In The News

Liberals Win in Canada: Toronto Star

Tonda MacCharles October 22, 2019
Justin Trudeau will continue on as Canada’s prime minister but without winning a majority in the 338-seat Commons, he will be forced to negotiate with other parties. Preliminary results showed he was 13 seats short. Conservatives won the overall popular vote, defeating some high-profile ministers. “The overall result reflected voter ambivalence toward the two major federal parties, which had been...

Tunisia’s Saied Projected in Landslide Win: Reuters

Tarek Amara and Angus McDowall October 14, 2019
Exit polls project Kais Saied as the decisive winner of Tunisia’s presidential race by 70 percent. Tunisia triggered a wave of protests in 2011, what became known as the Arab Spring: It was the first country to remove its dictatorial ruler and the only one to sustain the transition to democracy. Saied’s campaign, operating with little funding promised a return to the values of the 2011 Arab...

Argentina on Its Own: Buenos Aires Times

Marcel J. Garcia October 1, 2019
Argentina is experiencing political and economic turmoil, with high debt and inflation, and Argentinians remove savings from banks and avoid the peso. The International Monetary Fund indicates weariness with Argentina’s problems, suggests Marcel J. Garcia for Buenos Aires Times. Argentina represents nearly 60 percent of the IMF portfolio and global credit ratings agencies suggest the country is...

Mainstreaming of Corruption: Project Syndicate

Sławomir Sierakowski September 30, 2019
Power is lucrative and intoxicating, and some politicians will use any means necessary to remain in office and ruin democratic checks. Special interests, lobbying interests and extremists tend to support nepotism, self-dealing, patronage, misuse of public resources, graft and bending rules, reinforcing a downward cycle of corruption and public cynicism. “In many countries, even supporters of anti...

Boris Johnson Needs an Election: Scotsman

Paris Gourtsoyannis September 28, 2019
Political leaders with extreme views struggle to reach compromise and attract broad consensus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists the UK will leave the European Union without or without a deal. The Supreme Court ruled that Johnson unlawfully applied prorogation, suspending parliament for five weeks until just before the October 31 deadline. Members returned to session. Voters approved leaving...

Zelensky-Trump Meet on UN Sidelines: Kyiv Post

Bermét Talant September 26, 2019
Expect global leaders to apply caution in interactions with the United States. Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine since May, spoke with US President Donald Trump by telephone in July, shortly after the president had suspended an aid payment. Details of the call, possibly connected to a whistleblower’s complaint about Trump, have galvanized global attention. Speaker of the House of...

Obsession With Ukraine: New York Times

Kenneth P. Vogel, Julian E. Barnes, Maggie Haberman and Sharon LaFraniere September 26, 2019
US interest in Ukraine focuses on the country’s shared border with Russia, the Russian invasion and annexation of Crimea soon after a puppet’s departure in 2014, and interference in the country’s eastern section. US President Donald Trump’s emphasizes other priorities, including improved relations with Russia, according to a non-verbatim transcript of a July telephone call between Trump and...