Latest Articles about Domestic/Social

The PKK Strategy to Disrupt Political Negotiations on the Kurdish Issue
Over the last few years, senior officers of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT – Milli Istihbarat Teskilati) have held several meetings with cadres of the separatist terrorist organization Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK) in order to find points of agreement for the group’s potential surrender. However,... MORE

Intervening in Mali: West African Nations Plan Offensive against Islamists and Tuareg Rebels
As Tuareg rebels battle radical Islamists with heavy weapons for control of the northern Mali city of Gao, Mali and the other 15 nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are planning a military offensive designed to drive both groups out of... MORE

Are Yemen’s Ansar al-Shari’a and AQAP One and the Same?
Since its emergence in March 2011, analysts and experts have tried to pin down the real shape of Ansar al-Shari’a, the militant Islamist group that established seven Islamic Emirates in southern Yemen after its emergence in March, 2011. [1] While many observers maintain that the... MORE


Circassians’ Tragic History Gains Wider International Attention
On June 30, one of the largest Circassian organizations in the North Caucasus, the Adyge Khase (aka the Circassian Parliament), held a conference in Maikop, Adygea. The head of the organization, Adam Bogus, portrayed the plight of the Circassians in the North Caucasus in bleak... MORE

Islamic Radicalism in Kazakhstan: Myth or Reality?
Prior to the wave of terrorist attacks in 2011, the problem of Islamic radicalism in Kazakhstan was less ubiquitous than in the other Central Asia republics. Kazakhs (who were nomads in the past) are less religious then Uzbeks and Tajiks, and the proportion of the... MORE

Parliamentary Elections Announced in Belarus
Belarusian president Alyaksandr Lukashenka signed a decree on June 18, which announced that the 2012 elections to the House of Representatives (HR or Parliament) would be held on September 23. Elections for the upper house of the National Assembly, the Council of the Republic (64... MORE

Moscow Shows Renewed Interest in the Fate of Ethnic Minorities in Azerbaijan
On June 18, the Federal National-Cultural Autonomy of Lezgins held its first conference in Moscow. Issues facing ethnic Lezgins and Avars, both of whom are divided between Dagestan and Azerbaijan, were discussed at the forum. The political importance of the event was reflected in the... MORE

Russian Opposition Is Tested and Stiffens Under Pressure
The lull in street protests in Moscow is seen by President Vladimir Putin’s administration as a perfect opportunity to squeeze and discredit the leaders of the disunited opposition and thus to restore the political torpor that had been the norm of his reign until last... MORE

Taking Down Mexico’s Miguel Treviño Morales: Los Zetos’ Second in Command Targeted for Character Assassination
Miguel Treviño Morales: A Founding Zeta Miguel Treviño Morales was born on November 18, 1970 in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico (CNS News, April 13, 2009). He is wanted in Mexico and the U.S. in connection with drug trafficking and murder-related charges. Legal processes against him are ongoing within several... MORE