President Donald Trump holds up a chart documenting land lost by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria as he delivers remarks in Lima, Ohio, March 20, 2019 (AP photo by Evan Vucci).

Foreign policy rarely plays a major role in U.S. presidential elections. The United States has always been an insular nation. Particularly for people in the American heartland, the world’s troubles seem far away. The connectivity of the modern world and the globalization of terrorism have challenged that insularity, but even so, national elections seldom pivot on international affairs. 2020 could be different: Debates over American foreign policy and national security could sway enough undecided voters to tip the scales, and the political battle lines are already forming. As Alex Ward pointed out in Vox, President Donald Trump is likely to […]

Demonstrators march with national flags during a protest in Algiers, Algeria, March 29, 2019 (AP photo by Toufik Doudou).

The unexpected outburst of popular opposition to the regime long in power in Algeria has stimulated a renewed conversation about the dramatic tidal wave of change in the Middle East in 2011 known as the Arab Spring. The conventional view has been that cascading protests toppled autocrats in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, but then fizzled out. Egypt returned to its previous strongman system, only one that was even worse than before. Libya, along with Yemen, got stuck in incomplete transitions that led to state failures and armed conflict, exacerbated by outside interference. And Syria is only now, eight years later, […]

Former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika after taking the oath for his fourth term in office, Algiers, April 28, 2014 (AP photo by Sidali Djarboub).

In this week’s editors’ discussion episode of the Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief Judah Grunstein, managing editor Frederick Deknatel and associate editor Elliot Waldman discuss the resignation of Algeria’s aging president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The move follows massive demonstrations that have brought hundreds of thousands of Algerians into the streets to demand Bouteflika’s removal, but also broader political reforms. Amid questions about the shape of Algeria’s future, WPR’s editors discuss the prospects for political renewal there and elsewhere in the region, and the implications for U.S. policy toward the Middle East. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and […]

Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, left, and Gen. Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army, at a press conference in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, near Paris, France, July 25, 2017 (Photo by Christian Liewig for Sipa via AP Images).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Senior Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Less than a week ago, Libyan officials appeared to have achieved a small milestone on the road to restoring civilian rule when the country held local elections. Though voting did not take place everywhere, including in much of restive southern Libya, the United Nations hoped the process would generate momentum for a national conference planned for later this month. That conference was intended to bring together the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli and the breakaway Libyan National Army, which is […]

Police acting superintendent Mike McIlraith shows New Zealand lawmakers in Wellington an AR-15 style rifle, on April 2, 2019 (AP photo by Nick Perry).

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on gun policy and the debate over gun control around the world. New Zealand is set to ban certain types of semi-automatic weapons following last month’s mass shooting that killed 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch. This week, new gun control legislation passed the first of three votes in Parliament. Many commentators have compared the situation to what happened in Australia in 1996, when strict new gun laws were enacted in the wake of a deadly mass shooting that shocked the country. But studies looking at the effectiveness of […]

Supporters of Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz celebrate in the street shortly after he was declared the victor in the previous day’s presidential election, in Nouakchott, Mauritania, July 19, 2009 (AP photo by Rebecca Blackwell).

For the past few days, free speech and anti-corruption activists have gathered outside a prison in Mauritania to demand the release of Abderrahmane Weddady and Cheikh Ould Jiddou, two bloggers who have long been critical of the government. The arrest of the two men last month appears to be linked to their reporting on an elaborate real estate scam that has driven down property values and defrauded thousands of Mauritanian families, all while allegedly benefiting relatives of President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. Prosecutors have accused them of defamation, for which they face up to five years in prison if convicted. […]

Greek Cypriots wait at a checkpoint to cross into the Turkish part of Nicosia, April 27, 2003 (Photo by Mustafa Sagiroglu for Anatolia via AP Images).

For 45 years, the island of Cyprus has been divided, politically and physically, between the Turkish-Cypriot north and Greek-Cypriot south. Despite many efforts over the years to resolve it, including some near misses, the conflict has proved intractable. Security guarantees, though perceived differently for both sides, have been among the major sticking points to reuniting the island. But so, too, has restitution of property abandoned by Cypriots who were displaced from both sides of the island during the Turkish invasion and occupation of northern Cyprus in 1974. That sense of loss has long featured prominently in Cypriots’ experience of the […]

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga unveils the name of the new era, “Reiwa,” at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, April 1, 2019 (AP photo by Eugene Hoshiko).

“Eras” in a country’s history are usually determined in retrospect, or labeled metaphorically after a seminal event. But in Japan, the term is quite literal, corresponding to the reign of a new emperor. A new era is about to begin there, and it has a name already. For the first time in more than 200 years, Japan’s emperor is abdicating. On April 1, exactly one month before the coronation of the emperor’s son, Crown Prince Naruhito, on the Chrysanthemum Throne, the chief cabinet secretary unveiled the name that had been the subject of feverish speculation across Japan. Yoshihide Suga held […]

Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, left, and opposition leader Raila Odinga, right, at Harambee House in Nairobi, March 9, 2018 (AP photo by Brian Inganga).

The agreement that helped stave off a political crisis following the 2017 presidential election has also recast politics in Kenya. The future is looking no less fraught than the past. This time last year, Kenya was recovering from a bitter presidential election that descended into a constitutional crisis between two longtime political adversaries. After an initial ballot was annulled by the Supreme Court for irregularities, incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta won a repeat election that opposition leader and perennial presidential candidate Raila Odinga boycotted. Amid rising tensions, Odinga rejected the outcome and subsequently proclaimed himself the “people’s president” in an unofficial […]

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, right, and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, April 1, 2019 (AP photo by Andy Wong).

Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, WPR Newsletter and Engagement Editor Benjamin Wilhelm curates the week’s top news and expert analysis on China. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern completed a quick visit to Beijing on Monday, her first trip to China since becoming prime minister in 2017. Ardern was originally expected to tour the country over the course of a week, accompanied by a business delegation, with plans to stop in several Chinese cities. But an emerging rift between the two countries delayed that trip, and the mass shooting last month in Christchurch prompted Ardern to shorten her stay to one […]

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks alongside a placard showing the name of Japan’s new era, “Reiwa,” at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, April 1, 2019 (AP photo by Eugene Hoshiko).

Later this month, Japan’s Emperor Akihito will become the first monarch to abdicate in the country’s modern history. When he does, the curtains will fall on Japan’s current imperial era, known as “Heisei,” which began in 1989 when Akihito became emperor. His son, Crown Prince Naruhito, will accede to the throne on May 1, opening a new chapter in Japanese history. In a much-anticipated moment earlier this week, the government unveiled the name of that new era: “Reiwa.” Japan’s unique imperial calendar scheme dates back to the 7th century, and ever since the 1860s, the reign of every Japanese emperor […]

National Security Adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, Feb. 7, 2019 (AP photo by Andrew Harnik).

Loyal followers of U.S. President Donald Trump might enthusiastically proclaim that his “America First” foreign policy has been a success. His apologists more modestly argue that, if you ignore Twitter and focus on Trump’s actions, what little has changed in U.S. foreign policy is for the better. Whether enabled by ideological blinders or driven by partisan hackery, both claims are quite simply wrong. After more than two years of Trump’s amateurish bluster, no amount of posturing and self-declared victories can obscure the damage he has done to America’s interests. His failures are now on prominent display in Iran, North Korea […]

Bharatiya Janata Party supporters cheer by a giant billboard of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election rally at Dumi village in Akhnoor, India, March 28, 2019 (AP photo by Channi Anand).

For all the fears it raised about a direct confrontation between South Asia’s nuclear-armed neighbors, the tit-for-tat that erupted between India and Pakistan in mid-February was relatively restrained compared to the political battle that unfolded around it in New Delhi. While the details about India’s “pre-emptive” military operation against Pakistan, in retaliation for a suicide bombing of a convoy of troops in Indian-controlled Kashmir, still remain hazy, it’s clear that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi trounced his domestic political opponents in the war of narratives during and after the crisis. In doing so, Modi stabilized his government and his own […]

An election poster for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is displayed on a roadside next to an official government anti-immigrant banner, Miskolc, Hungary, March 31, 2018 (Sipa photo by Michal Fludra via AP Images).

Democracy is fragile in the post-communist countries of Central Eastern Europe, where the specter of authoritarianism and corruption is rising. Find out how some CEE countries are enjoying the fruits of democracy while others are struggling —when you subscribe to World Politics Review Even under the best of conditions, democracy-building is difficult and uncertain. Historical experience shows that failure is more common than success, even in periods when liberal democracy has few rivals. But the post-1989 transformations of Central and Eastern European countries (CEE countries) from communism to democracy are often held up as a model of successful democratization. Despite […]

A U.N peacekeeper walks near a checkpoint intended to link Cyprus’ breakaway Turkish Cypriot north and internationally recognized south, Dherynia, April 27, 2017 (AP photo by Petros Karadjias).

The recent opening of new checkpoints between northern and southern Cyprus represented a rare piece of good news in the long, frustrating push for Cyprus reunification. Yet while the status quo can sometimes seem immutable, the incentives to keep trying for a resolution are only growing more powerful. FAMAGUSTA, Cyprus—On a Monday morning last November, cars began queuing at checkpoints marking the buffer zone between the north and south of this long-divided island. For the first time in eight years, the authorities had agreed to create two new crossings—at the village of Dherynia, in the east, and in Lefke, a […]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Belgian PM Charles Michel, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, U.S. President Donald Trump and U.K. PM Theresa May at the NATO summit, Brussels, July 11, 2018 (Sipa photo via AP Images).

The mood will be somber rather than celebratory when NATO foreign ministers gather Thursday in Washington to commemorate the organization’s 70th birthday. History’s most successful multilateral alliance has had quite a run. A tranquil retirement, however, is not in the cards. NATO’s 29 members confront a daunting agenda. The alliance is grappling with how to deter Russian aggression against its eastern flank; combat Kremlin-inspired and Kremlin-sponsored cyberattacks and political subversion; address the retreat of democracy in several member states; reinforce a still-fragile peace in the Balkans; manage an orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan; improve burden-sharing; adapt capabilities in light of technological […]

Thailand’s prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, casts his vote at a polling station in Bangkok, Thailand, March 24, 2019 (AP photo by Gemunu Amarasinghe).

In Thailand’s elections on March 24, the military’s proxy party, Palang Pracharath, performed better than pre-election surveys had indicated, finishing with 8.4 million votes, the most of any party. Combined with its seats in the unelected upper house, which is stacked with pro-military allies, Palang Pracharath should control enough seats to ensure that Prayuth Chan-ocha, who has led a military junta governing the country since 2014, will become prime minister again. Pheu Thai, the populist party aligned with exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, finished second with 7.9 million votes, but won the greatest number of the 350 constituency-based seats […]

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