Toward a negotiated transition in Syria?
Today, the Ides of March, marks the fifth anniversary of the rebellion in Syria against the Assad regime, notes Elliott Abrams, a Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the… Read more »
Category: Dictatorships
Growing labor unrest worries China’s leaders
Labor unrest is on the rise in China, driven by its economic slowdown and rising expectations for wages and labor rights, and exacerbated by problems in both local governance… Read more »
Obama in Cuba: 90 Miles To Go and Promises to Keep
The Obama administration says it is making it easier for people to travel to Cuba, lifting limits on money travelers can spend there. The announcement, made Tuesday, came just… Read more »
Exploiting Disorder: al-Qaeda and the Islamic State
A purely military approach to countering violent jihadist extremism risks entrenching the resentment and victimization of Sunnis and deepening chaos, according to a new report from the International Crisis Group (ICG). The… Read more »
Is global democracy in trouble?
Or does it just feel like it? PRI asks. “We’re not just talking about a recession of democracies, in terms of countries that are democracies. We’re talking about a recession… Read more »
China’s NGO law remains a work in progress
It has been more than two years since the Chinese government proposed tighter controls on foreign nongovernmental organizations, prompting fears for the future of a wide range of groups active… Read more »
How China shut down the Internet
In 2000, President Bill Clinton gave a speech in which he said that the Chinese government’s efforts to control the Internet would be as successful as efforts to “nail Jello… Read more »
Cuba says Obama trip won’t alter `revolutionary’ regime
The Cuban government today said it won’t renounce its “revolutionary and anti-imperialist” ideals as relations with the U.S. thaw ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit to the Communist island this… Read more »
Obama’s Cuba trip: ‘misguided’ or ‘subversive’?
President Obama’s forthcoming trip to Cuba continues to divide analysts and democracy advocates. A successful trip could vindicate the decision by Mr. Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba to pursue an official thaw, broadcasting… Read more »
Market-Leninism: capitalism with Communist characteristics?
It would be a serious mistake to assume that Cuba’s economic opening, advanced by the Obama-initiated rapprochement, will necessarily usher in a new political era in Cuba, argues Brahma Chellaney,… Read more »