Regions

Speaking at a Mexico City event to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, President Calderon addressed what he called Mexico's “culture of machismo,” acknowledging that millions of women face abuse and workplace discrimination despite the passage of laws targeting gender inequities and violence against women. Earlier this year, Mexico enacted a law […]

Before NATO, there was Afghanistan's Taliban movement (you can't call it a government, because it offered no protection and no services to its people).  And the new Taliban, neo-Taliban, or whatever we call them have the same, tawdry, consistent practice of gratuitous cruelty in this regard– Here's the whole story from AFP wire, as printed by the Pakistan […]

The ANC has often faced accusations that it has meddled — or worse — in the country's media, particularly the state-owned but putatively independent South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). In turn the SABC has stood accused of acquiescing to the ANC, indeed of becoming a mouthpiece for the ruling party. Today's news that the SABC […]

Today the World Bank announced the approval of a new loan to Kazakhstan for developing better customs procedures.  The total project cost is USD 62 million, with Kazakhstan committing 43.5 million and the World Bank 18.5 million to the effort.  This is a fantastic step for the state, and it dovetails with many of the […]

I found the following chart (From the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project via Sunday's New York Times Magazine, and which accompanied this James Traub story) telling, though frankly I’m uncertain what it tells:   The five countries with the most favorable views of American ideas about democracy are Subsaharan African nations. None of the countries with […]

It appears that Jacob Zuma now leads the race for the ANC leadership, the fruits of which almost assuredly will be the country's presidency after the country's 2009 elections. At least this is the scuttlebut from Western Cape ANC secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha (via the Cape Argus),  the Mail & Guardian (via SAPA), and the BBC. […]

I’d like to apologize for the paucity of posting. The Foreign Policy Association has been upgrading its blog server and there have been some glitches, but it looks like we’re back up and running. Thanks for your patience. The Council on Foreign Relations has a feature on  how some think South Africa is underachieving in […]

*This article has been posted by Rich Basas both on FPA's Migration Blog as well as the Mexico Blog this week. Illegal immigration may be one of the hot button issues for the next Presidential election and will favor neither party in the process. In the Democratic party debates televised widely among American networks this […]

 Contributed by Rich Basas of FPA's Migration blog: An often unknown issue outside of the local society in any country is the linguistic heritage of the indigenous people of the region. In Latin America these ancient tribal languages take on an added dimension, as many Latin American nations were formed early as independent nations compared […]

Thirty or more pages out of eighty-five in a new report from swisspeace discusses private security contracting in Afghanistan.  The report lists its methodologies, which is at least five steps up from the normal analysis. (links below).  Due to its extensiveness and care, the report gives some bona-fide examination of the issues in regard to Afghanistan.  Paramount to all the contracting arguments […]

Does this news come as a shock to any observer of the situation in Zimbabwe?: Just four months before scheduled elections, and with a breakthrough in talks brokered by President Thabo Mbeki in sight, Zimbabweans are watching in dismay as the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) disintegrates and Zanu-PF tweaks electoral regulations in its […]

At the Mail & Guardian ANC stalwart Pallo Jordan has a discursive, somewhat diffuse cri de couer in which he honors the party's past, defends the party's history of honoring the collective, and gives respect to some of the party's lions, such as Oliver Tambo and Albert Luthuli. In this time of party division and […]