Domestic Politics Archive

Iraq’s parliamentary elections this Sunday, March 7, will close the first full chapter in the country’s transformation to a democratically elected, majority-rule system of government. The government elected in December 2005 consolidated Shiite rule and eventually brought Iraq a degree of security as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki tightened his grip on the levers of power. Now the nation’s corruption, fragile peace and lack of national reconciliation have left many looking for change — including American officials eager to see, if not a new Iraqi leader, at least a shake-up in the composition of his government. They will likely be disappointed. […]

Proposals in Brussels to throw a financial lifeline to debt-strapped Greece have met with resistance from some EU governments, in part because of the poor precedent a bailout would set for other member states in similar predicaments. But there is also mounting public opposition to such a move, particularly in Germany. As a result, despite the threat a Greek meltdown would pose to the eurozone as a whole, the German government has adopted a hard-line position in negotiations over how the EU should respond, causing relations between the two countries to become increasingly strained. The German government has historically extended […]

In the wake of a major natural disaster, the narrative arc that subsequently unfolds has the potential to reshape the political landscape of the affected country. The script has been written and performed many times in many countries, with no two times ever exactly the same. After this weekend’s massive earthquake in Chile, keep an eye on the response from the governments — both the outgoing and incoming one — to see how the quake ends up altering that country’s long-term political picture. No matter where disaster strikes, the script opens with shock, heartbreak and compassion. Then, it inexorably moves […]

As U.S. policymakers and other governments around the world search for an approach that will convince Iran to stop short of crossing the nuclear weapons threshold, Iran continues to send very mixed signals, and shows no signs of abandoning progress toward producing weapons-grade nuclear material. Meanwhile, Iran is in the midst of an internal political struggle that is often opaque from the outside, but could have major consequences for the country’s position in the region and the world. This World Politics Review special report examines “The Iran Enigma.” This report is a compilation of 25 articles on Iran published in […]

The upcoming Iraqi parliamentary elections loom large in the political fortunes of so many players, both internal and external, that it constitutes a historical referendum of sorts — not just for Iraq, but beyond as well. Across the region, globalization, in all its complex currents, appears poised at a number of inflection points. The outcome of Iraq’s elections will leave winners on some fronts, losers on others, and will trigger plenty of bandwagoning by those worried about being left out or left behind. Here’s a list of some potential outcomes, none of which are mutually exclusive, in rough order of […]