Russia’s approach to the Middle East is at a turning point, as the changes associated with the Arab Spring continue to destabilize regimes and alliances and Iran appears to be moving ahead with its nuclear program in defiance of Russia and the West.
Russia has witnessed an unsettling trend of long-term population decline since the mid-1990s, with alarming mortality rate statistics, falling fertility rates, and waves of emigration draining the nation of its best and brightest.
The obvious and often painful mismatch between aspiration and reality in European foreign policy has plagued discourse on European integration during the last decade.
The Kremlin is trying to present President Dmitry Medvedev's new bill as a way of bringing back direct gubernatorial elections, but in fact governors will still remain beholden to the president, not the people.
Russia faces serious economic challenges, including a demographic crisis, corruption, weak enforcement of property rights, and over-reliance on hydrocarbons. A combination of structural political and economic reforms is required to save the country from stagnation.
Despite their initial inclination to lower the profile of U.S. democracy promotion, President Obama has had to confront a series of urgent, visible democracy issues, from political upheaval in multiple Arab countries and unexpected events in Russia to thwarted elections in Côte d’Ivoire and beyond.
While economic inequality has always existed and is not going away, this year it is likely to top the global agenda for voters, protesters, and politicians running for office in the many important elections scheduled around the world.
The chilling of the Arab Spring, Iran's nuclear program, Iraq after the U.S withdrawal, and the continuing European financial crisis are just some of the key issues facing the international community in 2012.
Russian authorities see the protests as the most serious challenge to their power since taking office in 2000. The coming year will be momentous for Russian politics, with unpredictable outcomes and potentially dangerous consequences.
Twenty years after the fall of the Soviet Union, democracies need to develop a new model that fosters civic duty and responsibility in their citizens and takes a more global perspective on leadership in the modern world.














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