Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Shanghai_-_will_the_lights_go_out_in_2012.jpg)
China in 2012: Political Challenges in China’s Economic Governance
Just as in the political and social arenas, the economic focus of the Hu Jintao-Wen Jiabao administration in 2012 will be upholding stability. In view of factors including the Eurozone debt crisis—which will impact on China’s exports to Europe adversely—top priority is being put on... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Politburo_Standing_Committee.jpg)
China in 2012: The Politics and Policy of Leadership Succession
In 2012, China will enter for the first time an era in which political leadership is held by people who do not have the direct imprimatur of veterans of the Chinese revolution. This will be important not just because it means they will have to... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Natalya_Korolevska_-_EDM_January_20__2012.jpg)
The “Blackmail State” Re-Emerges in Ukraine
Since Viktor Yanukovych’s election victory, four strategies have been adopted against the opposition that in particular targets Yulia Tymoshenko and her eponymous bloc (BYuT). BYuT became the dominant national democratic party in the last decade increasing its share of the vote from 7 percent (2002),... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Nazarbayev_campaign_poster_-_EDM_January_20__2012.jpg)
Kazakhstan Embarks on Guided Transition to a Multi-Party System
The elections just held in Kazakhstan have successfully accomplished the limited goal of moving from a single-party to a multi-party parliament. This political opening has come about by decision of the state leadership. This decision marks one step in an evolutionary process of broadening political... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Kazakhstan_elections_-_EDM_January_20__2012.jpg)
Kazakhstan’s Parliamentary Elections: A Cautious Step Toward Political Pluralism
Kazakhstan’s President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, indicated at the time of his re-election in 2011 that conditions were ripe for moving from a single-party to a multi-party parliament. Toward that goal, pre-term elections were held on January 15, 2012 to the parliament’s lower chamber, the 107-seat Majlis.... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Makhachkala_Officer_killed_-_EDM_January_20__2012.jpeg)
No Let-Up in Rebel Attacks on Law-Enforcement Personnel in Dagestan
In Dagestan today (January 20), three alleged militants were killed in a shootout with security forces in the republic’s Khasavyurt district. According to the Anti-Terrorist Committee, two of the slain suspects were identified as 25-year-old twin brothers Sabit and Said Akaev, who, according to the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Broken_Ski_Lift__KBR_-_EDM_January_19__2012.jpg)
Fewer Killed in the North Caucasus Last Year, but Overall Situation Remains Unchanged
The Kavkazsky Uzel (Caucasian Knot) website has published the statistics for casualties in the North Caucasus in 2011. The figures, compiled using open sources, allow us to draw a range of interesting conclusions. First of all, it is peculiar that the number of those wounded... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Dmitri_Rogozin_-_EDM_January_19__2012.jpg)
Russia’s Former Permanent Representative to NATO Appointed As Deputy Prime Minister
In late December 2011, when Russian politicians and the public were preparing to spend almost two weeks off duty celebrating the New Year, President Dmitry Medvedev appointed the flamboyant anti-Western nationalist politician Dmitry Rogozin, as Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the defense industry and... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Jund_al-Khilafah_-_EDM_January_18__2012.jpg)
Network of Jund al-Khilafah in Kazakhstan Wider Than Predicted
On December 29, 2011, 41-year old Yerik Ayazbayev, the leader of a Jund al-Khilafah (JaK – Army of the Caliphate) cell based in the Almaty suburb of Boraldai Village, was killed in the Southern Kazakhstan city of Kyzylorda (Interfax [Astana], December 30). Five of his... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Heads_of_North_Caucasus_Republics_-_EDM_January_18__2012.jpeg)
Return to Popularly Elected Regional Leaders Could Bring Sweeping Political Changes to the North Caucasus
On January 16, in what may constitute a major political shift, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev introduced a bill reintroducing the direct election of governors in the regions of the Russian Federation. The newspaper Kommersant published photocopies of the president’s legislative proposal on its website. The... MORE