bolster its democratic processes, Reuters reports: Tunisia’s transition to democracy has… Read more »
Poland’s ‘populist form of corporate nationalism’
Europe’s illiberal democracies have gained a new member, and the world has taken notice, analyst Henry Foy observes. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the Law and Justice party had been… Read more »
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 »
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 »