Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
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
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