Last Thursday, April 19th, Kyrgyzstan's opposition promised a “decisive day” against Bakiev's government. At least that much is true: the nine-day long protests in Bishkek ended in violence. Therefore the protests, which were a call to reduce the power of the executive branch in the Constitution, may well result in increased presidential power. According to Russia's […]
The Honorable Kevin Rudd, Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives, spoke today at The Brookings Institution. The topic: US diplomatic engagement with China. His remarks focussed almost completely upon issues of East Asia and the Pacific, but some of his comments apply quite well to US-Chinese diplomacy concerning Central Asia. China's Priorities Most Central Asia […]
Yesterday, an article about agricultural practice in the Ferghana Valley brought me up short, because the numbers in it just sounded wrong. However, I am no agricultural expert: I spent a good part of the day talking to some wonderful people who know and study cotton at Texas A & M University. In particular, I […]
Conflict between journalists and the Minister of Culture and Information Mr. Ermukhamet Ertsybaev has been a constant theme since May of 2006, when journalists protested the Minister's “authoritarian methods”. Last month, protest erupted again when Mr. Ertsybaev had television journalists from the station ERA ejected from a March 2 event. By Monday, March 5, journalists were calling for Mr. […]
The Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), met today in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. They met in order to analyze their work, celebrate successes, and most of all, to formulate policy for 2008. The meeting was opened by Russia's Prime Minister, Mikhail Fradkov, who gave the opening remarks. Mr. Fradkov suggested that there were many integration […]
Your faithful scribe is leaving the country for about a week and as a consequence I may not be able to blog. I thus want to leave you with a lot of links from South Africa and Africa generally to take you to the weekend. I’ll be back next week. According to The New York […]
Umida Niyazova will be on trial in Uzbekistan April the 19th. According to Ferghana.ru News Agency: Umida Niyazova is charged with illegal border crossing, smuggling, manufacturing or distribution of subversive literature with the help of financial or other aid, received from religious organizations and also from foreign states, organizations and citizens. Ms. Niyazova is a […]
Reports of dissent within Zimbabwe's security forces represent hope for change in Mugabe's regim Hints of police dissatisfaction are not new — back in December and January similar rumors circulated. Here is what I wrote about the possibility of police backlash then: [The recent revelation] represents an interesting development inasmuch as Mugabe relies on both […]
Contributed by Rich Basas of FPA's Migration Blog: Rapid double digit economic growth in China and its newly minted membership in the WTO has greatly changed the world economy and China's position as an economic and political power. This view, while prominent within China is more importantly the dominant view among its neighbors abroad. Much of the […]
As I type South Africa is running down England in their World Cup Cricket Super Eight match. This is the game I have been waiting for since the Super Eight fixtures were announced, and as the weeks have passed it grew more and more clear that the South Africa-England competition would be huge and probably […]
Mexican soldiers have detained over 100 police officers in Nuevo Leon, a state bordering Texas. They are being held and investigated on suspicion of aiding drug traffickers in what appears to be the latest effort of President Calderon's administration to dispatch the military in fighting drug cartels. For further information, see: Soldiers arrest Mexican police […]
Currently, Turkmenistan's President Berdymukhammedov is visiting Saudi Arabia to arrange for oil and gas cooperation. Before that, he entertained OSCE representatives who proposed aid in environmental, educational, political and economic venues. More diplomatic envoys over gas exports but little else about Turkmenistan whatsoever: President Berdymukhammedov has said that long-term gas export agreements with China, Russia, and Iran […]
A recent article in Perspectives on Politics discusses the study of ethnic, religious, national, and other kinds of collective identity. Specifically, Abdelal, et al note that political scientists use words like "ethnicity", "religious group", and "national identity" without regard to analytic rigor. They present six different methods to ascertain group affiliation and bring scholarship back to earth. Nevertheless, I found myself […]
As of Friday, April the 13th, Human Rights Watch cannot remain in Uzbekistan, because its director has “exceeded her authority” and “worked outside the charter”. The new permitting regime was tightened after the Andijan Massacre. Many NGOs, press organizations, businesses, and military personnel have been asked to leave. Throwing the foreign rascals out, by date: June 6, […]
Kazakhstan-India trade turnover has gone from USD 120 to 210 million–a 74% increase, from last year to the year before. Kazakhstan is working hard to develop further bilateral trade ties with India. Though such trade naturally includes petroleum market trade, Kazakhstan is developing an attractive trade diplomacy for other industries, including special economic zones (SEZs) […]