Last April I wrote about the tiny island nation of Maldvies, and its embattled former President Mohamed Nasheed. After a brief foray into democracy, it seems that Maldives has slid back to the political bullying of its past.
Nasheed claims to have been deposed …
Over two weeks have passed since Nicolas Maduro’s contested election victory over opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski. Unfortunately, fair democracy appears to remain limited in Venezuela, even after the passing of Hugo Chavez.
Capriles and his supporters have demanded a recount in the closely contested race and refuse to acknowledge Maduro’s …
The latest twist in the drama that is Venezuelan presidential politics concerns the highly contentious election of last Sunday, April 14. In an election called for by the constitution following the death of sitting President Hugo Chavez, the country faced a choice between Chavez’s hand-picked successor Nicolas Maduro and opposition …
Kosovo has been a hotly contested region of the Balkans for many centuries. Adversity has often devolved into violence, especially since the collapse of Yugoslavia in early 1990s. Kosovo declared itself an independent state in 2008, and is recognized as such by many countries. Yet Serbia, which lays claim to …
Brief updates on some of the topics I covered last week:
–In Kenya, results of last week’s presidential race point to Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee Alliance Coalition party as the winner. With just a hair over 50% of …
The fragility of democracy has been on full display this week. Distressingly, challenges to freedom and order have occurred literally around the globe. Here is an overview of situations to monitor; all of these stories broke today, Wed. March 6, 2013.
Venezuela
I would be remiss to not start with the March …
In the spring of 2008, I met with a group of Kenyan human rights activists to discuss what they saw as the most pressing issues in East Africa. At one point, the conversation turned to the post-election violence their country witnessed just a few months before. “I know,” one of …
Forces representing France and the government of Mali seem to have mostly regained control of the West African nation’s northern region following last month’s offensive, as I covered here. But the fallout from their pushback against rebellious elements continues.
I found two …
Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Rafael Correa in Ecuador swept into power promising to use the wealth of natural resources in their countries to help address widespread poverty and stabilize the economy. Both improved situations enough to win reelection, but both also seem to have a strong grip on power …
Last year I reported on the gradual opening of the political environment in Burma (last update here), including the incorporation of former dissident Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party National League of Democracy into parliament. The “Great Decisions in Foreign Policy” series on PBS — …
It’s been just 3 days since I last wrote about the French military supporting the embattled West African nation of Mali, but a lot has happened since.
French and Malian military forces–formerly empire and colony, now teamed up–have gone on the …
On Sat. Jan. 26, 2013 the people of the Czech Republic elected Milos Zeman to be their next president. This news will not have much direct impact on the country’s operations, as the Czech president is largely a ceremonial role. But Zeman becoming president is significant …
Should the U.S. government ever come under threat, would the U.K.–its colonial overlords from way back when–send over troops to stabilize the situation and keep the country and democracy intact (as presently designed)?
Sounds pretty far-fetched, but that is exactly what France is aiming to do now in the West African …
Back in October during Venezuela’s presidential election, the health status of President Hugo Chavez–and its impact on his ability to lead the country–was unclear. Yet the president’s popularity won out and he was awarded another term.
Yet it has now been over …
On the heels of South Korea‘s recent election, Japan has chosen new leadership as well. Well, not completely new. Shinzo Abe–who was prime minister for a brief term in 2006-7–of the Liberal Democratic Party will lead what he termed “a crisis …
