Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
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
The Ascent and Plateau of China’s Urban Centers
Urbanization in China has an obvious economic but also a profound social and political significance for the authorities in Beijing. It can not be simply understood as a concomitant output of China's industrialization, nor does it only refer to the changes in a population's geographic... MORE
Intellectuals Lobby for Political Change as Party Marks 30th Anniversary of the Reform Era
While expectations for policy changes are not high as Beijing marks the 30th anniversary of the reform era, a clutch of forward-looking cadres and intellectuals are taking advantage of the occasion to press for bolder measures particularly in political liberalization. This is despite the fact... MORE
China’s Poor, Young and Restless
The "Economic Blue Paper," a report published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) on December 2 (China Brief, December 8), stated there will be 6.1 million college graduates entering the job market in 2009, among those graduates some 30 percent to 40 percent—approximately... MORE
Turkey Confronts a Disputed Period in Its History
A group of Turkish intellectuals have taken a bold step to open a public debate on the disputed events of 1915, when the Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were forced to relocate, leading to the death of scores of people and the beginning of... MORE
Iraqi Journalist’s Shoes Make Turkish Media Happy
Muntader al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush during a joint press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on December 14, has suddenly become a “poster boy” for Turkish newspapers. Almost all newspapers, from center-left to Islamist, underline the symbolic... MORE
Russian Dezyinformatsia Campaign against the Orange Coalition
On December 9 it was announced that a larger orange coalition had been agreed upon in Ukraine. It was formally registered on December 16. The news came as a surprise, as it had been widely assumed that Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s bloc (BYuT) was close... MORE
Belarus Survey Reveals Changes in Public Mood
The warming relationship between Belarus and the European Union has given rise to discussions about whether a new dialogue is possible under Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. It also leads to questions about the link between the world financial crisis and the more conciliatory attitude in... MORE