At the time of the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, many observers disagreed with labeling it a coup attempt. Political violence, for sure. Insurrection, perhaps. But a coup? In the United States? In fact, the reluctance to label what happened that day a coup flies in the face of what political scientists know about coups.
In March, the latest chapter was written in a political and legal controversy between Italy and France that dates back to the 1980s. But while a verdict from France’s highest criminal court caps a four-decade-long saga that began during Italy’s “years of lead,” it fails to resolve the tensions at the heart of those events.
When Myanmar’s ruling military announced last week that it was issuing a partial pardon for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, it seemed a sign that the regime might be preparing to loosen its grip and perhaps even compromise with the opposition. That optimistic interpretation, however, is being rejected by many Myanmar observers.
In the past two weeks, the coup in Niger has snowballed into a confrontation pitting the civilian-led states of ECOWAS against military juntas in West Africa. But the standoff is a symptom of broader dysfunctions in the global system that underscore the need for the EU and its members to reassess their approaches to foreign policy.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Southeast Asia seemed to offer a model for democratization for other developing countries. But today the region is a long way from that promising period, with the state of democracy in dire shape. It seemed by 2020 that things couldn’t get worse. And yet, in the past few years, they have.
As a result of Spain’s inconclusive elections on July 23, regional nationalist parties hold the keys to determining the next prime minister. Though their options are limited, how they navigate the current landscape will have implications for Spain’s national politics as well as other regional nationalist movements in Europe.
The coup in Niger caught much of the outside world by surprise, given the country’s image as a relatively stable outlier in a region beset by upheaval. But if foreign observers were stunned by President Mohamed Bazoum’s ouster, it did not come as a shock to many Nigeriens, and not solely because of Niger’s history of military coups.
A defense agreement signed by Iran and Bolivia in late July, the details of which remain obscure, constitute yet another step in Tehran’s effort to cement ties with leftist governments in Latin America. The campaign to build those relations is not new, but it appears to have gained new momentum in recent months.
U.S. President Joe Biden recently stirred controversy by stating that al-Qaida no longer has a presence in Afghanistan—thanks, he suggested, to the Taliban. The Taliban predictably applauded his statement, but others pointed out that it contradicted recent U.N. reports. How are we to make sense of these conflicting characterizations?
Upon taking office in 2020, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye reversed some of his predecessor’s repressive measures, raising hopes that he might deliver on his promised reform agenda. But recent developments have renewed concerns that Ndayishimiye’s initial overtures would not materialize into substantive policy reforms.