Radical Movements Archive

“I ask all Spaniards to remain calm. The rule of law will restore legality in Catalonia.” That was Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s response on Twitter to the declaration of independence announced on Oct. 27 by the Catalan secessionist government of Carles Puigdemont. It was also a prelude to Rajoy, hours later, invoking Article 155, a provision in the Spanish Constitution that allowed Madrid to assume direct control of Catalonia, the culturally distinct region of 7.5 million people in northeastern Spain that is wedged next to France. Article 155 had never been used before. Under its authority, Madrid removed from […]

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles on the Islamic State after the fall of Raqqa and the outlook for Syria and its neighbors. The defeat last week of the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Raqqa, its major base of operations in northern Syria, may prove to be a seminal event in ways the battle’s victors did not intend. While no doubt a major milestone, Raqqa’s fall is far from the conclusion of the broader six-year conflict in Syria, nor the end of the jihadi movement itself. The temptation to claim victory over the Islamic State may […]

From arbitrary arrests to extrajudicial killings, reports of abuses committed by Nigerian soldiers fighting Boko Haram are legion. These rough tactics undermine the counterinsurgency effort by alienating civilians. So why does the Trump administration seem intent on continuing bilateral military support? Early one Friday morning this past August, the United Nations compound and guesthouse in Maiduguri, the largest city in northeast Nigeria, was targeted in a raid. For several hours after the armed intruders arrived, they were prevented from crossing the gate of the facility, where officials help coordinate humanitarian assistance programs for populations affected by the ongoing violence carried […]

In late August, Colombia’s largest guerrilla movement, the FARC, launched a new political party, known as the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force—preserving the FARC acronym. It was the latest step toward the FARC’s political normalization after last year’s historic peace accord. In an email interview, Adam Isacson, a senior associate for defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, explains how the new party fits into Colombia’s political landscape and assesses its chances for electoral success. WPR: What history does the FARC have in establishing a political party in Colombia, and how might that influence the current formulation and decision-making […]

In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, senior editor, Frederick Deknatel, and associate editor, Omar H. Rahman, discuss the Trump administration’s move to decertify the Iran nuclear deal and what it means for U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. For the Report, Emirza Adi Syailendra talks with Peter Dörrie about why 19 years after the fall of Suharto, Indonesia’s democracy remains tenuous and its institutions weak. If you like what you hear on Trend Lines, as well as what you’ve seen on WPR, please think about supporting our work by subscribing. We’re currently offering a 25 […]

The stakes of the election for governor of Jakarta earlier this year were, in the eyes of nearly all observers, much larger than that particular office. After all, it was only five years ago that Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, used his victory in the same race to transform himself from a well-regarded but somewhat obscure mayor into a powerful national figure. With that precedent in mind, the candidates and their backers saw the election—a two-round affair held in February and April—as an opportunity to position themselves for general elections in 2019. The incumbent, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja […]

Amid all the questions and uncertainty raised by Catalonia’s independence referendum on Sunday, one point of consensus has emerged: The government of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy handled it lamentably, turning what almost certainly would have been a disappointment for Catalonian separatists into a catastrophe for Madrid. The repressive run-up to the voting and heavy-handed police response on the day of the outlawed ballot have generated outrage in Catalonia and beyond, providing a major boost to what opinion polling indicated was a minority movement. Brinksmanship on both sides in the months leading up to the vote proved impossible to walk […]