Rebel fighters move through the deserted streets of downtown Monrovia, Liberia, May 18, 1996 (AP photo by David Guttenfelder).

Since his arrival in the U.S. nearly two decades ago, Mohammed Jabbateh has dutifully cultivated the image of a hardworking immigrant, building up a container-shipping business in Philadelphia and supporting his family, including five children. But it is another image that helps explain why the Liberian will stand trial next week in federal court. A photograph taken during the West African nation’s 14-year-long period of civil conflict, and submitted as evidence by prosecutors, shows Jabbateh as an unsmiling young man in dark sunglasses surrounded by combatants. Known to Liberians as “Jungle Jabbah,” Jabbateh served as a commander in the United […]

Chadian troops participate in the closing ceremony of Operation Flintlock, N'Djamena, Chad, March 9, 2015 (AP photo by Jerome Delay).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. While many people have argued that the Trump administration’s travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries is a bad policy regardless of which states it affects, the inclusion of Chad in the latest iteration, announced Sunday, was especially baffling to those familiar with Chad’s record on counterterrorism and its ties to the United States. As the Sahel region has struggled to cope with a proliferation of jihadi groups, Chad has played an essential role in maintaining at least a semblance […]

Members of the Biafran separatist movement, Umuahia, Nigeria, May 28, 2017 (AP photo by Lekan Oyekanmi).

With the arrest of 60 supporters of the Biafra separatist movement this week, Nigeria has taken a step closer to provoking a violent insurgency in the southeastern region of the country. As tensions rise, both the government and the separatists are threatening to push Nigeria further into conflict. In an email interview, Ryan Cummings, director of Signal Risk, an Africa-focused risk management consultancy, examines what is driving the Biafra separatist movement, the evolution in the government’s response and the risks if the conflict escalates. WPR: What is behind the surge in pro-Biafra activism, and what do these activists hope to […]

China International Search and Rescue team members carry a supposed survivor during a simulated rescue training, Beijing, Feb. 26, 2010 (AP photo by Andy Wong).

For the past decade, China’s involvement in international humanitarian relief has steadily risen as it has sent its people, supplies and support to nations around the world. While these humanitarian efforts have often been framed as a tool of Chinese foreign policy, China has also increasingly integrated itself into the international humanitarian relief system. In an email interview, Miwa Hirono, a Japanese scholar who has written extensively on Chinese humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, explains how Beijing’s approach to disaster relief has evolved and how China continues to balance its policy of noninterference with its desire to provide assistance abroad. WPR: […]

Residents walk through the rubble of the resort town of Zabadani in the Damascus countryside, Syria, May 18, 2017 (AP photo by Hassan Ammar).

Last month, for the first time in six years, the Syrian government hosted an international trade fair in Damascus. Staged at a fairground in the southern outskirts of the capital, near the airport, the exhibition was promoted as a sign of victory for President Bashar al-Assad. Russian, Iranian and Chinese companies headlined the list of attendees, which also included representatives of European firms. The fair—last held in the summer of 2011, as Syria’s uprising was just turning into a civil war—“sends a message that the war has ended … and we are at the start of the path towards reconstruction,” […]

Migrant children walk toward their school in the village of Oranje, The Netherlands, Oct. 8, 2015 (AP photo by Peter Dejong).

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series about education policy in various countries around the world. In July, the highest Dutch court ruled that the government was required to fund an Islamic secondary school, only the second of its kind in the Netherlands. While several public and civil entities opposed the decision, the distinctive Dutch system of education, which allows a significant degree of freedom and autonomy, provided the legal basis for the court’s decision. In an email interview, Edith Hooge, a full professor in governance in education at TIAS, Tilburg University in the Netherlands, explains what […]

Hamas supporters chant anti-Israeli slogans during a protest at the Palestinian Legislative Council, Gaza City, July 21, 2017 (AP photo by Adel Hana).

Over the summer, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a vague decree restricting freedom of expression on social media and online news sites, ostensibly to uphold “national unity” and the “social fabric.” Critics slammed the measure as an attempt to censure criticism of the Palestinian Authority. In an email interview, Charmaine Seitz, a consultant on the Middle East who formerly reported from Israel and the West Bank and Gaza, explains what’s behind the move, its impact on civil society, and how both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have curbed dissent. WPR: What steps has the Palestinian Authority taken to clamp down […]

Soldiers stand during the inauguraton of Mali’s United Nations peacekeeping mission, Bamako, Mali, July 1, 2013 (AP photo by Harouna Traore).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. As United Nations peacekeeping missions struggle to adapt to sharp budget cuts, one of the factors that could affect future funding levels is the organization’s response to persistent allegations of sexual abuse by U.N. troops. Speaking at the U.N. Security Council earlier this year, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., warned that the U.S. could withdraw money for missions that fail to combat abuse and hold perpetrators accountable. New evidence of the U.N.’s shortcomings in cracking down […]

Kurds wave Kurdish flags during a rally to support an independence referendum in Iraq, Beirut, Lebanon, Sept. 17, 2017 (AP photo by Hassan Ammar).

