Domestic Politics Archive

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Andrew Green curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. South Sudan finally has a transitional government, though the country’s citizens and neighboring leaders are watching anxiously to see if this coalition will hold together longer than a previous attempt, which collapsed after only three months. President Salva Kiir swore in opposition leader Riek Machar as his first deputy last weekend, just ahead of a twice-delayed deadline to form a unity government. Kiir also installed three additional vice presidents—two from the government and one from the opposition; a fifth, drawn from another […]

In this week’s editors’ discussion on Trend Lines, WPR’s Judah Grunstein and Freddy Deknatel talk about global efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19. They also discuss the ways in which governments’ responses—whether in China, Iran or the U.S.—have highlighted the tensions between political narratives and medical expertise in addressing the crisis. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines and what you’ve read on WPR, you can sign up for our free newsletter to get our uncompromising analysis delivered straight to your inbox. The newsletter offers a free preview article every day of the week, plus three more […]

If recent history is any guide, the United States is less than a year away from a paralyzing national security crisis. Whether President Donald Trump or his Democratic challenger wins in November, revelations that Russia is once again interfering in the 2020 presidential election all but guarantee that the legitimacy of the electoral results will be called into question, potentially undermining the country’s very political stability. One way to guard against that looming threat is for media outlets, which frame how most Americans understand foreign meddling, to make a major course correction in how they cover and respond to Russia’s […]

In a historic ruling earlier this month, Malawi’s Constitutional Court overturned President Peter Mutharika’s victory in the country’s presidential election last May. The court criticized the Malawi Electoral Commission for failing to organize a credible vote; in some cases, ballots had reportedly been altered with correction fluid. The presiding judges also ruled that the country’s first-past-the post electoral system—which had allowed Mutharika to secure a second term with a plurality of only 38.5 percent of the vote—was unconstitutional, and ordered new elections to be held within 150 days. The following week, the court rejected an appeal by Mutharika and the […]

Iran has suddenly emerged as the principal focus of global infection for coronavirus outside of China. Just in the past few days, it has reported more deaths, 26, than any country after China, where 2,744 people have died from the highly infectious disease. More worryingly, Iran has only reported 245 cases of coronavirus as of Feb. 27—far fewer than Japan or South Korea, and even Italy—but those official numbers defy belief. They would put the mortality rate in Iran at more than 10 percent, significantly higher than the rest of the world. In the central Chinese province of Hubei, for […]

South Africa assumed the annually rotating chair of the African Union earlier this month, its second term since serving as the organization’s inaugural chair following its founding in 2002. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took over the role from his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, on Feb. 8 at the AU’s annual summit in Addis Ababa. The position adds to South Africa’s already deep engagement in multilateral organizations. It is currently in the middle of its third two-year term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and is a member of both the G-20 and the BRICS […]

In a country where political opponents and outspoken critics of President Paul Kagame have a tendency to turn up dead or disappear, the official explanation of the death of a popular Rwandan gospel singer last week was immediately met with skepticism. The singer, Kizito Mihigo, had been arrested at the border earlier this month for allegedly trying to flee the country illegally and join armed rebels in neighboring Burundi. Three days later, he was found dead in his cell; the police say he committed suicide. Some of Mihigo’s songs run counter to the government’s preferred narrative about the Rwandan genocide, […]

When Xi Jinping convened a teleconference meeting Sunday of 170,000 government and Communist Party officials around China to discuss the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, his message was both grim and resolute. China, he said, was facing “a crisis and a big test” with “the fastest spread” and “the widest scope” of any epidemic that has struck his country since the Communist Party took over in 1949. There had been, the Chinese leader admitted, “obvious shortcomings in the response.” But after saying that officials had to “learn lessons” from their mistakes, Xi nonetheless went on to boast that the emergency response had […]

When Singapore’s government enacted a law aimed at cracking down on fake news last fall, activists, academics and free speech advocates warned that it was a pretext by the ruling People’s Action Party to censor voices critical of the government. The Protection of Online Falsehoods and Manipulation law, or POFMA, allows the government to force social media platforms and users to issue corrections or remove any offending posts. Failure to comply can result in steep fines or even a jail sentence Since it was passed, the law has been invoked several times against opposition figures and media outlets critical of […]

