Q & A Archive

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series about press freedom and safety in various countries around the world. This week, eight leading columnists from Kenya’s largest media house, the Nation Media Group, resigned in protest of government interference and what they called a “loss in editorial independence.” The resignations come amid increasingly restrictive measures placed on the media by the administration of President Uhuru Kenyatta, including its controversial decision to shut down Kenya’s top three television stations in January for covering the shadow presidential inauguration of opposition leader Raila Odinga, in defiance of the government’s demands. In […]

On March 12, thousands of farmers in the Indian state of Maharashtra marched 112 miles to the state capital, Mumbai, demanding government action to address concerns ranging from land transfers to loans. India’s agricultural sector is the country’s largest source of employment, but it is inefficient and largely reliant on dated equipment and technology, and most farmers struggle to make a living. India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, which is facing mounting pressure from farmers, has been promising to address their concerns for years; Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to double farmers’ income. In an email interview, Surupa […]

Earlier this month, Australia hosted its first special summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the 10-member regional bloc known as ASEAN. While it is not a member, Australia has developed a close working relationship with the group. Amid discussions in Sydney focused on regional security and trade issues, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull hailed ASEAN as a “strategic convener.” The two sides also unveiled a joint infrastructure initiative that looks to provide a potential alternative to China’s huge Belt and Road Initiative. In an email interview, Evan Laksmana, a senior researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International […]

In late February, South Africa’s parliament overwhelmingly passed a motion seeking to change the constitution in order to allow the government to expropriate land without compensation. The motion came after the ruling African National Congress formally adopted the principle of land expropriation at its party conference in December. South Africa’s new president and the head of the ANC, Cyril Ramaphosa, has since voiced his opposition to the recent spate of unilateral land grabs across the country, or what critics call “illegal land invasions.” In an email interview, John Campbell, the Ralph Bunche senior fellow of African policy studies at the […]

On March 11, India and France co-hosted some 40 heads of state in New Delhi at the inaugural meeting of the International Solar Alliance, a treaty-based, intergovernmental organization facilitating solar energy advancement in developing countries in the tropics. The alliance, which was established at the Paris climate summit in November 2015, is aiming to raise $1 trillion in solar investments by 2030. France pledged roughly $860 million at the meeting in New Delhi. As part of the Paris climate pact, India has set its own ambitious green energy target of generating 40 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2030. […]

On Feb. 27, the president of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, declared that his government was sending a contingent of 900 soldiers, aided by surveillance drones, to secure the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The two countries share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, but significant economic disparities between them have fueled migration from Haiti to the Dominican Republic for decades, a phenomenon that some hard-line Dominicans describe as a “quiet invasion.” In an email interview, Maria Cristina Fumagalli, a professor of literature at the University of Essex and the author of “On the Edge, Writing the Border Between […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing series about national drug policies in various countries around the world. For decades, Nigeria’s government has been at the forefront of drug enforcement in West Africa, leading the charge against trafficking in the region and treating it largely as a criminal issue at home. But the sale and use of illicit drugs domestically does not appear to be falling. On March 21, more than 13,000 pounds of cannabis were seized in the home and warehouse of a single individual in Benin City, according to local reports. The previous day, the governor […]

On March 16, a Greek appeals court denied an extradition request by Turkey for eight Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece in July 2016, following the failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It was the third such rejection by Greek courts, which say the men could face an unfair trial in Turkey. The fate of the servicemen, whom Turkey accuses of being involved in the attempted coup, has been a source of escalating tensions between Greece and Turkey, two NATO allies. In an email interview, Simon Waldman, a visiting research fellow in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies […]

After more than five years of negotiations, Joseph Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, signed into law a new mining code earlier this month. The code faced strong opposition from mining companies, which now face higher royalties and taxes. The government has said it may be willing to negotiate terms on a case-by-case basis. Congo has extensive mineral wealth and is the top source of cobalt globally and the top source of copper in Africa. In an email interview, Thomas Lassourd, a senior economic analyst at the Natural Resource Governance Institute, or NRGI, discusses why the government decided […]

