Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
Chinese State Media Goes Global: A Great Leap Outward for Chinese Soft Power?
Even as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is projecting hard power across the four corners of the earth, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is mapping out a multi-pronged strategy to publicize globally the apparent viability of the “China model.” The administration of President Hu Jintao... MORE
CCP Provincial Committees’ Reports Highlight Growing Wealth and Urban-Rural Inequality
According to the provincial Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) second plenary committees' work report collected by Guangdong-based newspaper Nanfang Daily, the gap between the rich and poor is growing wider in many provinces of China. Among China’s 31 provinces (including municipalities and autonomous regions), 26 provinces... MORE
Investigation Deepens Divisions Within Turkey
As Turkish police have been uncovering arms and ammunition buried deep beneath the ground in various places in Ankara, divisions within the Turkish political scene, the judiciary, and the intelligence services, as well as the politically powerful Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), have widened. The caches... MORE
Politicization in the Turkish Judiciary System Deepens
The Ergenekon investigation has sparked a controversy about whether the Justice and Development Party (AKP) is using public prosecutors to subdue the opposition. The debate about whether the judiciary system is being politicized resurfaced once again, after the most recent phase of the Ergenekon investigation... MORE
Ergenekon Investigation Has Potential to Harm Civilian-Military Relations
On January 7 the investigation into Ergenekon, a clandestine neo-nationalist criminal network that allegedly plotted to stage a military coup, resulted in a new wave of high-profile arrests in Sivas, Ankara, and Istanbul. The network reportedly has members from many segments of society, including military... MORE
The Kremlin Reacts to Systemic Crisis with Plans to Beat Up the People and Arrest Dissidents
"A Happy New 1937 [the peak of Stalin's Great Terror] to you," Moscow wits quipped on January 1, 2009, while the Putin regime, frightened and incompetent in the face of a mounting systemic crisis, prepared to lock up protesters and squash mass protests with crude... MORE
Kyrgyz Opposition Plans Spring Revolt
During a visit to the United States from December 10 to 19, the leader the Kyrgyz Ata Meken opposition party, Omurbek Tekebayev, his colleagues, and representative of the For Justice movement repeatedly mentioned a plan to challenge President Kurmanbek Bakiyev this March by organizing crowds... MORE
Azerbaijan Closes Foreign Radio Stations, but Fails to Give a Credible Reason
On December 30 the National TeleRadio Council of Azerbaijan made the long-awaited, hotly discussed, and politically polarizing decision on terminating the license for foreign radio stations in the country. This, most importantly, affected three popular radio stations: Radio Liberty, Voice of America, and BBC, as... MORE
A Possible Alliance Between Yanukovych and Yushchenko
The establishment of a new coalition in the Ukrainian parliament has left the Party of Regions (PRU) led by former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in the opposition. Yanukovych wants to use this opportunity to come back to power on a wave of popular discontent with... MORE
Public Outrage Against Israeli Policies in Gaza Could Turn into Anti-Semitic Sentiment
As Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan increases his criticism of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza strip, the Turkish people are continuing to demonstrate against Israeli policies toward Palestinians. This time, the substance and size of the rallies are much different from previous anti-Israel rallies... MORE