The regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will probably remain in power after elections scheduled for late July. But the past few weeks have been unusually positive ones for Venezuela’s opposition. The faintest glimmers of optimism have begun to appear due to events unfolding in ways that have caught the Maduro regime off guard.
“America always does the right thing, after exhausting all other possibilities.” Those words, attributed to Winston Churchill, perfectly capture what finally transpired late last week, when the U.S. Congress finally passed a series of supplemental defense spending bills earmarking military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
For decades, Panama has enjoyed relative economic prosperity and political stability compared to its neighbors. But after years of simmering popular discontent that culminated in massive protests last year, and amid political uncertainty ahead of an upcoming presidential election, its economic prospects look grim.
Sudanese women were at the forefront of the country’s April 2019 pro-democracy protests. Today, they play pivotal roles as peacebuilders in Sudan’s ongoing civil war. But they have been entirely sidelined in decision-making and efforts to end the violence. After a year of war, it’s time to include women at the negotiating table.
The opposition victory in South Korea’s recent legislative elections will greatly reduce President Yoon Suk Yeol’s room for maneuver for the rest of his term. Rather than the victory being the result of the opposition’s campaign acumen, though, the reality is that Yoon—and high supermarket prices—made it all too easy.
Mali’s military junta imposed an indefinite ban last week on political activities, the latest of a series of crackdowns in recent months on freedom of association and other civil liberties. Last week’s decree is the latest indicator that Mali’s “interim” government is anything but “interim” and has little desire to relinquish power.
Georgia’s ruling party recently revived a controversial “foreign agents” bill that the opposition has disparagingly labeled the “Russia Law,” reigniting a pitched battle between the majority of Georgians, who want to join the EU, and Georgia Dream, which has drawn closer to Moscow, even as it pretends it supports EU accession.
The stakes are high heading into the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, not only for the International Olympic Committee, which needs to reset the narrative around the burden of hosting the Games, but also French President Emmanuel Macron, who is trying to boost France’s leadership of Europe in the emerging post-American world.
U.S. President Joe Biden hosted the leaders of Japan and the Philippines yesterday, in a meeting centered on shared security interests with an eye toward China’s increasing regional and global influence. This narrow focus, however, highlights the lack of seriousness paid to the escalating crisis in Myanmar.
Latin America should have a regional conversation about how its corrupt politicians abuse the asylum system by seeking refuge in foreign embassies to avoid accountability for their crimes. But that conversation can’t be held against the backdrop of raids against those embassies, which are legally inviolable under international law.
The leaders of Vietnam, a one-party, opaque, and authoritarian state, usually try to present themselves as working closely together, free of discord and united on all fronts. The current reality is far different. Behind the opaque façade, Vietnam’s leadership is now apparently both corrupt and intensely fractious.
This chatbot was trained on more than 80 articles on global migration published by World Politics Review from March 23, 2018, to Feb. 1, 2024. Ask it questions about events and trends related to global migration over the last few years and get answers drawn straight from WPR’s expert analysis.
The consequences of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s intention to double down on China’s manufacturing prowess to boost growth has attracted a lot of discourse. But it’s important to understand that excess capacity has a political logic within the Chinese system that is fundamental to the country’s governance model.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace”—an ambitious plan to negotiate directly with the country’s criminal and armed groups—suffered a series of setbacks due to missteps, legislative roadblocks and unforced errors. Now, nearly halfway through his four-year term, Petro is no longer relying exclusively on dialogue.