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By Demdigest on September 2, 2010

Thursday, September 7, 2010- 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. “Mission Transformed: Antony Blinken on the U.S. Policy Towards Iraq”
President Barack Obama on August 31 announced the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq and made it clear that the responsibility for Iraq’s future is now firmly in Iraqi hands.  At the same time, Vice President Joe Biden [read full story]

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Will Putin be hit on the head by history?

By Demdigest on September 2, 2010

 
Will Vladimir Putin’s vulgar dismissal of Russia’s democratic dissidents come to haunt him?  And is his power vertical the principal impediment to the elite’s superpower aspirations?   
Police arrested over 100 activists at last weekend’s Strategy 31 rally, including leading opposition activists Boris Nemtsov and Konstantin Kosyakin, although another organizer, former Soviet dissident Lyudmila Alexeyeva, was not [read full story]

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Turkey’s turning, but which way?

By Demdigest on August 31, 2010

Will Turkey become more or less democratic following the September 12 referendum on proposed constitutional amendments?
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) insists that the changes are designed to democratize the constitution and introduce European-style rights for women, children and minorities.
But their critics contend that the reform will politicize the judiciary and undermine the country’s [read full story]

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Iraqi democracy: glass half-empty or half-full?

By Michael Allen on August 31, 2010

The jury is still out on the prospects for Iraq’s fragile democracy, judging by the commentaries preceding President Obama’s speech on the end of U.S. combat engagement in the country.  
Obama should err on the side of caution, writes the Brookings Institution’s Michael O’Hanlon, as the U.S. has unfinished business in resolving the political impasse [read full story]

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A series of unfortunate events precede Kim Jong Il’s trip to China

By Demdigest on August 27, 2010

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s surprise visit to China is drawing considerable comment about its purpose and timing.
 The trip, which follows a series of strange events, is “highly significant,” a Stratfor analysis suggests:
There is much speculation surrounding the purpose of Kim’s purported trip; to gain China’s support for the North Korean leadership transition (some [read full story]

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Challenges of change: religion, secularism, rights

By Demdigest on August 26, 2010

In a world plagued by ethnic and religious clashes, where some strive to impose their beliefs and lifestyles on all, women leaders from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East will speak to the challenges of accommodating diversity while striving for human rights at this forthcoming conference:
Challenges of Change: Religion, Secularism & Rights, organized [read full story]

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Dismantling Nicaragua’s democracy: anybody care?

By Demdigest on August 26, 2010

Nicaraguan democracy and civil society groups fear that the packing of the Supreme Court is the latest in a series of moves that have seen the ruling party undermine the autonomy of the country’s democratic institutions. The Sandinistas’ imposition of surrogate judges has provoked complaints that substitute justices are no substitute for justice.
With President Daniel Ortega [read full story]

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N. Korean defectors offer hope for ending ‘horrendous’ regime

By Demdigest on August 23, 2010

As North Korea’s ruling party prepares to step away from dictatorship to collective rule, defectors this week detailed their experiences and escape in an “emotional and horrendous” account of life under the regime.
Participants at last weekend’s International Conference on North Korean Human Rights in Toronto, Canada, heard horrifying accounts of torture, executions, sexual violence and [read full story]

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‘Chilling’ authoritarian effects of Kremlin’s war on terror

By Demdigest on August 23, 2010

Russia’s war on terror is more akin to a domestic civil conflict, this must-read analysis from Time suggests, and the Kremlin is exploiting the radical Islamist threat to justify authoritarian rule and attack opposition democrats.
Vladimir Putin’s rhetorical excesses are calculated postures, says Boris Dubin, a pollster with the Moscow-based Levada Center, using “a Russian code [read full story]

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China and human trafficking

By Demdigest on August 19, 2010

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China is hosting a roundtable discussion on
“China and Human Trafficking: Updates and Analysis”:
At this CECC roundtable, panelists will examine recent developments in the Chinese government’s efforts to combat human trafficking and discuss prospects for and obstacles to further progress. In the last year the Chinese government has acceded to the UN [read full story]

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