Q & A Archive

Earlier this month, King Abdullah of Jordan dissolved parliament and called early elections, prompting large-scale protests with demonstrators calling for changes to the country’s newly enacted electoral law. In an email interview, Sean Yom, an assistant professor of political science at Temple University, discussed protests and reform in Jordan. WPR: What is at stake in the dispute over Jordan’s electoral law? Sean Yom: The dispute over the electoral law implicates the very future of democratization in Jordan. Unfairness at the core of the current system rankles almost all members of the opposition, from the Islamist establishment to secular youth movements. […]

In East Asia, warning signs are emerging that countries facing strained ties over continual territorial disputes are finding it increasingly difficult to isolate their economic decisions from their political disagreements. Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that China cancelled scheduled trips by its finance minister and central bank chief to the annual International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Tokyo, Japan. The article called this the latest example of how the “highly volatile territorial dispute” between China and Japan is beginning to damage the “huge economic relationship” between the second and third largest economies in the world. […]

At the European Union-China Summit in Brussels last month, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao urged EU leaders to end the EU embargo on arms sales to China. In an email interview, Richard Bitzinger, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, discussed the EU arms ban on China. WPR: How is the ban currently affecting relations between the EU and China? Richard Bitzinger: Since being enacted in 1989, the ban has stood as an irritant to EU-China relations, but it has not harmed the relationship much, either when it comes to […]

Over the weekend, the Philippine government announced that it had reached a framework agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to end the separatist insurgency the rebel group has waged for decades in the southern Philippines. As reported by the New York Times, Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III said the framework agreement “paves the way” for peace and represents a major step toward ending the conflict in Mindanao, a predominantly Muslim island in the only predominantly Christian country in Asia. In an email interview with Trend Lines, Steven Rood, the Asia Foundation’s country representative in the Philippines and an […]

Sudanese First Vice President Omar Ali Osman Taha traveled to Turkey recently to participate in the ruling Justice and Development Party’s annual congress. In an email interview, David Shinn, an adjunct professor of international relations at George Washington University and a former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso, discussed Turkish-Sudanese relations. WPR: How have Turkey-Sudan relations evolved over the past decade, and what is driving ties on both sides? David Shinn: Turkey has historical ties with Sudan that date back to the Ottoman period. Ankara recognized the government in Khartoum after its independence in 1956 and soon established an […]

The government of Cyprus is seeking a new, multibillion dollar bailout from Russia, which said last month that it would only grant additional loans in coordination with the European Union. In an email interview, Andreas Stergiou, a lecturer in modern European history and politics at the University of Crete, discussed Russian-Cypriot relations. WPR: What is the recent history of Russia-Cyprus relations, and what has driven ties on both sides? Andreas Stergiou: Cyprus’ position at the crossroads of three continents has historically lent strategic importance to the island. As a result, Soviet and postcommunist Russia have maintained a consistent policy of […]

On Sunday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez won a new term, defeating the strongest electoral challenge to his presidency to date, despite questions over his health and an opposition that has grown in strength and resolve. Both Christopher Sabatini, senior director of policy at the Americas Society and Council of the Americas and editor of Americas Quarterly, and Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, told Trend Lines that even though Henrique Capriles Radonski, the opposition candidate, lost the election, the opposition itself took a major step forward in the process. “The difference between the opposition’s performance this time around and […]

Last month, the Russian government ordered the U.S. Agency for International Development, the aid-administering arm of the U.S. State Department, to cease operations in Russia. In an email interview, Daniel Treisman, a professor of political science at UCLA, discussed Russia’s ejection of USAID. WPR: What is the motivation behind Russia’s ejection of USAID? Daniel Treisman: The closing of USAID’s Russian office is just the latest in a series of moves on the part of the Kremlin aimed at weakening the political opposition and obstructing its efforts to forge a nationwide coalition behind democratic reforms. Other moves include the toughening of […]

A day after a deadly mortar attack from Syria killed five civilians in the Turkish border town of Akcakale, the Turkish Parliament on Thursday authorized further military action against Syria, with a measure allowing for crossborder raids. Media coverage of the motion, which authorizes strikes on Syrian targets, has warned that Turkish military involvement could turn this civil war into a regional conflict that would inevitably draw in the international community. But while today marks the second day of Turkish shelling within Syria, Turkish government officials have insisted that the new legislation is not a mandate for war, but rather […]

Last week, the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan signed an economic and security deal in which they agreed to resume oil exports from the newly independent South and create a demilitarized zone along their still-disputed border. Jon Temin, director of the Sudan and South Sudan Program at the United States Institute of Peace, told Trend Lines that in the weeks ahead he will be keeping an eye on the implementation of the agreements, which has been the downfall of so many deals between the two sides in the past. “Are the various committees and other bodies called for in […]

African Islamist terrorist organizations have made headlines in recent weeks, with media outlets paying closer attention to terrorist networks operating on the continent after the Libyan government blamed the local Salafist jihadi group Ansar al-Sharia for the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. Meanwhile, in response to plans for external military intervention in Mali, where Islamist guerrillas have seized control of the north of the country, one of the main Islamist commanders said that no matter the affiliation, all of the continent’s militant groups “have the same ambition, the application of Shariah.” “Whenever there’s an attack on […]