In The News

Compromise in Khartoum: Economist

August 22, 2019
Following a coup in Sudan and negotiations, the longtime leader is on trial for corruption. An economist leads the transitional government and elections are scheduled in 2022. Generals “signed the agreement only after coming under intense pressure from foreign powers,” reports the Economist, describing the new government made of five soldiers and six civilians. Many of the generals became wealthy...

Trump Divides the US: New York Times

Julie Hirschfeld Davis July 17, 2019
Donald Trump does not tolerate criticism of his policies, wrongly equating support for him and his policies with love of country. On Twitter, he challenged four Democratic congresswomen who have lambasted the administration’s immigration policies, including overcrowded detention camps and separation of children from their parents. On Twitter, Trump urged the representatives to “go back” to the...

Turkey’s Crackdown on Academics: New York Times

Brennan Cusack July 10, 2019
Ayse Gul Altinay’s research focused on violence in Turkey and strategies for breaking the cycles. In May, the Turkish government sentenced the professor of anthropology and director of Sabanci University Gender and Women’s Studies Center of Excellence to 25 months in prison for signing a petition supporting peaceful resolution of Turkeys’ conflict with Kurds, reports the New York Times. “Of the...

Center-Right Regains Power in Greece: BBC

Mark Lowen July 8, 2019
Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the New Democracy party won a snap election in Greece, defeating Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. The ruling government lost support amid high youth unemployment and a struggling economy along with failure to deliver on promises to end austerity. Early results in an election gave New Democracy nearly 40 percent of the vote and Syriza just over 30 percent; far-right Golden...

Existential Threat to Erdoğan: Spiegel

Maximilian Popp July 3, 2019
The mayor-elect of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, countered authoritarian tactics and demonstrated their weakness. Turkey’s largest city elected Imamoglu, and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, rejecting the defeat of the Justice and Development Party candidate and claiming election fraud, ordered a repeat of the election. Imamoglu won again by a greater margin. Erdoğan, a former mayor of...

Political Prisoners in Turkey: Al-Monitor

Diego Cupolo June 21, 2019
Since a 2016 coup attempt, the Erdogan regime in Turkey has been sensitive about any opposition, viewing valid criticism as a challenge to its policies and control. “Sixteen people are facing life imprisonment without parole for allegedly organizing and financing the 2013 Istanbul Gezi Park protests,” reports Diego Cupolo for Al-Monitor. “A 657-page indictment issued on Feb. 20 charged the...

Modi and India’s Muslims? Al Jazeera

Sudipto Mondal June 9, 2019
In the aftermath of his party’s convincing election victory, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried to push the issue of decreasing inclusion and representation by the substantial Muslim minority to the spotlight. History shows that the rise of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, has led to increasing violence against Muslims in recent years. Muslim leaders do not trust Modi’s...