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Luis Arce Catacora was sworn in as Bolivia’s new president last weekend, two weeks after he and his vice president, David Choquehanca Cespedes, won decisively in long-delayed general elections. Their victory marked a return to power for the Movement for Socialism—the political party of former President Evo Morales, known as the MAS—and an end to a year of unrest and political turmoil that followed Morales’ ouster in the wake of disputed elections. Lawmakers—almost all of them wearing face masks—packed into the National Assembly building to hear Arce’s inaugural address, in which he promised to govern for all Bolivians. “We want […]

To say President-elect Joe Biden has his work cut out for him when it comes to U.S. foreign policy and national security would be a gross understatement. China, Russia, Iran and North Korea all loom large, right alongside climate change and the still-worsening coronavirus pandemic. Yet with a persistently polarized American electorate and a possibly divided Congress, it will be hard for his administration to make significant progress on the biggest security challenges facing the United States. Whatever happens with the messy transition period leading up to Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the Republican Party’s obstructionism and Donald Trump’s decapitation […]

As authorities around the world seek out new tools to fight COVID-19, they are increasingly turning to contact-tracing apps and other technological tools that carry worrying implications for online privacy and digital rights. Meanwhile, a recent report from the watchdog group Freedom House warns that many authoritarian governments are seizing on the pandemic to expand their surveillance powers and crack down on online dissent, while imposing new restrictions on the flow of information across national borders. On the Trend Lines podcast this week, Freedom House’s Adrian Shahbaz, one of the report’s co-authors, joined WPR’s Elliot Waldman to talk about how […]

Oct. 20 might be remembered as the day Nigeria’s historic uprising against police brutality died. The government’s use of live ammunition against peaceful demonstrators that day reportedly killed at least 12 people and injured dozens more. As President Muhammadu Buhari implicitly threatened to crack down again, the Feminist Coalition, one of the Nigerian organizations spearheading the protest movement, released a statement refusing further donations and calling for Nigerian youth to observe curfews and stay home. The streets of Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city and the one-time epicenter of the demonstrations, are now clear of the tens of thousands of people […]

Peruvian legislators stunned the country Monday night when they unexpectedly voted to remove President Martin Vizcarra from office, using a questionable interpretation of the constitution. The move not only underscores Peru’s chronic political instability, it also exemplifies the ferocious pushback faced by political figures who try to untie the knots of corruption that keep many countries, not only in Latin America, from dealing effectively with their problems. Vizcarra lost power because he sought to craft fundamental reforms to Peru’s political and judicial system, which posed a threat to the establishment. Legislators in the unicameral Congress voted overwhelming to declare Vizcarra […]

It didn’t require an acute sense of hearing to register the sighs of relief from many quarters around the world when Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump was called by leading American news networks Saturday. From the mayor of Paris, the message was an exuberant “Welcome back America!”⎯and that spirit of encouragement was matched in places as far flung as Canada, South Korea and Ethiopia, even if the language was slightly more restrained. In certain other quarters, just as predictably, mum was the word. Vladimir Putin, who rushed to congratulate Trump four years ago, passed the first few days after […]

MEDELLIN, Colombia—As 21-year-old Jarvis Sanchez fled Venezuela—walking hours through dangerous informal border crossings, packing into hotel rooms with 20 other people and clinging to the backs of speeding trucks—he could barely even think about the global pandemic playing out around him. “There were things way scarier than COVID,” Sanchez said. “When you’re constantly under threat, when you’re on a truck driving at such fast speeds, and so many other things, you almost forget about it.” Sanchez is part of a new wave of migrants and refugees leaving Venezuela, as nearby countries gradually reopen their economies after months of COVID-19 lockdowns. […]

Many aspects of our response to the coronavirus pandemic have relied on digital technology. Schools and workplaces are moving online, holding classes and meetings using virtual tools. Public health experts are using data analytics and contact tracing apps to slow the contagion. And in some cases, authoritarian governments are using the pandemic as an excuse to impose sweeping restrictions on their citizens that limit their scope for protests and other forms of criticism. According to researchers at the watchdog group Freedom House, the implications of the pandemic for digital rights worldwide are bleak. The organization released a new report last […]

Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, WPR contributor Lavender Au and Newsletter and Engagement Editor Benjamin Wilhelm curate the week’s top news and expert analysis on China. Subscribers can adjust their newsletter settings to receive China Note by email every week. Although Chinese leader Xi Jinping still has not yet issued a statement or called to congratulate Joe Biden on his election win over Donald Trump, prominent commentators in China are already discussing what his presidency means for U.S.-China relations. Trump is still mounting dubious legal challenges to the election’s outcome, and has now embarked on a purge of the Pentagon, getting […]

Longtime opposition leader Wavel Ramkalawan was sworn in as president of the Seychelles late last month, after a decisive election victory over incumbent President Danny Faure. Ramkalawan’s coalition, the Seychelles Democratic Alliance—known in Seychellois Creole as the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa, or LDS—also expanded its majority in parliament. In an email interview with WPR, Yolanda Sadie, a professor of politics at the University of Johannesburg, discusses what led to Ramkalawan’s victory and the many challenges facing his new government. World Politics Review: What is the historical significance of Ramkalawan’s presidency? Yolanda Sadie: Ramkalawan’s election victory, in his sixth attempt, was the […]

Editor’s note: The following article is one of 30 that we’ve selected from our archives to celebrate World Politics Review’s 15th anniversary. You can find the full collection here. When Rachid Zerrouki, a teacher in Marseille, headed back to his classroom last Monday, he braced himself for the worst. He hadn’t seen his students since the brutal killing of Samuel Paty, a 47-year-old middle school teacher in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, who was beheaded by a young Chechen refugee days after he showed his class cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a lesson about freedom of expression. With school back […]

Donald Trump has been an unorthodox president, to say the least. Much of America and the rest of the world is hoping for a return to some semblance of normality under President-elect Joe Biden. But what might that mean on trade? The traditional take on American trade politics for decades has been that Republicans tend to be free traders while Democrats are more skeptical. Trump certainly turned that on its head. Yet after he started imposing tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in imports, several polls—which obviously have to be taken with a grain of salt—showed most Americans becoming […]

DAKAR, Senegal—Michael Sang Correa was indicted in federal court in Denver, Colorado, in July, for allegedly torturing multiple people in Gambia in 2006. The indictment is the first for a member of the Junglers, a secretive death squad used by former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh to arrest, torture, disappear and kill scores of his perceived opponents. His trial is expected to begin next year. Correa’s victims and their family members are relieved that he is finally facing justice. However, experts say that Correa’s trial in the U.S., rather than in Gambia, underscores a lack of political will among Gambian leaders […]

Editor’s Note: Every Monday, Managing Editor Frederick Deknatel highlights a major unfolding story in the Middle East, while curating some of the best news and analysis from the region. Subscribers can adjust their newsletter settings to receive Middle East Memo by email every week. One of the few countries that waited a conspicuously long time to congratulate Joe Biden on his election win over Donald Trump was Saudi Arabia. King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, finally issued a statement, via the Saudi state news agency, applauding President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, more than 24 […]

Last Wednesday, with a divided and anxious citizenry awaiting the outcome of an agonizingly close election, President Donald Trump voted for climate change, as the United States became the first nation to formally withdraw from the Paris Agreement. The good news is that Joe Biden, now the winner of the presidential election, can restore U.S. participation at the stroke of a pen. The bad news is that rejoining the pact won’t by itself do much to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That will require dramatic domestic action from a deeply divided nation. The Paris Agreement is the most impressive multilateral agreement […]

The recent U.S.-brokered agreements between Serbia and Kosovo to normalize their economic ties have been portrayed by all three governments as a momentous diplomatic achievement. “By focusing on job creation and economic growth, the two countries were able to reach a major breakthrough,” President Donald Trump said at a White House signing ceremony in September, standing alongside Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti. Both leaders committed to moving forward on direct transportation links and other infrastructure projects, with the hope of boosting economic development, particularly in Kosovo, one of the poorest countries in Europe. The announcement […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Andrew Green curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Subscribers can adjust their newsletter settings to receive Africa Watch by email every week. Ethiopia’s military declared it has “entered into a war” with leaders of the northern Tigray region Thursday, escalating a conflict that could tear apart Africa’s second-most populous country and destabilize the Horn of Africa. Troops from across the country are reportedly massing at the border of Tigray in response to what Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said was a deadly attack this week on a federal military camp, which […]