Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The future of Afghanistan depends on the willingness of the U.S. and Afghan governments to incorporate constituencies besides the Taliban in peace negotiations.
The return of former President Musharraf to Pakistan has the potential to complicate the already fraught elections coming in May 2013.
The protests in Russia cannot be called a political phenomenon, as the participants are experienced in civic activism but not in political life.
A verdict of acquittal or not guilty for Pussy Riot is unlikely because the verdict for this politically sensitive trial will be reached outside the courtroom.
It is unlikely that the members of Pussy Riot punk band will be found not guilty, because to recognize that they were not guilty would require acknowledging that the trial itself was a sham.
The outrage over the mismanagement of the flood in Krymsk will contribute to the waning of Vladimir Putin’s popularity, but this process is slow-going.
Turkey is attempting to position itself as a more than a regional power, with activity in all its neighboring regions. It remains to be seen, however, whether Turkey has enough forces to be present in so many places.
Vladimir Putin faces the question of whether to crack down on the still-evolving protest movement or to make concessions to a group who may never trust him.
While fraud was less prevalent in the March 4 Russian presidential election, abuses still occurred.
The recent parliamentary elections in Russia offer evidence of the corruption afflicting the country’s political system, as officials manipulated the system to guarantee that the ruling United Russia party would remain in power.