Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Scholars of comparative democratization can advance debate on how to develop and sustain democracies by avoiding the frameworks that often limit the democracy policy community.
The return of Viktor Yanukovych, who was elected president of Ukraine in February, has sparked fears among some that the momentum of Ukraine’s domestic political and economic reforms would be lost.
Turks are preparing to vote on a set of proposed constitutional amendments that risk undermining the independence of the judiciary and eroding one of the necessary checks on the power of the executive branch.
The impending release of the findings of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and Hezbollah’s allegation of Israeli involvement in the 2005 assassination of Rafic Hariri threaten to ignite a political crisis and deepen sectarian fissures in Lebanon.
While China’s labor activism signals a broader political re-awakening of its civil society, this emerging phenomenon does not guarantee fundamental change to the country’s autocratic political order.
The renewal of the state of emergency in Egypt heightens concerns that the Obama administration’s practice of quiet diplomacy is not bearing fruit. The United States is uniquely positioned to engage the Egyptian government and civil society and encourage them along a path toward reform.
While the United States has no choice but to deal with Karzai, the Afghan leader’s power is falling and the coalition’s military strategy is at an impasse.
Most Europeans rank Yemen low on their list of priorities. Yet the country threatens their interests more than they recognize, and they can do more about it than they might think.
Lasting change eluded Kyrgyzstan in 2005 when Bakiyev came to power. Now that his regime has collapsed, the new leaders will have to work hard to earn back the trust of the Kyrgyz people.
Coalition strategy in Afghanistan has reached an impasse: tactical successes will not defeat the Taliban while Pakistan offers sanctuary, nor can security be “Afghanized” by a government that lacks legitimacy and is irreparably unpopular.