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...

US Draws Together South Korea and Japan

Richard McGregor and Simon Mundy March 25, 2014
The United States is urging its allies in the north Pacific to forge closer ties: “Barack Obama used Washington’s clout with both countries to persuade Shinzo Abe and Park Geun-hye, the Japanese and South Korea leaders, to have a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague,” report Richard McGregor and Simon Mundy for the Financial Times. The meeting, the first...

Why Putin Doesn’t Care About Sanctions

David R. Cameron March 25, 2014
Europe’s advance on former Soviet satellite states unnerved Russia. After unrest in Ukraine and deposition of the president, Russia moved to annex Crimea – which in turn may “drive Ukraine into the arms of the EU and give NATO a new raison d’être,” explains David R. Cameron, Yale professor of political science. “Crimea in the hands of a hostile Ukraine would threaten Russia’s hold on its base for...

Why "Iran Style" Sanctions Worked Against Tehran (And Why They Might Not Succeed With Moscow)

Suzanne Maloney March 24, 2014
In responding to global crisis or conflict, leaders must choose measures that have a reasonable chance of success. The United States and the European are applying sanctions against Russia in retaliation for the abrupt, forcible annexation of Crimea. Suzanne Maloney, a senior fellow with the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, writing for Brookings, details conditions for how sanctions pushed...

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...

Spitzenkandidats: EU Parliament Elections Become Explosive

Christoph Pauly and Christoph Schult March 19, 2014
The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union, and the European Parliament plays a key role in deciding the president, the top post in Brussels. “But British officials are uneasy with the notion that the selection of the next head of the European Commission should be linked to the results of the European Parliament elections,” explain Christoph Pauly and Christoph Schult...