Earlier this month, the United States, Canada and Mexico concluded the seventh round of talks to amend the North American Free Trade Agreement, once again failing to agree on terms to update the 24-year-old pact that U.S. President Donald Trump promised to renegotiate. Trump’s threats to pull the U.S. out of NAFTA if he doesn’t get what he wants, on top of his other protectionist trade policies, have pushed Mexico to diversify its trade relationships, including with its neighbors in Latin America. In an email interview, Duncan Wood, the director of the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, […]

Nigeria’s population has quadrupled in the past 60 years, creating a host of pressures on the country’s rural population and pushing farmers and herders into an escalating state of conflict. In 2016 and 2017, four states in Nigeria enacted bans on the open grazing of cattle, aimed at restricting herders and the pastoral communities they support. But the bans haven’t helped reduce violence; over 100 people have already been killed in clashes between farmers and herders this year. In an email interview, Adam Higazi, a research fellow at the University of Amsterdam and an affiliated lecturer at the University of […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing series about national drug policies in various countries around the world. On Feb. 17, Portugal’s main opposition party, the Social Democratic Party, formally endorsed the legalization and regulation of cannabis at its national conference. Although Portugal decriminalized the use and personal possession of all drugs in 2001, from cannabis to heroin, the government has not legalized any illicit drugs. The Social Democratic Party’s endorsement is a step toward changing that. If translated into law, it would make Portugal the first country in Europe to legalize and regulate cannabis. In an email […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing series about religious minorities in various countries around the world. In late January, the Department of Tourism in the Philippines announced plans to make the country a significant “religious pilgrimage destination,” especially for Catholic communities in Asia, by restoring old churches and historical shrines. Yet efforts to capitalize on its status as the largest Catholic-majority country in Asia and draw in more tourists could create problems in the Philippines, which has sizeable non-Catholic Christian communities and a Muslim population that has long felt marginalized by a state heavily linked to the […]

In late February, Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, suffered a shock defeat in one of its rural strongholds, losing a by-election to an independent candidate backed by the opposition. The result seemed to give new life to the opposition ahead of national elections scheduled for April 8. In an email interview, András Bozóki, a professor of political science at Central European University in Budapest, discusses how the opposition has fared during eight years under Orban and what its prospects are for the upcoming vote. WPR: What is the state of the political opposition in Hungary […]

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series about religious minorities in various countries around the world. On March 6, Sri Lanka’s government declared a nationwide 10-day state of emergency as mob attacks targeted the country’s Muslim minorities. Tensions have been rising over the past year between Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese majority, who are mainly Buddhist, and Muslims, leading to attacks on businesses, homes and places of worship. In an email interview, Neil DeVotta, a professor of politics and international affairs at Wake Forest University in North Carolina and an expert on ethnic conflict in South Asia, explains what […]

On Feb. 19, Brazil’s government announced it was abandoning an effort to reform the pension system, which is a main driver of its ballooning deficit. Though the official reason was the military intervention launched last month in Rio de Janeiro state, which makes constitutional amendments impossible to act on, the reform effort was widely understood to have little chance of success. The failure of Michel Temer, Brazil’s exceedingly unpopular president, to deliver on a key promise prompted credit ratings agencies to downgrade Brazil further below investment grade. In an email interview, Paulo Sotero, director of the Brazil Institute at the […]

In mid-February, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he would pay government forces a bounty of nearly $500 for each communist rebel they killed, according to The Associated Press, suggesting this would be a cost-effective way to combat a decades-long insurgency. His remarks, which were widely denounced as inflammatory, came amid an uptick in violence between government forces and the rebels and increasingly bleak prospects for peace talks, which broke down last year. In an email interview, Renato DeCastro, a professor of international studies at De La Salle University in Manila, explains why the peace process has stalled, what progress has […]