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New Atlanticist

Jun 21, 2013

Turkey’s Problems Go Beyond Erdogan

By Sabine Freizer

What started as a protest to preserve a park behind Taksim Square morphed into large-scale leaderless action against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s rule. But against heavy handed police tactics, the movement’s ability to have a lasting effect on policy is likely to be dependent on its ability to move their struggle to the polls, starting […]

Elections
Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Jun 10, 2013

‘Engineered’ Iranian Elections Provide an Opening for Criticizing Status Quo

By Barbara Slavin

Iranian elections are hardly free or fair by Western standards. But even with limited choices and a heavily securitized environment, the brief presidential campaign is providing an outlet for harsh criticism of the status quo, including topics — such as the nuclear file — that are usually banished from public discourse.The last-minute decision by nuclear […]

Elections
Iran

New Atlanticist

May 16, 2013

What’s Next, Malaysia?

By HuiHui Ooi

As expected, the National Front (BN) coalition won Malaysia’s May 5 election, but not without widespread allegations of electoral fraud, including the use of Bangladeshi migrants as illegal voters and other gerrymandering tactics. The opposition People’s Pact (PR) coalition leader Anwar Ibrahim refused to concede defeat and held a protest rally on May 8, attended by […]

Elections
Indo-Pacific

New Atlanticist

May 9, 2013

The Treacherous Road to Pakistan’s Historic Elections

By Shuja Nawaz

Pakistan’s upcoming elections on May 11 provoke both fear and hope.

Elections
Pakistan

New Atlanticist

May 9, 2013

Pakistani Politics: Perils and Paradoxes

By Harlan Ullman

This weekend, many tens of millions of some 200 million Pakistanis will elect new national and four provincial governments. The elections are a remarkable milestone due in large measure to President Asif Zardari’s political navigational skills in the most roiled of waters.

Elections
Pakistan

New Atlanticist

May 3, 2013

A Turning Point in Malaysia’s Politics

By HuiHui Ooi

On Sunday, more than thirteen million will vote in what is likely to be the closest election in the history of Malaysia.  About 2.5 million of these voters are believed to be under the age of 30 and pro-opposition, a wildcard that Anwar Ibrahim’s People’s Alliance (PR) is counting on to bring Prime Minister Najib […]

Elections
Indo-Pacific

New Atlanticist

Mar 21, 2013

Kurdish Leader: End Armed Struggle

By Ross Wilson

Turkey’s long-time nemesis Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the so-called Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), delivered an historic message on the March 21 Nowruz holiday that marks the beginning of spring calling for a new beginning between Kurds and Turks.

Elections
Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Mar 14, 2013

A Roadmap for Negotiating with Iran

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

It is still early in the second term of the Obama administration, and as with the beginning of all presidential terms, hope springs eternal in political circles that longstanding obstacles to policy progress will be swept away. In that spirit, a host of commentators are calling for the United States and Iran to make a […]

Elections
Iran

New Atlanticist

Mar 4, 2013

Handicapping the Kenyan Election

By Bronwyn Bruton

As Kenyans go to the polls, observers are bracing for a replay of the country’s horrific 2007 presidential elections, which produced a wave of ethnic violence that killed more than a thousand people and displaced over a half a million.

East Africa
Elections

New Atlanticist

Feb 28, 2013

Turmoil in Tbilisi: Georgia’s Dream Imperiled

By Matthew Bryza

The culture of democracy in Georgia requires serious repair. Despite groundbreaking reforms over nearly a decade, and the freest and fairest election in the country’s history last October, mob violence recently made a near-comeback as Georgia’s primary tool of political change. 

Elections
Politics & Diplomacy

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