Domestic Politics Archive

Zimbabwe has been a de facto one-party state since the mid-1980s, despite the formal trappings of a multiparty system and a series of fraudulent elections. Real politics, in terms of decision-making and genuine contests for power, is inevitably confined within the ruling party, ZANU-PF. The sole exception to this was the government of the national unity period between 2009 and 2013, although even then, the hegemony of ZANU-PF and President Robert Mugabe remained largely intact despite convincing electoral defeats in 2008. However, because the party is in thrall to Mugabe—and given his frequent assertions of what amounts to a divine […]

After months of wrangling with the Obama administration over its release, the Senate Intelligence Committee’s 500-page executive summary of its voluminous report on CIA torture practices against suspected terrorists is a searing document that excoriates the CIA for engaging in brutal “enhanced interrogation techniques,” the agency’s euphemism for torture. Not surprisingly, the report has been roundly criticized as either factually wrong or partisan by leaders in President George W. Bush’s administration, under which the torturing took place, as well as by the CIA’s senior management team and their retired counterparts from the Bush years. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chair of the […]

On Dec. 4, a major gun battle broke out in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, leaving 14 police and 11 militants dead. It was the worst violence in several years for the semi-autonomous Russian republic, which suffered through two bloody, failed wars for independence from 1994-1996 and from 1999-2009. The Chechen government has responded by demolishing the homes of the families of suspected militants, prompting condemnations by multiple human rights groups this week. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, some analysts suggested that the militants might have been affiliated with the so-called Islamic State (IS). As many as 800 […]

December has been a brutal month for the Russian economy. On Dec. 1, the value of the ruble, already at a historic low, experienced its steepest one-day drop since the 1998 financial crisis. The exchange rate with the dollar remains high, and there are no signs of improvement in a slide that has seen the Russian currency lose over 40 percent of its value since the beginning of the year. On the same day, the Ministry of Economic Development announced that Russia would be in recession through at least 2015; quickly chastised by the Kremlin, the ministry removed the offending […]

The annual gathering known as the Ibero-American Summit was designed to develop ties among countries with strong cultural and historical bonds and develop a bloc with political and economic power. But with every passing year and every successive summit, the event has instead contributed to the sense that Latin America is increasingly riven by profound ideological divides, made worse by persistent regional rivalries. The latest summit, held this week in Mexico, showed just how wide some of the chasms have become and how difficult it will prove to build a united Latin America, much less one that enjoys close links […]

Last month, Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party lost local elections, receiving only 40 percent of the vote. The defeat caused Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou to reshuffle his Cabinet and step down as KMT party chairman. In an email interview, Joel Atkinson, research fellow at the Institute for Poverty Alleviation and International Development at Yonsei University, South Korea, discussed Taiwan’s domestic politics. WPR: What factors led to the Kuomintang’s defeat in local elections, and what are the implications for the national-level political balance with the Democratic Progressive Party? Joel Atkinson: The results reflect widespread dissatisfaction with where Taiwan is going. The […]

Last month, Guyana was plunged into political crisis after President Donald Romator suspended parliament to avoid a no-confidence vote. In an email interview, George Danns, professor of sociology at the University of North Georgia, discussed Guyana’s domestic politics. WPR: What is the background of the current political crisis in Guyana, and what impact is it having on the country’s economy and foreign relations? George Danns: The 2011 elections in Guyana gave the combined opposition parties the Alliance For Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) a one-seat majority in Parliament over the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which […]

The recent rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline project in November by the United States Senate is only the latest chapter of an ongoing saga reflecting a dramatic shift in Canada’s foreign relations in recent years. The Canadian government has been engaging in an aggressive public relations campaign for its booming oil and gas industry. The strategy includes prominent marketing and behind-the-scenes lobbying in close partnership with oil industry executives. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, first elected in 2006, has long maintained his goal was to make Canada an energy superpower. But he has also changed the country’s role and policies […]

For centuries, the trade routes of the Silk Road have evoked spices, empires and deserts. However, if a new strategy planned by the Chinese government proves successful, it may well come to be associated with China’s ascent in world politics. On Nov. 8, during the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged $40 billion for the creation of a Silk Road Investment Fund to “break the connectivity bottleneck” in Asia. Only five days after the APEC announcement, the China Securities Journal reported that “relevant departments” are trying to establish a private […]

