Briefing Archive

Last month, embattled South African President Jacob Zuma removed his higher education minister, Blade Nzimande, who is also the general secretary of the South African Communist Party. It was more than a Cabinet reshuffle. By sacking Nzimande, Zuma poisoned his relationship with the African National Congress’ alliance partner. The move, and its outcome, was rich in irony. In its desire to be rid of then-President Thabo Mbeki from the early 2000s onward, the SACP, led by Nzimande, fatally tied its fortunes to Zuma’s candidacy. It sought to convince itself that he represented a progressive alternative to the neoliberal economics, excessive […]

Since Nawaz Sharif’s ouster as prime minister in August, Pakistan has been abuzz with talk of strained civil-military relations. The situation materially worsened when Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, the army’s chief of staff, publicly lectured the government last month on expanding tax collection to improve the economy. A very public war of words between the government and military ensued, with the interior minister even suggesting on Facebook that Pakistan was on the cusp of another coup d’état, before walking back his comments. While ties between the elected civilian government and the armed forces have frayed recently, Sharif’s removal itself did […]

BRATISLAVA—The landslide electoral victory of a party founded by a brash billionaire in the Czech Republic last month seemed like just the latest sign of Central European politics becoming the domain of oligarchs. In nearby Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose illiberalism has rattled Europe for several years, has surrounded himself with friendly tycoons, doling out contracts to coddle government-friendly big business and consolidate his own political power. But for all the attention on Hungary and now the Czech Republic, where many fear what Andrej Babis will do if he is able to form a government and take power, the […]

In mid-October, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that he would not recertify the Iran nuclear agreement, disavowing it but kicking to Congress the decision of whether the United States should reimpose sanctions on Iran and essentially scrap the deal. In doing so, Trump singled out Iran’s continued development of ballistic missiles, and the deal’s near-total silence on Iran’s missile programs, as one of the agreement’s “flaws.” The wisdom of linking the nuclear deal to Iran’s ballistic missile program is debatable. But a series of recent tests and public unveilings indicate that Iran is indeed making significant progress toward meeting its […]

For the first time in Mexico’s modern democratic history, independent candidates without a party affiliation will be able to compete in a presidential election next year. The first three presidential races since 2000, when Mexico’s democracy was consolidated, required candidates to represent a registered political party. A handful of presidential hopefuls with diverse political credentials and personal backgrounds met the mid-October deadline to register independent candidacies. They now aim to alter the political dynamics ahead of Mexico’s 2018 election, with potentially major repercussions for the country over the next six years. Mexican citizens warmly welcomed the ratification of the electoral […]

PRAGUE—Mainstream political parties in Central Europe have struggled in a series of recent elections to overcome their self-described anti-establishment rivals. In the Czech Republic’s legislative election on Oct. 20 and 21, the challenge proved too much, but that doesn’t mean the country is about to ditch democracy. Taking full advantage of an electorate that has grown cynical since the fall of communism 28 years ago, billionaire Andrej Babis drove his populist ANO party to an emphatic victory. Taking 30 percent of the vote, Babis’ party scored close to three times the support of its nearest rival. It was little surprise. […]