Latest Articles about Domestic/Social

Foreign Policy Implications of Mongolian Crony Democracy

Though considered a healthy—albeit developing—democracy (https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/105158; https://www.santmaral.mn/en/publications), Mongolia has in recent years become dominated by the competing interests of its political and business factions, whose collective actions undermine the country’s democratization trends as well as complicate Ulaanbaatar’s foreign policy. For now, Mongolia resides in a... MORE

Implications of the Crimean Issue for the North Caucasus

On March 5, the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, called on the regions of the Russian Federation to support the residents of Crimea and the eastern Ukrainian regions adjacent to Russia. The parliamentarians called on the Russian regional officials to provide... MORE

Russia Puts Itself in Peril by Dismembering Ukraine

One unique feature of the still surging crisis in Ukraine is the intensity of high-level communications between the key parties to it—which should have eliminated the possibility of misunderstanding, but apparently has not. Last Friday night (March 7), United States President Barack Obama had yet... MORE

National Security Trumps Reform at the NPC

Domestic and international security concerns have dominated the on-going session of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress. This is despite high expectations that Premier Li Keqiang will unveil thorough-going economic reforms in his maiden Government Work Report (hereafter Report), which was delivered at the Great Hall of... MORE

Crimean Crisis Escalates Further

On March 6, the Crimean parliament voted in favor of unification with Russia, and declared that a referendum on this decision will be held either on March 15 or March 30 (https://qha.com.ua/iste-kirim-parlamentosu-nun-kararlari-131096tr.html). Crimean Tatars immediately refused to accept this resolution (https://censor.net.ua/video_news/274444/krymskie_tatary_ne_priznayut_referendum_moskovskih_marionetok_glava_medjlisa_video).This news comes a day... MORE

Ukrainian Big Business Joins Effort for Country’s Political Stabilization

On March 2, Ukrainian interim president Oleksandr Turchynov appointed new heads of state administrations (governors) in several oblasts in eastern and southern Ukraine (Ukraiynska Pravda, March 2, 3). The main cities in Ukraine’s southern and eastern oblasts have most recently experienced pro-Russian, potentially separatist demonstrations,... MORE

Race Riots and Extremist Demonstrations Occur With Increasing Frequency in Russia

According to Moscow’s SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, radical Russian nationalists tried to arrange several more skhods (translated as “people’s gatherings”—generally involving street marches and demonstrations) in January 2014, as the country was preparing to host the Winter Olympics in Sochi (https://www.sova-center.ru/racism-xenophobia/publications/2014/01/d28925/). In the... MORE