Briefing Archive

Belgrade, SERBIA—Nearly a decade after its disputed declaration of independence and on the heels of a snap election last month, Kosovo is sending mixed signals to the world. Where some see a radical leftist surge that will force Kosovo’s neighbors and the international community to take notice, others see a further fraying of the West’s influence. And while some see progress toward the creation of a more functional state, for others the result of the June 18 election fundamentally confirms the status quo, for better or worse. The left-wing Levizja Vetevendosje, or Movement for Self-Determination, emerged as the largest single […]

In December, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress will elect a new party leader to succeed beleaguered President Jacob Zuma and lead the party into national elections in 2019. Within the ANC, the campaign to replace Zuma officially has not started. But, in effect, it has been underway since the beginning of the year, with political maneuvering and jockeying behind the scenes. This is a product of the ANC’s arcane internal procedures, a hangover from its years of exile when members viewed elections for party positions with suspicion and preferred so-called consensus candidates in order to avoid “disunity.” The fiction […]