Iraq’s Kurds are slated to vote on a referendum for independence on Sept. 25, despite fervent opposition from outside parties, including Iraq’s central government. With tensions building, the referendum has become a lightning rod among the coalition of forces united to eliminate the self-proclaimed Islamic State, whose stronghold straddles Iraq and Syria. In an email interview, Ramzy Mardini, a nonresident fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council, discusses how the referendum might affect the international campaign against the Islamic State, the post-conflict state of affairs in Iraq and relations between the Kurds and […]

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg at the World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 21, 2016 (AP photo by Michel Euler).

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series about workers’ rights in various countries around the world. Norway’s conservative government was re-elected last week, putting it in a position to continue advancing policies aimed at liberalizing segments of the economy, including the labor market. While previous moves by the government to introduce such policies galvanized Norway’s labor unions, they were ultimately unable to sway the broader electorate ahead of this month’s parliamentary elections. In an email interview, Robert Hansen, head of European Affairs at the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, discusses the positions of both the government […]

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry introduces Randy Berry as the first-ever special envoy for LGBT rights, Washington, Feb. 27, 2015 (AP photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais).

A year ago this month, efforts to use high-profile diplomacy in the service of global LGBT rights appeared to be gaining considerable momentum. At the United Nations, the Human Rights Council had selected Vitit Muntarbhorn of Thailand to serve as the first independent expert tracking violence and discrimination based on gender and sexual identity. And in Washington, Randy Berry was well into his second year as the State Department’s first special envoy for the human rights of LGBTI persons. To mark the completion of Berry’s first year in that position, the Human Rights Campaign praised him as “a game changer […]

Turkish supporters of former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi protest with a portrait of current Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, depicted as the "last pharaoh," Ankara, Turkey, July 13, 2013 (AP photo by Burhan Ozbilici).

Egypt and Turkey, two of the Middle East’s largest and most influential states, have developed diametrically opposed foreign policies since downgrading their diplomatic ties four years ago. With leaders in both countries continuing to consolidate power domestically, the region should brace for the impact of competing influences in the power struggle between Cairo and Ankara. In an email interview, Yasser El Shimy, adjunct professor at George Washington University in Washington D.C., discusses the evolution of Egypt-Turkey ties, how their foreign policies have become increasingly competitive, and what outside forces have done to exacerbate tensions. WPR: How have Egypt-Turkey relations evolved […]

Iceland’s prime minister, Bjarni Benediktsson, during last year’s election, Reykjavik, Iceland, Oct. 29, 2016 (AP photo by Frank Augstein).

Last week, Iceland’s fragile ruling government collapsed under the weight of an unraveling pedophilia scandal that came to light over the summer. Elections have been called for Oct. 28, but with Icelandic politics more fractured than ever, there is no telling if scandal-ridden Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson will again occupy the nation’s highest office. In an email interview, Icelandic journalist Thorgils Jonsson provides the context for the controversy and explains what it all means for Iceland’s troubled politics and resurgent economy. WPR: Iceland’s prime minister has just called for a snap election. What led to the collapse of his ruling […]

Students listen to a teacher of the Tatar language at a Tatar school, Crimea, Oct. 31, 2014 (AP photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko).

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series about education policy in various countries around the world. For many years, the issue of language has been a persistent point of social tension inside Ukraine, as the country contends with the nature of its relationship to Russia. After long downplaying the matter, Ukraine’s parliament brought it front and center last week with a new law that restricts the teaching of Russian and other minority languages in schools—eliciting outcries in capitals from Moscow to Budapest. In an email interview, Nicolai Petro, the Silvia-Chandley Chair in Peace and Nonviolence at the […]

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi delivers a speech, Tunis, May 10, 2017 (AP photo by Hassene Dridi).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Despite two years of protests, Tunisian lawmakers this week approved a so-called economic reconciliation law that allows for amnesty for officials accused of corruption under former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the first head of state to fall during the 2011 Arab uprisings. Predictably, the move was condemned by opposition lawmakers and civil society activists. One MP said the law signified “the return of the dictatorial state,” while another described it as “an advanced stage of counter-revolution.” The […]

Bangladeshi students display their handwriting on their blackboards at an Islamic education school, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sept. 9, 2014 (AP photo by A.M. Ahad).

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series about education policy in various countries around the world. Since independence in 1971, Bangladesh has made several attempts to reform its education system. Despite some false starts, it has made important strides. Yet obstacles to reform have proved challenging, especially the bifurcated Islamic madrasa system that leaves millions of students unprepared for life outside of religious institutions. In an email interview, Md Shahnawaz Khan Chandan, an education activist and feature writer at The Daily Star in Dhaka, examines the short history of education reform in Bangladesh, its myriad successes and […]

World Politics Review founder Hampton Stephens, March 25, 2015 (Photo by World Politics Review).

In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, and senior editor, Frederick Deknatel, draw back the curtain on WPR’s editorial process to give an idea of how we select and develop the stories we cover. For the Report, Judah talks with WPR’s publisher, Hampton Stephens, about WPR’s evolution and how our business model is driven by our values and mission. 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 percent discount on the first year of an […]

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