On Dec. 1, during Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha’s first visit to Kuala Lumpur, he and his Malaysian counterpart, Prime Minister Najib Razak, agreed on the conditions to restart peace efforts to resolve the deadly southern Thailand insurgency. While the resumption of Malaysia-hosted peace talks between the Thai state and Malay-Muslim rebels is an encouraging sign, the parties are likely to encounter formidable challenges as they attempt to structure a political solution that will lead to a durable peace and end Southeast Asia’s most lethal ongoing conflict. Since the latest outbreak of the insurgency in Thailand’s Malay-Muslim-majority southernmost provinces in […]

The Iraqi government agreed Tuesday to a long-term oil wealth sharing deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). In an email interview, Kirk Sowell, a political risk analyst who is the publisher of the biweekly newsletter Inside Iraqi Politics, discussed regionalism in Iraq. WPR: What are the main non-Kurdish regional movements (i.e., potential autonomous regions) in Iraq, and what grievances are driving their regional aspirations? Kirk Sowell: There are three. The first, chronologically speaking, is what might be called the “southernist tendency,” which has existed in two variants. One focused on Basra province, and another on combining Basra with the […]

Namibia’s ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) party won last month’s presidential election with over 86 percent of the vote. In an email interview, Elke Zuern, professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College, discussed Namibia’s domestic politics. WPR: What explains the continued popularity of the ruling SWAPO Party of Namibia? Elke Zuern: SWAPO has dominated elections since independence. It first won two-thirds of the vote in the country’s second free elections in 1994, and has maintained this majority with the power to unilaterally change the constitution ever since. In its strongest showing yet, the governing party’s candidate, Hage Geingob, […]

Hassan Rouhani assumed the presidency of Iran last year amid great expectations for reform at home and renewed engagement abroad. From nuclear negotiations to the crises in Iraq and Syria, Rouhani’s term has so far been a mixed bag, offering hope but not yet transformation, as the articles in this report show. Domestic Politics Iran’s Structural Constraints Limit Rouhani’s Domestic AgendaBy Rouzbeh ParsiMarch 6, 2014 Iran’s Rouhani Stokes Domestic Backlash With Attack on CriticsBy Nader HabibiAug. 18, 2014 Dual Powers: Repression and Participation in IranBy Manochehr DorrajFeb. 18, 2014 Out of the Shadows: Iran’s Evolving Approach to Drug AddictionBy Mehrun […]

Whether Israeli voters like it or not, Israel is being thrown into a period of even more acrimonious political sparring now that the Knesset, its parliament, has called for new elections. The decision to dissolve the government, making it the second-shortest-lived in the country’s history, came from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu has been steadily moving in that direction, seeking a way to bolster his standing with the right by pretending his principal concern is with his coalition members to the left. Netanyahu has successfully shifted media attention to the friction he has experienced in recent days with his centrist […]

The spikes in violence in Jerusalem last month, including the brutal killings in a synagogue after a series of stabbings and hit-and-run attacks on pedestrians, are extreme instances of ethnically based violence that has been mounting since last summer, when the flames of local unrest were fanned by the war in Gaza. But at stake are more than familiar grievances in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While access to the holy sites of the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif remains contentious, the violence in Jerusalem’s shared public spaces and on public transportation in particular reflect that this is not merely an issue […]

The recent announcement that investigators seized a metric ton of cash, jewels, antiques and other luxury goods from the villa of retired Gen. Xu Caihou sheds new light on corruption within China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Xu, who had been a vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party’s powerful Central Military Commission (CMC), was the second senior PLA commander to be charged with corruption in recent years. In 2012, Gen. Gu Junshan, a deputy commander of the PLA General Logistics Department, was detained after years of rumors that he had been involved in under-the-table deals involving PLA-controlled land. Several active […]

Last month, Indonesia announced that it will create a coast guard in an effort to reduce smuggling and piracy. In an email interview, Brian Harding, director for East and Southeast Asia at the Center for American Progress, discussed Indonesia’s naval capabilities. WPR: What is the current state of Indonesia’s navy and maritime security forces, in terms of vessels and operational preparedness? Brian Harding: Indonesia has set its sights on becoming an effective “green-water navy,” meaning it can operate in its coastal waters, but it has a long way to go. It currently boasts a total naval strength of 213 ships, […]