Stephen Collins, Irish Times
For all its faults and failings, the Irish Republic is about as far from a “failed state”, the clichd jibe bandied about during the financial crisis, as it is possible to be. In fact we are one of the oldest continuous democracies on the globe and that has not come about by accident. Our much-maligned political class have had something to do with it, as has the good sense of succeeding generations of voters.
Yves Eudes, Worldcrunch
OLD HARBOUR — Jerry and his brother Steve, both in their thirties, thin and gnarled, are farmers without land. They live in Old Harbour, a dusty village in Saint Catherine Parish, an hour west of the capital Kingston, and rent small plots from area landlords and grow fruits and vegetables that they sell on the markets. They also cultivate ganja, the local name for cannabis.
Steven Cook, The Atlantic
Are they terrorists, allies in the war against the Islamic State, or a nation in need of a state? The answer is yes to all of these.
Joseph Bosco, RealClearWorld
The stakes in the South China Sea today are nowhere near as fateful as those Kennedy faced during the Cuban Missile Crisis -- nuclear weapons, for example, are not presently part of the equation. The president was also making it clear that Moscow could not escape responsibility for any threat emanating from the island. Today, Beijing is the sole actor creating the problem.
Nikolas Gvosdev, World Politics Review
Russia’s bold military interventions in both Ukraine and Syria have put Moscow’s geopolitical ambitions back at the center of analysis and debate. Despite last year’s confident claims in Western capitals that Moscow would be unable to sustain its efforts in both countries, there is no indication that the Kremlin plans to alter its policies in 2016. To the contrary, Russian President Vladimir Putin, having decided that core national interests are at stake, has made it clear that he will stay the course.
Perry Cammack, National Interest
A problem that has confounded four presidents, and perhaps soon a fifth
Aaron David Miller, Los Angeles Times
Iranians go to the polls Friday to elect a new parliament and Assembly of Experts, the body that — at least on paper — chooses the next supreme leader. The world is watching to see if the reformist camp will gain ground, but expectations aren't high.
Henri Barkey, Wilson Center
The Kurds have never been as influential in the Middle East as they are today. They hold the balance of power in Iraq and Syria, and are in the midst of an insurrection in Turkey. But this Kurdish awakening is different from previous ones — in Iraq in the 1970s or Turkey in the 1990s. Powers great and small have to contend with Kurdish demands as never before.
Michael Herzfeld, Foreign Policy
Europe’s efforts to exclude Athens aren’t about migration or debt. They’re about the continent’s deep-seated racism toward its southern frontier state.
Anna Nemtsova, Daily Beast
Despite the supposed truce, the front moves back and forth, destroying civilian lives and property at every turn.
Leopoldo Lopez, Washington Post
After an opposition victory in last year’s elections, what comes next?
Stephen Hollingshead, RealClearWorld
Mac Margolis, Bloomberg View
For Bolivia's Evo Morales, elections have been moments of triumph. Since he emerged from the rural labor movement to win the presidency in late 2005, the fiery political maverick has won three straight contests to become his nation's longest serving president.
Mark Scott, NY Times
ROME — WHEREVER you look in Europe, the 60-year project to unite the Continent is starting to show its age.
Kevin Sullivan, RealClearWorld
Should Rouhani and his allies within the establishment achieve electoral success this week, it could set the tone for Iranian leadership for years to come, and more importantly, enable the current president to fulfill his campaign pledge to improve the economy heading into the 2017 presidential election. An even friendlier parliament would go a long way toward helping the 67-year-old Rouhani -- who many have bigger political ambitions than just the president's office -- to do just that.