When it comes to repairing the harm done by populist authoritarian leaders, restoring the independence of democratic institutions is often just the start. The next challenge can be to steer polarized societies through the economic belt-tightening that is required after an autocrat’s spending spree. That seems to be the message from Ecuador, where President Lenin Moreno won overwhelming support in a 2018 constitutional referendum that overturned much of the political legacy of his predecessor and one-time mentor, the brash leftist Rafael Correa, and also blocked him from returning to office by putting a two-term limit on the presidency. But Moreno […]

After four months of widespread protests, Lebanon has a new government. Voted in by a slight majority in parliament in late January, it must deal with the gargantuan task of an economic meltdown of historic proportions, and of assuaging countrywide protesters questioning the legitimacy of the entrenched political elite. Lebanon’s economy, and with it perhaps its long-term political fortunes, are at stake. Since October, protesters across Lebanon, disillusioned with the gross political and economic mismanagement of successive governments, have demanded sweeping reforms. They have put the blame squarely on elites who draw their influence from Lebanon’s dysfunctional power-sharing system. This […]

Ireland’s general election earlier this month was, by all accounts, historic. For the first time, the staunchly nationalist and leftist Sinn Fein party won the popular vote, even as it failed to secure the highest number of parliamentary seats under Ireland’s complicated electoral system. Equally important was the continued decline of the two traditionally dominant parties, Fianna Fail and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s Fine Gael, one of which has led every government since Ireland’s independence in 1921. Now, it is conceivable that neither will be involved in the next government. Conceivable, but still unlikely. As the party that narrowly won […]

When Sudan’s military brass removed the country’s longtime strongman, President Omar al-Bashir, 10 months ago, skepticism about their intentions was the order of the day. The demonstrators on the streets of Khartoum were the most skeptical, and their massive pro-democracy protests that had forced the military’s hand did not stop. Four months later, and against all odds, the protesters achieved another impressive victory: a power-sharing agreement with the military, establishing a transitional ruling council. Yet even then, not everyone was convinced that a country accused of committing serial genocide under Bashir was on its way to fully rejoining the community […]

BERLIN—German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s plan for a smooth retirement collapsed last week when her hand-picked successor unexpectedly resigned, throwing Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union, or CDU, into turmoil. Germany’s most powerful political party is now frantically searching for a new leader, even as it grapples with a broader identity crisis after shedding supporters to both left-leaning and far-right parties. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, or AKK as she is widely known in Germany, succeeded Merkel as CDU leader in late 2018 as part of the veteran chancellor’s plan to gradually retire from politics ahead of next year’s general election. Her tenure as party […]

An economy in freefall. A humanitarian crisis that has caused millions to flee the country. Frequent mass demonstrations against the government. And an opposition movement whose leader is recognized by dozens of countries as the legitimate interim president. In many places and at many points in history, these ingredients have proven sufficient for regime change. But in Venezuela, the government of President Nicolas Maduro continues to hang on. For this week’s interview on Trend Lines, Raul Gallegos joins WPR’s Elliot Waldman for a conversation about how Maduro has been able to remain entrenched in the presidential palace in Caracas despite […]

ISTANBUL—Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made multibillion-dollar infrastructure schemes a hallmark of his years in power, championing megaprojects like an ongoing extension of Turkey’s high-speed rail network and a gargantuan new airport outside Istanbul. He and his ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, claim they spur economic development and create jobs. Many activists in Turkey have long opposed Erdogan’s building spree due to its high social and environmental costs, but have had little success in stopping it. That may change with Erdogan’s latest push for what he once called his “crazy project”: digging a 28-mile canal on the […]

MOSCOW—Svetlana Alliluyeva, Joseph Stalin’s daughter, recalled in her memoir that before the tyrant drew his final breath, he cast a menacing glance at the confidantes and relatives gathered around him, then raised his arm as if to point to something or threaten someone. He may have been attempting to articulate his final request or even designate a successor, but no one ever decoded the gesture. Stalin left no formal plans for succession despite having ruled the Soviet Union for three decades. After his death, three senior officials—Nikita Khrushchev, Georgy Malenkov and Lavrenty Beria—quickly entered into a fierce power struggle to […]