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Government & Politics
The Return of the Arab Spring
The ouster of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on April 11 failed to satisfy the demands of millions of Sudanese protestors, who sought a timely transition to a democratic, civilian-led government. The Transitional Military Council’s (TMC) intervention failed to achieve the goal of democratic rule and revealed the firm grip of Al-Bashir’s…
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President of Ukraine Moves to Disband Parliament
How severe is the standoff between the parliament and the president?
After President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was sworn in as Ukraine’s sixth president, his first order of business was to dissolve the current parliament. Zelenskiy announced this move in his inaugural address; a strategic move meant to capitalize upon his present popularity in the hopes…
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Iran’s Fragile Moments of Democracy May Not Survive the Propaganda Bots
A day after Aljazeera published a piece on Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), whose Twitter users were targeting Iranian scholars, academics, and journalists in favor of dialogue between the U.S. and Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif mentioned Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter, in a tweet. Zarif sarcastically asked Dorsey if, instead of shutting down…
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Brexit and the Politics of Islamophobia
Since the first Brexit deadline passed, effectively without "exit," we have witnessed especially convoluted developments in this love/hate relationship saga between Europe and Britain, as MPs across the political spectrum struggle to find an acceptable way out of the seemingly impossible box they have been put in by David Cameron first, and Theresa…
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Turkey’s Local Elections and the Future of Erdoğan’s Leadership
Turkey held its first elections since the country formally transitioned to a presidential system on March 31st, 2019. The elections were held amidst warnings of an economic recession, as analysts described the vote as a referendum on Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Since sweeping into power in 2002, Erdoğan's ruling Justice and…
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Iran, Algeria, Sudan, and Venezuela Have One Major Similarity
On matters of history, culture, and geopolitics, Venezuela, Algeria, and Sudan seem distinctly different from Iran. Yet, all four have one thing in common.
The seemingly omnipotent regimes in each of these countries are on increasingly shaky ground after years of corruption, public deception, and coercion. Protests in Venezuela, Algeria, and Sudan…
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The Role of Oligarchs in Ukraine’s 2019 Presidential Elections
Regardless of who wins the 2019 Ukrainian presidential elections, the country’s foreign policy and geopolitical orientation will remain mostly unchanged.
Ukraine will remain aligned with the West and the United States; all major candidates support both E.U. and NATO integration and have pledged to, one way or another, reestablish Ukrainian…
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Putin’s “State of the Nation” Speech, Examined
Each year, the President of Russia delivers a "State of the Nation" speech to the country's parliament in which he discusses the current state of the country, what the future holds, as well as his plans for how best to achieve that future.
While not as traditional as the president's New Years Address, the State of the Nation speeches an…
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The Twin Goals of Peace and Elections in Afghanistan
What will it take to reach a peace settlement? More than anything, Afghanistan needs national leadership.
The Taliban held its fourth round of direct talks with the United States in January of 2019. This month the group revealed it will participate in a fifth meeting with the aim of agreeing on a set of issues and to craft a framework for ending…
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Mohammad Haneef Atmar: The Silent Unifier
At first encounter, he is polite, cordial, and a good listener. He counts his words wisely and delivers his sentences with pauses, but in a calculated manner to make his point. Meet Mohammad Haneef Atmar, the powerful former Afghan National Security Advisor of the National Unity Government and currently the most formidable candidate challenging the…
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Corruption in Eastern Europe & Central Asia Is On the Rise
According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), corruption appears to be on the rise in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. To the well-read citizen, this is not surprising.
Reports of Ukrainian state capture, Russian corruption, and bribery in other Eastern European and Central Asian states are on the rise. In all of…
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Trial by Fire: Guaidó Calls on Venezuela to Oust Maduro
Stoking the Flames
Venezuela kicked 2019 off with a turbulent and fragile political start of the year. President Nicolás Maduro began his second presidential term on January 10th. The May 20th presidential election last year was internationally decried as illegitimate by the United States and the 14-member Lima Group throughout the region. On…
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