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35492. Tunisia’s Volatile Transition to Democracy
- Author:
- Lauren Baker
- Publication Date:
- 11-2015
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
- Abstract:
- On October 9, the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its work shepherding a peaceful transition of power. This accolade highlighted Tunisia’s success creating compromise and building coalition, while avoiding much of the violence and authoritarian backsliding of its neighbors. What lessons can be learned from its example, and what challenges still await this fledgling democracy? POMEPS Briefing 27 “Tunisia’s Volatile Transition to Democracy” brings together 20 essential articles published by the Project on Middle East Political Science and the Monkey Cage that illuminate this small but important state’s internal politics and regional impact. The National Dialogue came at a pivotal moment for the nascent Tunisian democracy. As trust in its first democratically elected government waned, the nation had to navigate the resignation of the Troika government, without following Egypt’s path to anti-Islamist authoritarianism. The parliamentary and presidential elections of 2014 marked a democratic milestone as the centrist Nidaa Tunis took over from Islamist Ennahda, then — to the frustration of some members in both parties — brought it into a coalition government. The contrast between the fate of Islamists in Tunisia and Egypt on one hand and Turkey on the other is marked. However, despite these notable achievements, the Tunisian democracy has failed to represent a significant portion of the population and overall confidence in the democratic process is slipping. Many of the revolutionaries who initially participated in the uprisings remain disenchanted with their options for representation. Meanwhile, citizens in the interior continue to struggle with staggering levels of unemployment, as elites work the outdated system to their advantage. Though it was the main motivator for the revolution, the economic situation in the country has made little progress. Citizens must also balance their desire for personal freedoms with the need for security, and recent terror attacks have done little to assuage these concerns.
- Topic:
- Democratization, International Affairs, and Popular Revolt
- Political Geography:
- Tunisia
35493. Turkey’s Democratic Struggles
- Author:
- POMEPS
- Publication Date:
- 06-2015
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
- Abstract:
- Turkey Brief 26 Turkey’s Democratic Struggles POMEPS Briefing 26 — June 17, 2015 On June 7, Turkish voters denied a majority to the long-ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and pushed the Kurdish Democratic People’s Party (HDP) over the electoral threshold for the first time. A number of critical trends in Turkish politics came together in the June 2015 parliamentary election: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s authoritarian ambitions, Kurdish political evolution, an unpopular Syria policy and the stunning break between AKP and the Islamist Gulen movement. POMEPS Briefings 26 “Turkey’s Democratic Struggles” brings together more than a dozen essays published by the Project on Middle East Political Science and the Monkey Cage that help to make sense of the stakes and results of this crucial election.
- Topic:
- Democratization and Democracy
- Political Geography:
- Turkey
35494. The Long Road to Tehran: The Iran Nuclear Deal in Perspective
- Author:
- Bryan R. Gibson
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- After nearly 20 months of near continuous negotiations, in 2015 Iran and the P5+1 reached a deal designed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capability in exchange for relief from the sanctions that have been crippling its economy over the course of the past decade. How was this momentous agreement reached? This Strategic Update traces the story of this major diplomatic breakthrough, through the historical context of long term US-Iran relations and the tireless international effort to prevent domestic political crises from derailing the negotiations.
- Topic:
- International Affairs and Nuclear Power
- Political Geography:
- Iran
35495. China-EU Relations and the Future of European Soft Power
- Author:
- Karine Lisbonne-de Vergeron
- Publication Date:
- 07-2015
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- espite obvious differences, the EU’s most comprehensive partnership with an emerging power has been with China. This Strategic Update argues that this is partly due to China's identification with Europe's ancient culture and summarises current 'soft power' diplomacy.
- Topic:
- International Affairs and Political Power Sharing
- Political Geography:
- China and European Union
35496. Paving the Road to Paris? What the EU Can Do to Facilitate A Political Climate Deal
- Author:
- Olivia Gippner
- Publication Date:
- 10-2015
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- On the road to the Paris climate change conference in December 2015, what are the prospects for a deal among the key international players - the United States, China, and India? This Strategic Update asks what the EU can do to influence a higher level of ambition and continue to have a leadership role in the global climate community.
- Topic:
- Climate Change
- Political Geography:
- European Union
35497. Common EU Policies on Authorised Immigration
- Author:
- Georgia Mavrodi
- Publication Date:
- 10-2015
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- LSE IDEAS
- Abstract:
- The idea of 'Fortress Europe' has dominated debates on EU immigration policies from the 1990s to current concerns in the Mediterranean. However, this focus on security and illegal migration has obscured important developments in EU policy on authorised migration. This strategic update analyses the construction of common EU policies that recognise the need for particular categories of international migrants.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- European Union
35498. Rio de Janeiro as a Global Financial Center
- Author:
- Virgílio Gibbon
- Publication Date:
- 10-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI)
- Abstract:
- Situational crises tend to concentrate economic activity in centers where such activity already is historically more significant. As a result, financial markets — especially the organized markets — tend to coalesce around these same centers because they benefit from the higher level of liquidity that concentrated economic activity offers. This undoubtedly was one of the major causes of the waning of the financial market in Rio de Janeiro, and the hegemony conquered by São Paulo as of the 1980s.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, Financial Crisis, and Financial Markets
- Political Geography:
- Brazil
35499. U.S.-China 21 The Future of U.S.-China Relations Under Xi Jinping
- Author:
- Kevin Rudd
- Publication Date:
- 04-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Asia Society
- Abstract:
- The future relationship between China and the United States represents one of the great mega-changes and mega-challenges of our age. Unlike other such changes, the consequences of China’s rise are unfolding gradually, sometimes purposefully, but most of the time imperceptibly while the world’s attention is drawn to more dramatic events elsewhere. With the rise of China, we are observing the geopolitical equivalent of the melting of the polar ice caps. Slowly the ice thins, cracks appear and one day a large sheet of ice spectac- ularly peels away. If captured on camera, the world momentarily sits up and pays attention before CNN returns our gaze to the drama of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s most recent atrocity.
- Topic:
- International Relations, International Cooperation, and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- China and America
35500. Country Profile: BiH Peacekeeping Contributions
- Author:
- Denis Hadžović
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The Centre for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- BiH’s contributions to peacekeeping operations take place in the context of ongoing reforms to its security sector, particularly within the defense sector, which has had a great influence on the operational capacities of the Armed Forces. As per the Defence white paper of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2005), the primary objective of the defense reform process was the establishment and strengthening of the state-level institutions which could function as the supreme authority on defense-related issues. Consequently, activities have focused on increasing the authority of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the supreme commander of the BiH Armed Forces, expanding the role the Parliamentary Assembly in order to exercise effective democratic control over the Armed Forces, and establishing state- level defence institutions capable of supporting the Presidency in exercising command and control over the Armed Forces. To illustrate the complexity of defence reform in BiH and its subsequent effects on the functionality of the defense sector as a whole, it is worth mentioning that the current BiH Armed Forces have been formed of ex-warning factions – the Army of the Republic of Srpska and the Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – two entities within BiH which had full control over their forces until the last defence reform in 2005.
- Topic:
- Peace Studies and Peacekeeping
- Political Geography:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina