Domestic Politics Archive

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi’s efforts to portray an image of moderation for himself, for the Muslim Brotherhood and for Egypt under the Brotherhood’s rule threaten to come undone once again. This time, the curtain has been drawn back by a spate of video clips of the former Muslim Brotherhood leader making bluntly anti-Semitic statements. The statements cannot be dismissed as old rants from an over-enthusiastic young radical. They are recent, dating to just a few months before the January 2011 uprising that ultimately brought Morsi and his political allies in the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Egypt. If Morsi wants […]

In the most direct admission by a high-ranking Iranian government official that international sanctions are imposing a heavy burden on the economy, Iranian Minister of Industry Mehdi Ghazanfari called the latest round of sanctions “crippling” at a gathering of provincial governors on Jan. 10. His remarks were a clear break from his previous statements, in which he downplayed the impact of sanctions. Ghazanfari said the latest round of sanctions have been far more costly than previous ones, pointing in particular to three new sets of sanctions imposed in 2012: financial sanctions, especially those targeting Iran’s central bank; oil export restrictions; […]

The Turkish government recently reported “important progress” in talks with Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group seeking greater Kurdish autonomy from the Turkish government. In an email interview, Gulistan Gurbey of the Free University of Berlin explained the political context and prospects of the talks. WPR: What is the political context, in terms of risks and opportunities, for Turkish Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his party, the AKP, in pursuing a deal with the PKK now? Gulistan Gurbey: Erdogan’s readiness for a deal with the PKK results from the escalation of […]

Contemporary Vietnam, officially known at the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), was formed in 1976 after a four-and-a-half decade armed struggle led by the Vietnam Communist Party (VCP) against French colonialism and U.S. intervention. When the war against France came to an end in 1954, Vietnam was partitioned, and North Vietnam became Southeast Asia’s first communist state, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. During the early years of the Democratic Republic, China was its chief provider of foreign assistance as well as its main model of development. For example, Vietnam carried out land reform in the mid-1950s and then reorganized the […]

Yesterday, the president of Sri Lanka formally ordered the removal of the country’s chief justice from office, capping a controversial impeachment process against the chief justice. In an email interview, Erik Jensen, professor of the practice of law and senior research scholar at Stanford University’s Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, explained the circumstances surrounding the constitutional crisis. WPR: What are the circumstances surrounding the impeachment of Sri Lanka’s chief justice? Erik Jensen: The critical events surrounding the impeachment rapidly evolved over the course of only four months: from the precipitating act — a Supreme Court ruling […]

For the first time, Colombia’s civil society has been invited to contribute to peace negotiations between the government and the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), with the discussion focused on the root cause of the country’s war: land reform. Hosted by the United Nations and the National University of Colombia, the Forum for Integral Agrarian Development was held in Bogota from Dec. 17 to 19. Not only did the forum place land reform at the center of peace negotiations, at least for the moment, it also has the potential to give the peace process legitimacy in the eyes […]

Brazil recently launched a $480 million effort to develop precision missiles and rockets, part of a larger effort to revitalize its defense sector. In an email interview, Salvador Raza, a former Brazilian naval officer and current adjunct professor at National Defense University, and Peterson Silva, a doctoral student at the University of Sao Paulo, discussed the state of the Brazilian defense sector. WPR: To what degree is Brazil independent in terms of arms production, and what systems does it need to import? Salvador Raza and Peterson Silva: Brazil has developed significant know-how in the production of relatively sophisticated defense products […]

Today, Jan. 10, was the day when Hugo Chávez was scheduled to be sworn in for the fourth time as Venezuela’s president. Instead, he is lying in a Cuban hospital, suffering serious complications from cancer surgery, and the country’s legislature, dominated by the president’s loyalists, has delayed the ceremony indefinitely. As Venezuelans grapple with the political uncertainty created by Chávez’s precarious health, the prospect of a post-Chávez era poses complex choices for a number of other countries, not least among them, the United States. During almost 14 years in office, Chávez made anti-Americanism the cornerstone of his foreign policy, working […]

In a year marked by democratic setbacks, Myanmar emerged as an unlikely success story. After nearly half a century of military rule, rights to unionize and protest were restored; opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest; and censorship was eased. Remarkably, these reforms happened because of, rather than despite, longtime dictator Gen. Than Shwe, in particular his decision to hand power willingly over to President Thein Sein. Than Shwe’s voluntary retirement ensured a peaceful transition, but the circumstances of his departure present unique challenges for the quasi-civilian government that has succeeded the junta. The military maintains […]

