Vladimir Putin deports thousands of Tajiks migrant workers. The Russian Communist Party puts Stalin on its election posters. Liberal anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny becomes the keynote speaker at a massive anti-immigration rally. What do these three events have in common? They show leaders of all three poles of Russian politics – regime, left, […]
Today, the Turkish General Staff issued personnel figures for the Turkish Armed Forces. According to several newspapers including Radikal, this is the first time the General Staff has released such a detailed personnel report. It shows that 1% of the Turkish population is currently in the military or in military-related civil service.
President Michel Martelly took his first official trip to Cuba on Tuesday Nov. 15, 2011, a diplomatic mission he hoped would strengthen bilateral relations and traditional cooperation between Haiti and Cuba while identifying new avenues of cooperation. “That does not make sense,” said Martelly, talking about U.S.’s embargo against Cuba. “Haiti pleaded the cause of […]
In a shocking incident, independent journalist Rafiq Tagi was stabbed repeatedly today in Baku, according to this RFE/RL report. Tagi is best known for his thought piece entitled “Europe and Us,” published in 2007 in the Sanat newspaper. In the article, Tagi compared modern Muslim societies to their European counterparts, and argued that Islam had […]
So, next Friday, Morocco will be the first country in the region to hold parliamentary elections since the Arab Spring. (Tunisia’s recent election, an Islamist-strong assembly was chosen to write the new constitution. Egypt will hold parliamentary elections on Monday, November 28 to choose members of both its legislative chambers.) Morocco hasn’t received as much […]
Another Russian March Rally commemorated the recent National Unity Day in Russia. The celebration of accord and reconciliation succeeded former Soviet holiday dedicated to the Great Russian Revolution. The new holiday introduces a tradition of Russian nationalist rally, so called, Russian March, exciting for some, but precarious for others. This year the March gathered between […]
As pro-democracy movements swept across the globe over the past year and the list of dictators and autocratic governments toppling, or trying desperately to avoid doing so, continued to grow, a common postulation I heard was whether or not there would be a regime that would appear ahead of the curve of their own protests? […]
Brussels has always had a bum rap in Europe. Brussels is that faraway place where decisions are made over the heads of people. Brussels is considered undemocratic and technocratic, and is contrasted unfavorably with the familiar closeness of national politics. In the past 40 years or so, selling the EU to the public has often […]
I am almost embarrassed to admit this but after having lived in various countries in the Third World, having seen some pretty awful slum towns outside of Johannesburg, having walked through the “dwellings” of the hill tribes of Issan, having crossed the Thai/Burma border at Mae Sai and seeing the endless rows of begging children […]
Warning: the following is as an account of one woman’s experience; although it does highlight some major issues in Yemen in regards to Family Laws and Gender Equality it is not a reflection of the Yemeni society as a whole but rather the failure of a system to protect the most vulnerable. Amal Hassan’ story […]
I read in the Economist (November 5-11 edition) about a new project Wikipedia is undertaking to encourage greater production of articles in other countries by people within those countries. The company is partnering with three universities in Pune, India, offering course credit to students in exchange for their writing articles on a certain theme. […]
Dear followers of FPA’s Middle East blog, News.Az, a leading online news source of the Caucasus recently conducted an online interview with me – here you can find the full version of the interview: —————————————————————————————– Turkey is a new leader of the Muslim world in the Middle East. Are you satisfied with the Turkish policy […]
In an exclusive and wide-ranging discussion with Reza Akhlaghi, senior writer at the Foreign Policy Association, Ramin Jahanbegloo and Mehdi Khalaji talk about the current state of Iranian affairs. Topics discussed include: • Shiite clergy and institutionalization of violence in Iran; • Socio-cultural factors and civil, democratic institutions in Iran; • Iran’s Reformists; • […]
Roger Cohen, a reliable critic of Israel’s policies, particularly under the Netanyahu administration, argues against attacking Iran in a New York Times op-ed today. This issue has regained momentum in light of the recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which concluded that in six months Iran will have enriched uranium to the level […]
Peter Taksoe-Jensen, the Danish Ambassador to the U.S., gave a talk at Dartmouth on Tuesday entitled, “Arctic Challenges and Opportunities: A Danish Perspective.” I wasn’t able to find a transcript of his speech online, but Dartmouth’s school newspaper has a few quotes from his talk, which he gave to approximately 50 people. He warned against […]