Frida Ghitis is a world affairs columnist, author and consultant.
She started her career at CNN, where she worked initially as a show producer, a unit manager for major news operations and later as a producer and correspondent covering mostly international news.
In addition to CNN, her work has appeared in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, NRC Handelsblad (Netherlands) and in scores of publications in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and beyond.
Her regular column on global affairs in the Miami Herald is distributed worldwide by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Her weekly WPR column, World Citizen, appears every Thursday.
She has worked in all corners of the world, traveling in Iraq during and after the rule of Saddam Hussein. She worked in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt during Desert Storm. She covered the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, and has worked independently in Tibet, Burma, Kuwait, Argentina, Cambodia, Colombia, and dozens of places in between. Her work has taken her to the Amazon jungles of South America, to Russia, Brazil, India, Somalia, and elsewhere.
As a consultant, she advises organizations operating or contemplating projects in diverse regions of the world, providing political analysis and forecasting.
She is a public speaker on world affairs and the author of "The End of Revolution: A Changing World in the Age of Live Television."
Articles written by Frida Ghitis
It seems like Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez increasingly has the world lined up against her, but there’s no reason to feel sorry for her. Fernandez is carrying out an international populist performance worthy of her famed predecessor, Evita Perón, updated for the anti-globalization, Occupy generation. In the process, the Argentinean leader is moving Argentina down a perilous road. more
The entry of the centrist Kadima party into the Israeli government has made Benjamin Netanyahu one of the country's most powerful prime ministers ever. That's not just a footnote for the history books. It is a reality with enormous implications for all the pressing issues facing the country and for many that concern the region and the world. more
When the global financial crisis erupted in 2007, it seemed liked the ideal moment for the political left to launch a comeback, particularly in Europe. But throughout Europe voters seemed generally disinclined to bring leftist politicians to office. That might be about to change. After several years of the center-right taking the reins in Europe, 2012 could come to represent a pivot year for the left. more
In the annals of "strange bedfellow" political encounters, the recent broadcast in which WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange interviewed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah stands out as a remarkable episode. On closer examination, however, the debut episode of Assange's show, "The World Tomorrow," on the Kremlin-funded RT network, which featured Nasrallah as its first guest, in fact makes a lot of sense.
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China’s record of economic growth is shifting the global balance of power and creating a new environment in which Beijing faces pressure from the West to play a constructive role on the world stage. Often, the U.S. and China stand on opposite sides of disputes involving third nations, prompting a curious diplomatic dance -- one that will become a more prominent feature of international diplomacy. more
Turkey's gradual transition to democracy under the rule of a moderate Islamist party has prompted much praise, along with a concerted effort to promote the Turkish model as a template for the post-Arab Uprising states. Democratic plaudits, however, miss a gaping crack in the democratic structure the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has built: the government's frontal assault against freedom of the press. more
With just six weeks left until Egyptians go to the polls, the race for the presidency has entered a new level of acrimony, intrigue and speculation. The biggest shock came Sunday, when the Muslim Brotherhood blatantly broke its promise not to seek the presidency. Its newly announced candidate, Khairat el-Shater, automatically became the front-runner in a contest that continues to surprise and confuse. more
In a severe blow to the hopes of liberal Egyptian activists whose protests brought down the dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak, Islamist members of parliament brazenly staked out a large majority of the positions in the newly chosen constitutional assembly. The move all but ensures that the fundamental law of the land will be written with only minimal input from non-Islamist sectors of Egyptian society. more
In the run-up to Russia’s March 4 presidential election, Vladimir Putin escalated the intensity of his anti-American and anti-Western rhetoric. But now that he has been re-elected, Washington and its allies may well rediscover the old Putin, the pragmatist, re-entering the global stage. Less than three weeks after the vote, we are already seeing signs of a more conciliatory foreign policy.
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The "resource curse" idea has captured the public imagination because it helps explain a phenomenon that is one of the great paradoxes of our time: Countries blessed with fabulous riches are often also cursed with grinding poverty. But the phenomenon with the catchy title deserves a closer, critical look, because recent evidence suggests that the potion for breaking the devilish hex has already been found. more
Washington's successful efforts to kill top al-Qaida leaders, combined with the emergence of strong pro-democracy movements in the Muslim world, have led many to conclude that al-Qaida is fizzling out. But while the conventional wisdom increasingly portrays the group as becoming gradually but steadily a spent and irrelevant force, there is evidence that this optimistic conclusion is grossly premature.
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As the ground shifts in the Middle East, the cracks that have existed inside the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas are coming to the surface. The divisions could split the organization, but they have wider implications. Hamas’ alliance with Tehran is becoming increasingly untenable. Long a fixture of the Middle East, the four-member bloc comprised of Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah is slowly coming apart. more
The moment Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez called Henrique Capriles "a low-life pig" last week, he dispelled any hopes that the ailing, firebrand president would behave graciously or even with something resembling dignity toward his opponent in the country’s upcoming presidential election. Chavez made it clear that he will do everything within his considerable power to remain in office for life. more
When a bomb attached to an Israeli diplomat's car exploded in New Delhi earlier this week, it not only injured at least four people, it also damaged India's hopes of staying out of the conflict over Iran's nuclear program. The incident points to India's increasingly untenable efforts to strengthen ties with the U.S and Israel, while maintaining valuable ties with Iran in the face of international sanctions. more
The emirate of Kuwait has managed to maintain a measure of stability under a system that combines a strong monarchy and an elected parliament. That system could gradually become a model for other states in the Gulf region as they seek to accommodate popular demands. But first, it has to survive the continuing turbulence of the Arab uprisings -- and the impact of the country’s own recent elections. more
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given mixed signals about whether or not he plans to call for early parliamentary elections this year, but it's a good bet he will. The reason is simple: If U.S. President Barack Obama wins re-election, Netanyahu will likely face continuing friction with the American president, something Netanyahu does not want to surface in the middle of a campaign in 2013. more
When the U.S. and Israel announced last week that they had decided to either cancel or postpone the biggest joint military exercise in their history, the news kicked the wheels of the Mideast rumor and speculation machines into high gear. What had started as a determined show of military force and political coordination to send a clear signal to Iran suddenly turned into a mess of mixed messages and confusion. more
Protesters calling for the end to the dictatorship of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are waving two different versions of the Syrian flag. It may seem like a small detail, but it points to deep divisions among anti-Assad forces that are keeping them from coordinating their efforts and creating concerns about how well the fractured opposition's leadership would be able to function if it toppled Assad.
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As 2012 begins, al-Qaida has suffered a series of harsh blows, leading some to conclude that the group has become a spent force without much of a future. To be sure, 2011 was a devastating year for the organization. But like a virus that mutates to survive its host’s most potent defenses, al-Qaida is already seeking to make the most of a situation that, undoubtedly, has become a threat to its survival. more
The ongoing transformation of the Middle East has affected every government and every political organization in the region. In the case of Hamas, the Arab Spring has brought a disorienting combination of extremely good and extremely bad news. Hamas now faces a starkly different world with conflicting forces at play. More importantly for the Hamas leadership, it must urgently make some very difficult decisions. more
