Q&A Sri Lanka’s Crackdown on Drugs Raises Concerns About a Return to Strongman Rule Elliot Waldman Friday, May 24, 2019 The Sri Lankan government is preparing to end its four-decade-long moratorium on carrying out the death penalty amid a crackdown on drugs. The move’s popularity points to an emerging preference among Sri Lankans for a more dictatorial type of leadership, says Shyamika Jayasundara-Smits in an interview.
Africa Watch A Scandal Over Stolen Timber Has Upended Gabon’s Government Andrew Green Friday, May 24, 2019 Gabon’s vice president and forestry minister lost their jobs this week. Though no official explanation was provided, the sackings were apparently related to an attempt to smuggle protected timber out of the country. Read up on that and other stories from across the continent in our weekly roundup of Africa news.
Q&A Why Belize Is Likely to Prevail in Its Territorial Dispute With Guatemala The Editors Thursday, May 23, 2019 Guatemala and Belize will soon take their long-running territorial dispute to the International Court of Justice in The Hague for arbitration. In an interview, Victor Bulmer-Thomas explains the historical roots of the dispute and why Belize will have the stronger case at the ICJ.
China Note Are American Voters Ready to Bear the Costs of an Economic War With China? Benjamin Wilhelm Wednesday, May 22, 2019 Debates about President Donald Trump’s trade policies will be shaped partly by cooling public opinion on China. Only 41 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of the country. As Isaac Stone Fish tells WPR, “Americans are waking up to the idea that China is the only country that truly jeopardizes American hegemony.”
Q&A How Xenophobia Has Become Normalized in South African Politics The Editors Tuesday, May 21, 2019 Anti-immigrant rhetoric has steadily seeped into mainstream South African politics. In this month’s election, both major political parties advocated stricter controls on immigration. Loren B. Landau discusses the deep roots of xenophobia in South Africa and the uncertain future facing immigrants there.
Q&A ‘Simply Put, There’s No Freedom of the Press’ in Sisi’s Egypt The Editors Monday, May 20, 2019 The space for press freedom and freedom of expression of any kind has dramatically shrunk in Egypt under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who took power in a coup in 2014. In an interview, Jared Malsin discusses Sisi’s crackdown on Egypt’s media and how “there’s very little room for free debate of anything.”
Africa Watch Violence in Sudan Stalls Progress on a Post-Bashir Transition Andrew Green Friday, May 17, 2019 Sudan appeared to be inching closer to a transitional government this week, but renewed violence in the capital, Khartoum, threatens to derail the talks between the military council and the opposition alliance. Read up on that and other stories from across the continent in our weekly roundup of Africa news.
Q&A Colombia’s Duque is Presiding Over a ‘Massive Backpedaling’ on Indigenous Rights The Editors Thursday, May 16, 2019 Since President Ivan Duque took office last summer, Colombia has seen an uptick in violence against human rights advocates and community leaders, particularly from indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities. Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli explains how Duque’s hostility to the FARC peace deal is to blame.
China Note As Trade Tensions Escalate, China Girds Its Citizens for a ‘People’s War’ Benjamin Wilhelm Wednesday, May 15, 2019 The trade war between China and the United States is heating up again. Fearing political backlash, Beijing has been careful not to be seen as conceding too much in the negotiations, and state media outlets are amplifying a nationalist message, accusing the U.S. of “fighting a trade war out of greed.”
Q&A Estonia’s Populists, in Power for the First Time, Face the Hard Task of Governing The Editors Wednesday, May 15, 2019 Estonia’s far-right EKRE party is now part of a three-party coalition government, but its euroskeptic and anti-immigrant positions are likely to be tempered by its coalition partners. In an interview, Martin Mölder discusses Estonia’s recent election and what to expect from the new government’s agenda.
Q&A Russia Needs Immigrants but Lacks a Coherent Immigration Policy The Editors Tuesday, May 14, 2019 Russia faces serious demographic challenges in the coming decades, with both the overall population and the working-age population projected to shrink. Authorities recognize the need to hold these trends in check by keeping the country’s doors open, but immigrants in Russia face many hurdles.
Q&A Powerful Interests in Panama Prepare to Blunt the New President’s Anti-Graft Drive The Editors Monday, May 13, 2019 Laurentino Cortizo narrowly won Panama’s presidential election earlier this month, after focusing his campaign on fighting corruption. But given the entrenched patronage networks and weak institutions in Panama, he will have a hard time following through on that promise, says Orlando J. Pérez.
