In The News

Egypt Court Bans Muslim Brotherhood Activities

Laura King, Ingy Hassieb September 25, 2013
In one short year, the Muslim Brotherhood went from winning Egypt’s first democratic election to being cast as a pariah: An Egyptian court has “banned all of its activities and ordered the confiscation of its financial assets,” report Laura King and Ingy Hassieb for the Los Angeles Times, and they question whether such rapid reversal “by an increasingly authoritarian interim government will...

Bo Xilai Conviction Will Do Little to Curb Corruption

Zhiwu Chen September 24, 2013
China’s officials discourage public debate about corruption, regarding it as criticism of Communist Party rule, yet some abuses of power can’t escape attention, notably those associated with Bo Xilai, the popular former party chief of Chongqing, who has received a life sentence for bribery. The trial avoided years of systematic abuses, and so far, President Xi Jinping is following old trends,...

Currency Conundrum

Nayan Chanda September 17, 2013
India’s dysfunctional political system has exacerbated the currency crisis, argues Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor, in his column for Businessworld. Officials blame Indian investors’ keen interest in gold, over-exposure to global markets and over-reaction to reports of a strengthening US economy. Chanda suggests that Indian officials – whose country has benefited so much from globalization –...

China Intensifies Internet Crackdown

Jamil Anderlini September 16, 2013
The hopes of political reform raised after the Chinese Communist Party elected Xi Jinping last year have been dashed amidst an intensifying crackdown on the internet. An article in an influential party journal described online criticism of the party and government as “defamation.” At the same time an influential internet personality, Charles Xue , who boasted 12 million followers on China’s...

People Will Pay if Army Fails Challenge of Political Islam

Amin Saikal September 9, 2013
Political Islam in Egypt – with the democratic election of Mohamed Morsi and one chaotic year in office – took an ideological approach to government, failing to compromise with other forces in society that led the revolution against Mubarak’s dictatorship. After deposing Morsi, the Egyptian military has cracked down on his party, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other supporters. Conservative...

Winners and Losers After Arab Spring

Lindsay J. Benstead, Ellen M. Lust, Dhafer Malouche, Gamal Soltan, Jakob Wichmann August 27, 2013
Each political transition underway since the Arab Spring has its own characteristics, reports a group of researchers who conducted post-election surveys in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. The international community should resist applying stereotypical responses. “A one-size-fits-all approach to the transition processes – and particularly to development assistance aimed at fostering democratization –...

Philippines Web Activists Show Power of Internet Campaigns

James Hookway, Joesphine Cuneta August 26, 2013
An internet campaign in the Philippines has shamed politicians on special-interest spending that directs funding to projects in specific districts. The president has taken steps to end legislative discretionary-spending budgets after an internet campaign blasted phony and unnecessary projects listed in the Priority Development Assistance Fund, reports the Wall Street Journal: “Philippine...