Numerous countries continue to face instability and unrest amid fragile global economic conditions, failing political systems and inadequate responses to socio-economic challenges. In Central Asia, local autocracies will grapple with pressures for political change, Islamic militancy, social unrest and ethnic tensions. They also face the... MORE

On January 31, representatives of the 100,000 member Syrian Circassian community held a press conference in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria. Three of the visiting Syrians said their goal was to discuss with the government the possible repatriation of Circassians from conflict-ridden Syria to the North Caucasus. The... MORE

Front for Change party leader, Arseniy Yatseniuk, said in an interview in Fokus magazine “In effect in the country there is a two party system. The post-Soviet system confronts the pro-European, the past versus the future” (https://focus.ua/politics/213418/). This view was repeatedly stated by opposition leaders... MORE

On February 2, the Dagestani government outlined its latest plans for curbing the insurgency in the republic. The statement by the head of Dagestan, Magomedsalam Magomedov, on governmental plans to exert control over the republic sounded like a plan to occupy a foreign country. “We... MORE

On February 2, the leader of the North Caucasus rebels Doku Umarov made an astonishing statement in support of the growing movement in Russia against Vladimir Putin. In a dramatic departure from the previously circulated views, the head of the Caucasus Emirate called on the... MORE

In a video posted yesterday (February 2) to the rebel Kavkaz-Center website, Doku Umarov, the “emir” of the Caucasus Emirate, ordered his forces to refrain from attacks on Russian civilians in connection with the fact that, as the website characterized it, “the process of civil... MORE

Much attention has been given to the controls and restrictions placed on Internet users within China, which have increased, especially in the wake of efforts by online activists to rally citizens to the streets (“China’s Adaptive Approach to the Information Counter-Revolution,” China Brief, June 3,... MORE

Starting last September, a protest in Wukan village made world headlines. After months of tension, thousands of villagers angry over the seizure of their land, inadequate compensation and the death of a villager in police custody expelled village officials and occupied the public square. Provincial... MORE

China seems to have entered deep winter as far as political reform and human rights are concerned. While the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership seems to have pulled out all the stops to stifle dissent, intellectuals both inside and outside the party still are pushing... MORE

Events in Ingushetia signal a possible increase in tensions in this North Caucasus republic after a nearly two year period of decline in militant activities.  The decline in Ingush rebel activities was linked to the arrest of their leader Magas (aka Taziev-Yevloev) in June 2010... MORE