Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
Georgia’s Political Landscape Reshaped After Local Elections
The Christian-Democrat Movement and the Alliance for Georgia laid a basis in recent local elections for the development of genuine opposition parties in Georgia. According to the final returns, these parties took the second and third place, with 12 percent and 9 percent, respectively, of... MORE
Georgia Returns to Stability and Growth After Local Elections
Candidates from Georgia’s governing party, the United National Movement (UNM), won the country-wide local elections on May 30, including the pivotal contest for the Tbilisi municipality, by large margins. The electoral process earned a positive net assessment from Western observers and also by the main... MORE
The Hizbullah Trial in Egypt: A War of Words in the New Middle East Cold War
The latest exchange of blows in the ongoing feud between Egypt and Lebanon’s Hizbullah came on April 28, as the Egyptian State Security Court convicted and sentenced 26 individuals who Cairo accuses of being part of an active Hizbullah cell in Egypt. Authorities claim the... MORE
An Ominous Break from the Past in Thailand: Implications of the Red Shirt Revolt
King Chulalongkorn (Rama IV-1868-1910) is responsible for initiating the modernization process in Thailand. Enamored with European civilization of the time, especially European economic and scientific gains, King Chulalongkorn embraced European rule of law, capitalism, education, and to a limited extent, politics. The king even introduced... MORE
Georgian Pre-Election Polls Deflate Opposition’s Expectations
Georgia is holding country-wide local elections on May 30. International and local observers regard these elections as a critical test for Georgia, on four counts.This is the first electoral contest in the country since the August 2008 Russian invasion; and since 1990, this is the... MORE
Rising Social Malaise Beggars Hu’s Reforms
Beijing authorities have raised the country’s security alert to the highest level—the first time since the August 2008 Olympics Games—in the wake of a spate of killings in schools and kindergartens that left at least 27 dead and some 100 injured. Given the resources that... MORE
Divided Government Plagues Otunbayeva
The only female leader in Central Asia, Roza Otunbayeva, seems to be unable to reign in the activity of her government, which predominantly consists of male leaders. Most of them are infamous for involvement in corruption and endless political ambition. Recordings of phone conversations which... MORE
Multiple Problems Plague Kremlin Plans for 2014 Sochi Olympic Games
On May 21, protest actions and tributes to the war victims of the Russia-Circassian war took place worldwide. Marking 146 years since the end of the war in 1864, Circassian activists took to the streets in Turkey, the United States, Europe and Israel, where there... MORE
A Tale of Two Presidents: Astana Fears the Spread of the “Kyrgyz Virus”
Kazakhstan’s official attitude towards the provisional government in Bishkek is growing more contradictory. President Nursultan Nazarbayev never tires of talking about Kazakhstan’s commitments as the Chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to contribute to normalizing the political situation in Kyrgyzstan... MORE
Can the Belarusian Opposition Unite?
The term “Belarusian opposition” is practically a platitude. It is deployed by the Belarusian authorities to denote a small sector of the population that is dissatisfied with the presidency of Alyaksandr Lukashenka. For the official media it is a term of abuse. However, in Belarus... MORE