Taher El-Sonni, RCWorld
Libyans rose up in the Arab Spring of 2011 to fight dictatorship. Their dream was to establish a civil, democratic state. The United Nations noted that the intent of its own support was to achieve "an immediate cease-fire in Libya, including an end to the current attacks against civilians.”
Paul Hockenos, Foreign Policy
The EU refused to prepare for a predictable rekindling of the migration crisis—and is now responding with deadly force.
Dimitri A. Simes, TNI
Moscow has sometimes miscalculated Ankara's reaction to the conflict next door. That oversight has created friction between the two countries in the past. But those grievances are likely to be set aside when Vladimir Putin and Recep Erdogan meet on March 5.
Andrew Michta, The American Interest
The coronavirus crisis is underscoring the need to re-examine old ideologies about globalization and modernization.
Stuk Rood Vlees
Increased voter volatility, party system fragmentation, and even coalition government; the Dutchification of Spain seems all but complete. I’m joined by my old friend Lluis Orriols(University Carlos III of Madrid) to talk about this tumultuous episode in Spanish politics. Lluis gives me a much needed crash course in Spanish politics, from the territorial cleavage and the Catalan crisis to the electoral success of Podemos and Vox.
Daniel Larison, The American Conservative
The early collapse of the Biden campaign over the last few months has largely spared the former vice president of the scrutiny that a leading presidential candidate usually receives. Now that he has jumped back to the front of the field, it is worth reviewing Biden’s many significant vulnerabilities on foreign policy. Biden’s foreign policy weaknesses don’t receive much coverage because of his extensive foreign...
Nic Cheeseman, Afr. Arg.
Opposition parties across Africa and world have been using a similar set of strategies to discredit elections. Here’s what they are.
Ricardo De Querol, El Pais
British historian Henry Kamen is irritated by the debate among politicians over whether Spain is one nation or a collection of nations – some say as many as eight. He is also disturbed by the tendency of those in power to manipulate the past, from the Reconquest to the defeat of Catalonia in 1714, allowing them to bolster their arguments with self-serving versions of history.
Jonathan Tobin, National Review
The country’s political deadlock is unresolved, but Israelis across the political spectrum take a hard line on their country’s security
Hamidreza Azizi, Al Monitor
Ankara’s defiant reaction to the Syrian army’s advances in the northwestern province of Idlib has led the Syrian crisis toward one of its most critical phases in the past several years, pushing Ankara and Damascus to the verge of a full-scale war.
Bohdan Nahaylo, Kyiv Post
Almost 30 years after the country achieved independence, the political scene is still anything but calm and predictable. The defensive war against Russia’s invasion, which has already lasted for six years, has not helped. But the problem reflects a broader and more deeply rooted malaise which remains difficult to diagnose, let alone cure quickly.
Cătălin Tenită, Wilson Quarterly
Romanians took to the streets to make change at the ballot box. An inside account of how two years of peaceful protest won the day.
Bradley Jardine & Edward Lemon, EurasiaNet
Tajikistan is hooked on the Chinese economy. It’s now taking risky security advice from Beijing.