Moldova's opposition parties are small and leader-centered. Most of the opposition parties compete against one another for the same segments of the electorate or for overlapping segments. In these cases party labels are also often irrelevant or misleading. For a country that does not have... MORE

Moldova will hold parliamentary elections on April 5, and its new parliament will elect the new president and confirm a new government. Incumbent President Vladimir Voronin's second, final term of office expires in April. The transition process ahead will severely test the country's weak political... MORE

China was the first country to establish diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste—more commonly referred to as East Timor—when it gained formal independence on May 20, 2002 (China Brief, July 5, 2006). Since that time China has expanded its economic interests in East... MORE

Premier Wen Jiabao has pulled out all the stops to reassure the National People’s Congress (China’s parliament)—and the world—that the Hu-Wen government’s revamped stimulus package can ensure an eight percent growth rate this year. That the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has discouraged NPC deputies from... MORE

Two recent reports by European institutions reignited the debate over political reforms that Turkey needs to undertake to bring its democratic practices up to European standards. The European Parliament (EP) and the Venice Commission criticized Turkey's reluctance to continue with constitutional reforms, in particular its... MORE

NATO and European Union (EU) membership for Romania was meant to consign to history its penchant for territorial claims and its poor record on national minority rights, but this was not to be. Ukraine, the non-NATO member with the greatest level of cooperation with NATO,... MORE

On March 13 Medet Sadyrkulov, the former head of the presidential administration, died in a suspicious car accident. Sadyrkulov's car was hit by another vehicle in the early morning on a rural highway. The car burned entirely, suggesting that the "accident" was pre-planned. Sadyrkulov's death... MORE

On March 10 the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office submitted its long-awaited second indictment in the case of Ergenekon, a clandestine organization with members from various state agencies, including the military, charged with plotting to overthrow the government (all dailies and local news channels, March 10). Tuesday's... MORE

Will Russia's few remaining oligarchs, those who silently submitted to then-President Vladimir Putin's brutal nationalization of Yukos Oil Company, survive as a privileged clan; or are they doomed to extinction during the world financial crisis? How will they manage to keep buying properties in Spain,... MORE

On March 8 thousands of people gathered in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir to celebrate "Mevlud'a Muhammedi" (birth of Mohammad), the Prophet Muhammad's 1,458th birthday. The event was organized by Ikra-Der and other Islamic associations that have formed a organization called Prophet Lovers' Union, which... MORE