Regions

To offer some sweet relief for your Monday blues, here's some Central Asian geopolitical analytical madness! A couple of weeks ago we discussed the EU's attempts at diversifying CA gas exports to circumvent Russian territory and influence, mainly in Turkmenistan. In addition, on this blog we have talked about China and India's growing role in […]

In sub-Saharan Africa crises will come and crises will go but it seems, tragically, that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and especially that country's eastern regions, will constantly be beset with chaos.  

This Kevin Cullen op-ed in The Boston Globe is so badly argued, so dumb and shallow, that I hardly even know where to begin. And what probably vexes me more than anything is that I agree with the fundamental premise behind the argument. But it is so terribly done that it does an injustice to […]

How's this for a worrisomely cryptic announcement?: Harare – Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will not return home on Saturday as expected to prepare for the second round of elections against Robert Mugabe, his party said. “We apologise to advise that Morgan Tsvangirai is no longer expected to return today. We can't say why he […]

Crime is the domestic issue that evokes the most handwringing in South Africa, especially among a certain segment (read: affluent) of the white population. And crime certainly is bad, especially in the most highly populated areas. Virtually (and perhaps literally) all South Africans of every race and social class knows someone who has been victimized by crime, and while crime, and […]

The world has been facing some tough days recently. Burma's tsunami, western China's earthquake, and the continual rising of food prices has wreaked havoc on many of the world's poorest people. As has been discussed earlier, food prices have been escalating in Central Asis for months now and show no signs of slowing. These rising […]

Opposition and Lebanese government officials planned to meet Friday in the Qatari capital Doha for a national dialogue hosted by the Arab Leaque.  The meeting, scheduled for 2 p.m. EST, seeks an end to some of the worst political violence in Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war.  Leaders from Hizballah and the Western-backed government of […]

Given the ever-shifting nature of the economy, variations on prices rising and occasionally falling, and the fact that in the case of Zimbabwe the numbers become meaningless, or at least mind-boggling, it is nearly impossible to know precisely what the rate of inflation is in that beleaguered country. But we do know this: Zimbabwe has […]

At The American: A Magazine of Ideas Marian L. Tupy has a perceptive piece on the stark differences between Botswana and Zimbabwe. Tupy's conclusion is a bit prosaic: “It turns out that much of the difference stems from the degree of freedom that each populace enjoys.” (Really? It turns out that way, does it? Well […]

Readers of this blog know that, along with Yemen, Lebanon is a particular obsession here, for reasons both strategic and emotional.   I’ll still do an occasional piece here and there, mostly about Lebanon's role in the region, but highly suggest checking out Daniel Graeber's new FPA blog on Lebanon.  Highly readable and informed, it has quickly […]

The Mexican armed forces are a pillar of the war against drugs. Indeed, thousands of regular troops are patrolling several municipalities and large cities across Mexico while Special Forces make most of the arrests of high-profile drug lords. In a country plagued by corrupt police forces and heavily armed drug traffickers, the army (which also […]

There are many things to be said about the crisis Lebanon goes through. An update here. Sami Nader said back in 2007 that there are two competing visions in Lebanon. In the past 10 days the struggle moved from the political arena to the streets. The government backed down in front of Hizballah, AMAL and […]