Protests have erupted in Northern Ireland in response to a vote by the Belfast City Council to fly the United Kingdom’s flag, with its trademark Union Jack symbol, above City Hall only on designated days, rather than every day of the year as has been the tradition for the past century. But what began as peaceful protests soon became violent riots that authorities have attributed to extremists exploiting the situation for their own purposes. “A small number of committed people can always create problems for a peaceful democratic majority,” Neil Jarman, director of the Institute for Conflict Research in Belfast, […]

In the Central African Republic (CAR), a rebel coalition called Seleka has captured at least 11 towns and cities since launching an offensive on Dec. 10. Seleka, Sango for “alliance,” was formed in August and comprises breakaway factions from four rebel groups that had signed peace deals with President Francois Bozizé starting in 2007. The group’s leaders charge that Bozizé failed to implement those agreements effectively. In particular, they are demanding payments for demobilized fighters and the release of imprisoned rebels. CAR has a history of instability, including the rebellion that brought Bozizé to power in 2003 as well as […]

Last week, Myanmar’s military launched airstrikes against ethnic rebels from the northern state of Kachin, the latest salvo in a conflict between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Myanmar’s central government that has escalated since a 1994 cease-fire came apart in 2011. Like other ethnic minorities in Myanmar, the Kachin have long sought more autonomy from the central government of the Southeast Asian nation, also known as Burma, which was under repressive military rule for five decades but has experienced a modicum of reform since President U Thein Sein came to power in 2011. Yet Thein Sein’s ascent was soon […]

When South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) convened its national conference in Mangaung in December, the party urgently needed to set a course for calmer waters after a turbulent year. President Jacob Zuma has been accused by the South African media of being a visionless cipher in a country desperate for dynamic and innovative leadership. Although Zuma’s government is not without achievements, South Africa’s core problems of poverty, inequality and unemployment continue to fester. Corruption, too, has worsened, as measured by Transparency International’s annual index, with South Africa falling five places in 2012. In October, two ratings agencies, Standard […]

What a difference between Election Day 2012 and today. In the immediate aftermath of his electoral victory, U.S. President Barack Obama seemed poised to start his second term of office with renewed energy and confidence. However, the euphoria of the president’s supporters has slowly but steadily eroded. Despite his hopes that, with the election over, he could tackle the fiscal crisis that was looming over the country, Obama was unable to negotiate any lasting solution. Several months ago, I predicted that “Congress and the president may find some creative ways to postpone the scheduled sequestration” but that there would be […]

On Tuesday, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong to demand the resignation of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, who has faced mounting public discontent with his rule since winning office six months ago in an election in which most of Hong Kong’s citizens could not vote. Leung is facing deepening controversy over questions concerning his personal integrity. Protesters at the New Year’s Day demonstrations demanded he step down, spurred by the news that Leung had made unauthorized additions to his $64 million home and concealed this fact during his election campaign. Henry Tang, Leung’s primary […]

When the world thinks of up-and-coming economies, the only non-Asian country that readily comes to mind is Brazil. That, however, may soon change. The stars are aligning, presaging what could prove to be a brilliant future for Mexico. Latin America’s second-largest economy has long suffered from a combination of problems, some of which produced gruesomely bad press along with a hard-to-erase negative image. The problems, to be sure, have been real. But the image has been anything but balanced. Pictures of brutal killings in the country’s drug wars and high-pitched debates in the U.S. about waves of impoverished Mexican immigrants […]

2012 was a year of critical leadership transitions. Familiar faces who stayed on or returned to the scene — as in the U.S., Russia and Japan — were joined by new leaders in China, South Korea, France and Mexico. Elsewhere, transitions are incomplete, with question marks hanging over countries such as Venezuela and Ethiopia. This World Politics Review special report examines the world’s new and returning leaders through articles published in the past year. U.S. Obama’s Caretaker PresidencyBy Nikolas GvosdevNovember 9, 2012 Obama Must Seize Opportunity for Bolder Foreign PolicyBy Judah GrunsteinNovember 9, 2012 Obama Should Go Broad, not Bold, […]