Government & Politics

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

The electoral scene is set for the Afghan presidential elections. Eighteen candidates have registered themselves for what is ultimately expected to be a tight race between the incumbent, President Ashraf Ghani and his charismatic former National Security Advisor, Mohammad Haneef Atmar, who has assembled a strong team of political heavyweights.…