Although Hassan Rouhani’s victory in Iran’s presidential election was a major gain for the moderate and reformist political groups in Iran—and consequently a major loss for the conservative groups—its implications are far greater than a simple adjustment in the balance of power in Iran’s domestic politics.
The economic situations of the Tunisians who drove the revolution have not improved one bit. Tunisia’s leaders need to intensify their efforts to stimulate economic development, and fast. But how can they do so when they are a little preoccupied setting up an entire government? This is where Washington comes in.
With a million people demonstrating in the streets of cities throughout Brazil, everyone’s scrambling to understand how a 20-cent bus fare hike turned into a social revolt.
As President Obama plans trip to Senegal, Tanzania, and South Africa, a press conference at the National Press Club will give voice to those calling for change in his Africa policy.
Iran’s June 14 presidential election results, announced the day after voting was held, were nothing less than a political earthquake.
As Iran’s presidential election approaches with the speed of an out-of-control train, its passengers are certainly curious about who’s going to be the next conductor. Yet as they take in the political infighting that so consumes the country’s ruling classes, ordinary Iranians understand that one of the most salient facts of life in Iran—the international sanctions regime—will not be on the ballot.
Kurdistan has enjoyed an unprecedented level of political and economic stability since the end of the first Gulf War in 1991. Yet not all is well in Kurdistan, due in part to the dominant presence of one ruling family. Descended from a political dynasty that has built a power base over centuries of fighting, regional president Massoud Barzani has blossomed into an authoritarian ruler not unlike many whose regimes are now crumbling from the internal pressures of the Arab Spring.
A poem: To all the men and women who sing change change change Mee-ahn mar–we never heard of you before.
This week’s relatively informal and unscripted summit between the presidents of the United States and China on a private estate in southern California is being welcomed by most analysts here as a virtually unprecedented opportunity for each side to gain a better understanding of the strategic aims of the other.
Something is dreadfully wrong with Hungary. Worse, what’s wrong with Hungary is not unique in Europe. What’s eating away at a free society in Hungary has metastasized. This same cancer is present elsewhere on the continent, even if it hasn’t come to the attention of diagnosticians.