Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Friday, promising continuing American military and humanitarian aid in the fight against the Islamic State, and showing… Read more »
China and Russia may forge a tactical alliance based on their compatible authoritarian systems and aimed at managing their frontier areas and standing up to the West, a leading analyst… Read more »
Two remarkable documents emerged from China last week, notes ChinaFile: the first is the essay “A Thousand Yes-Men Cannot Equal One Honest Advisor”—available here in Chinese and translated here into English—which appeared on the website… Read more »
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 »
The rise of illiberal democracy in Central Europe is at least partly due to incomplete or inadequate democratic transitions from Communist rule, Le Monde’s Sylvie Kaufmann writes for The New… Read more »
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression today voiced his concerns regarding the state of freedom of expression… Read more »
Thousands of people marched in honor of slain opposition politician Boris Nemtsov on February 27, one year after he was shot dead near the Kremlin. Five suspects have been charged… Read more »
Institutionalized accountability is vital if constitutions are to be meaningful in preventing and mitigating conflict in Africa, says a leading analyst. African constitutions have increasingly relied on accommodative approaches (i.e…. Read more »
Like many African leaders, Yoweri Museveni preached democracy even as he was seizing power through the barrel of a gun, writes FT analyst David Pilling: In his stirring inaugural speech… Read more »
The permeability of borders, along with political vacuums and economic marginalization in the hinterlands, has transformed border communities in the Maghreb-Sahel into epicenters of identity-driven politics, militancy, violent conflict, and… Read more »