In The News

Turkey: Erdoğan Faces Twittering Opposition

Anna Beth Keim March 26, 2014
A desire for democracy – the ability to select one’s representatives, but also engage in informed debate on policies with compromise – may slowly take root in Turkey. Spring protests in Gezi Park gave way to harsh crackdown, a government corruption investigation in December and active debate over Twitter since, including leaks of recordings that led to resignations of ministers and growing...

Turkey's President Gul Challenges PM's Move to Ban Twitter

Rory Cellan-Jones March 21, 2014
Those who try to shoot messengers often appear guilty, frustrated and infuriated about getting caught. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to wipe out a social-media site and “took action against Twitter after some users had posted documents reportedly showing evidence of corruption relating to his office – a claim he denies,” reports Rory Cellan-Jones for BBC News. “His spokesman said Mr...

Defying the Taliban, Afghans Head to the Polls

Marc Grossman March 20, 2014
Despite threats from the Taliban, as evidenced today, March 20, in Jalalabad and impending withdrawal of international forces, Afghans head to the polls to elect a new president April 5. But there is reason for hope as “Afghanistan is not the same country it was in 2001, and Afghans seem ready to fight for what they have achieved at such great cost,” argues Marc Grossman, the former United...

Fig Leaf of Legitimacy

Nayan Chanda March 17, 2014
About 60 percent of the electorate turned out in Crimea for a special referendum; reports suggest that 95 percent voted to join Russia. Next, Russia will decide whether to annex the peninsula it passed to Ukraine in 1954. Most of the international community opposed the hurried election, especially after Russia dispatched troops and tanks to the area. “Among the undecided but leaning towards...

The New Ukraine: Inside Kiev's House of Cards

Christian Neef, Wladimir Pyljow and Matthias Schepp March 6, 2014
Ukraine is ranked 144th on Transparency International’s corruption index; by comparison, neighbors Russia and Poland are ranked 127 and 38, respectively. Business owners with close ties to the former president, described as oligarchs, have fortunes worth billions even as the country owes billions in debt, much of that to Russia. Many of the wealthy have fled to Russia and tried to destroy...

Russian Markets Plunge as Putin Tightens Crimea Grip

Lidia Kelly and Alissa de Carbonnel March 4, 2014
Ukraine, deep in debt and geographically located between Poland and Russia, is divided over pursuing closer ties with Europe or Russia. After months of non-violent protests, the Ukrainian president accused of corruption and mismanagement unleashed a harsh response and then left for Russia. The parliament quickly installed a new government, and Russian forces moved into the Crimea, an area with...

Venezuela Unrest Shakes Up Opposition

Andrew Cawthorne and Diego Ore February 28, 2014
Protesters and opposition candidates blast Venezuela for problems listed by the US Central Intelligence Agency: “a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, a politicized military, rampant violent crime, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples.” Reuters...