Domestic Politics Archive

Both the Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on Dec. 1, 2009, and the effects of the sovereign debt crisis that has ravaged the European Union for the past two years have considerably changed the union’s functioning. The Lisbon Treaty created the position of a permanent president of the European Council, tasked with preparing and chairing the council’s meetings and shepherding working committees between summits. As expected, this helped the summits of EU heads of state and government gain steering capacity and political importance in the decision-making system of the EU. But the sovereign debt crisis further established the European […]

The European Union’s stuttering economic recovery and ongoing debt crisis have called attention to the significant economic and commercial imbalances that exist within the union. In particular, Germany has been pointed to as a model of fiscal and economic governance, both for its strong GDP growth in 2010 and 2011 after the severe contraction of 2009, and for the surprisingly favorable conditions in its labor market. German employment has expanded over the past three years to well above precrisis levels, contrasting markedly with the experience of other European countries. Whereas in 2008 Germany’s rate of registered unemployment was roughly the […]

Germany’s handling of the sovereign debt crisis gripping the eurozone has led some to wonder whether Germany has lost interest in Europe, or in the role it has historically played in the European Union. But does Germany really believe it has other, global options for a more unilateral foreign policy? Is Berlin falling prey to an Eastern temptation, whether from Moscow or Beijing? The answer is clearly “no,” but it is a no that has shades of gray. And those shades of gray are now combining to cast a shadow over the skies of Berlin; German foreign policy is no […]

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez presided over a military parade marking the 20th anniversary of his failed coup attempt and affirmed that the country’s armed forces are loyal. World News Videos by NewsLook

India commissioned its first nuclear-powered submarine, the Russian Akula-II class INS Chakra, last week. In an email interview, James R. Holmes, a specialist in Asian sea power at the U.S. Naval War College, discussed the Indian navy. WPR: What is the current force structure, capability and focus of India’s navy? James R. Holmes: Taking these elements in reverse order, India sees itself as a natural, benign, nonaligned hegemon in the Indian Ocean region, much as the United States saw itself a century ago during the age of the Monroe Doctrine. Accordingly, India’s 2007 Maritime Military Strategy (.pdf) defines the navy’s […]

Now that the United States, France and other Western powers have endorsed the Arab League’s call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down — even if that formulation is ultimately edited out of the final draft of the resolution pending before the U.N. Security Council — it is time to start making plans for the various contingencies that may erupt on “the day after.” Most Western policymakers, at least in their public rhetoric, continue to cling to an optimistic scenario in which a broad-based, inclusive opposition takes power in Damascus after an initial transition from Assad’s rule. Reassured of […]

Political conflict is escalating in the normally peaceful West African nation of Senegal, with protests turning deadly earlier this week as paramilitary police opened fire on demonstrators, leaving two dead. The protests came in response to the constitutional council’s ruling that 85-year-old President Abdoulaye Wade could seek a third term in elections scheduled for Feb. 26. Wade had argued that the two-term limit imposed in 2001 does not apply to his first term in office, which began a year earlier, and the council, whose five members were picked by Wade himself, agreed. From Dakar, the capital, the ensuing protests quickly […]

The next general election in Israel is officially almost two years away, but the domestic political scene has suddenly erupted into a frenzy of activity, with politicians on all points of the political spectrum preparing for a likely call for early elections. The swirl of speculation that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might decide to call early elections started in December, when Netanyahu surprised members of Likud, the party he leads, with a call for a snap primary vote, leading the opposition Kadima party to move up its primary schedule as well. Netanyahu’s decision to rush an internal leadership vote was […]

Candidates in Kuwait’s general election this week are calling for sweeping reforms including a new constitution that would turn the oil-rich Gulf state into a full democracy. World News Videos by NewsLook