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Australia is officially seeking to shore up its role in the Asia-Pacific regional order, following the United States in pivoting toward a fuller embrace of Asia. A government strategy document released over the weekend, “Australia in the Asian Century,” sets out an all-encompassing plan for Australia to engage with and capitalize on relations with its Asian neighbors. Australia has ridden out the global financial crisis largely due China’s insatiable demand for natural resources. Future economic growth, however, will require broadening Australia’s export base. The government of Prime Minister Julia Gillard commissioned the white paper to start planning for a future […]

In recent years, democratic legitimacy has become a requirement for wielding power in an increasing number of countries. Populations that endured years of dictatorship now demand the right to elect their leaders. In a growing number of cases, however, politicians with authoritarian tendencies have found a way to game the system, extending their rule, seemingly indefinitely, while technically preserving their claim to democratic and constitutional lawfulness. The most remarkable aspect of this new trend is how well it works, and how much it seems to be spreading. Politicians in places as different and distant as Venezuela and Russia have successfully […]