Politics
Politics
Fair Observer's analysis of political issues, events and trends and their national, regional and international consequences.
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Al Nasser FC / Arab Spring / Dissent / Nasrawi Revolution / Politics / Prince Faisal / Prince Nawaf / Revolution / Saudi Arabia / Saudi Football Federation / Shia Minority / Soccer / Wahhabism / Women's Soccer / Focus Article / Arts & Culture / Middle EastSaudi Arabia is seeing an emergence of political dissent from soccer fans. The country may apparently be on the verge of licensing women’s soccer clubs that currently operate in a legal nether land. Soccer, alongside minority Shiite Muslims and relatives of imprisoned government critics, is emerging as a focal point of dissent in Saudi Arabia; an oil-rich kingdom that, despite banning demonstrations by law, is struggling to fend off the waves of change sweeping the Middle East and North Africa. Nasrawi Revolution Fan pressure is evolving as a potent tool in the absence of the right to protest. It follows intermittent demonstrations, and at times deadly clashes with security...
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360° Analysis / Beijing / China / Chinese / Communist Party of China / Egypt / Eric Lowe / Fair Observer / Politics / Taiwan / United States / Xi Jingping / BRIC / AsiaBy Eric LoweReforms in judiciary and governance to stamp out corruption and abuse of power are long overdue in China. The question, however, is how far and how fast they would be achieved under the new Chinese leadership. Historically speaking, China has problems with the law. The older generation does not see laws as rights but rather as rules that are thrust upon them, to be obeyed without question. Chinese proverbs such as “the one who creates the law dies by the law” or “turbulent times demand harsh laws” make laws sound negative but necessary without any notion of justice. It was the wise judges who interpreted the laws that were praised in literature and folklore instead...
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360° Analysis / Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani / Ayatollah Khamenei / Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei / Green Movement / Iran / Mahmoud Ahmadinejad / Mohammed Khatami / Nuclear Program / Politics / presidential elections / Revolutionary Guard / Middle EastBy Reza JDespite the importance attached to the upcoming presidential elections, when it comes to Iran's nuclear program, there will be no change at the negotiating table. On April 18, 2013, US Secretary of State John Kerry asked senators pressing for tougher sanctions over Iran's nuclear program to be patient. He is not the only high-ranking Western politician who thinks that it would be difficult to reach to any agreement through negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran over its nuclear program before the Iranian presidential elections. Former EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, who was the West’s main negotiator with Iran from 2003 to 2009, supports the same idea. But...
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Argentina / Calderon War / Colombia / crime / drug cartel / Drug War / drugs / General Victims' Law / Human Rights / Matthew Furlong / Mexico / Politics / War on Drugs / Focus Article / AmericasMexico's new General Victims' Law has been widely acclaimed, but some critics quietly wonder: might criminality itself profit from a society that tends to equate "citizen" and "victim"? The Emerging Society of Victims "Draw the scaffolding so that the last step of the ladder comes in clearly. The criminal must be just stepping onto it, his face as white as note-paper. The priest is holding a cross to his blue lips, and the criminal kisses it, and knows and sees and understands everything. The cross and the head — there's your picture; the priest and the executioner, with his two assistants, and a few heads and eyes below. Those might come in as...
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360° Analysis / Bangladesh / Democracy / Dr / Imran Khan / India / Ishtiaq Ahmed / Islam and Democracy / Pakistan / Pakistan Elections 2013 / Pervez Musharraf / Politics / Zardari / AsiaThere is no denying that the erstwhile modernist Pakistani leadership tried to make Pakistan both democratic and Islamic. However, no constitutional formula could find the proper balance. The Pakistani general election is most likely to be held as planned. After nearly 66 years, a milestone would be reached: an elected government will succeed another elected government with a brief interlude of a caretaker administration. The vetting process carried out by overzealous inquisitional examining officers has, mercifully, on instructions from their superiors, abated and the election commission has very wisely forbidden the invocation of religion and sect. No doubt, democracy is better...
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360° Analysis / Bhutto / Gateway House / Imran Khan / Islamabad / Karachi / Masood Hasan / Pakistan / Pakistan Elections 2013 / Politics / Zardari / AsiaBy Masood Hasan The national election in Pakistan looks like a game of polarisation, but if democracy is meant to provide some relief and prosperity, all political parties have flopped, bottom up. The field is now wide open, and anything can happen — including a hung parliament. Thank God I am many things but not a political pundit. That species grows on trees and bushes in present-day Pakistan. Another election commences – and as some cynics put it, and so is more heartbreak! With the deadline now into hours, the field is wide open. Anything can happen. A few days back, Imran Khan helicoptered to eight cities amid much mingling with the great unwashed, making speeches and...
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360° Analysis / Asim Jahangir / Benazir Bhutto / Female Pakistani Voters / Huma Khan / Imran Khan / Islamabad / Musharraf / Pakistan / Pakistan Elections 2013 / Pakistani Elections / pakistani women / Politics / Zardari / AsiaAs Pakistanis cast their ballot, Asim Jahangir and Huma Khan pose the question: Can female voters change the outcomes of the country's general elections? Pakistan is due to commence its 10th General Elections to elect the National and Provincial Assemblies. As political parties prepare to lock horns for electoral support, they face an uphill battle of getting the voter to come out and vote. Voter turnout in Pakistan has been dismal with only 44% registered voters coming out to cast their ballot in 2008. Given the emergence of new political forces and the consequent split in traditional voting banks, the party that is able to convince most voters to vote is likely to gain a dominant hand...
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Benazir Bhutto / Elections 2013 / General Elections / Heba Al-Adawy / Imran Khan / Islamabad / Pakistan / Pakistani / Parliamentary elections / Pervez Musharraf / Politics / Zardari / 360° Context / AsiaAs Pakistanis head to the polls, the elections could mark the first democratic transition between two elected governments in the country’s history. Background As the general elections 2013 commence, fear is mingled with hope and resilience in Pakistan. The streets of the major cities and the small towns are draped with political banners, each showcasing its own election symbol — a tiger, an arrow, a kite or a cricket bat. While former President Pervez Musharraf has been pushed out of the political scene after his dramatic house arrest two weeks prior to the elections, new political forces have entered the battlefield, whether through slogans of “Naya (New) Pakistan”...
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360° Analysis / Anbar Province / April 20 Elections / Ba'athism / Bilal Ahmed / Democracy / Independent High Electoral Commission / Iraq / Nouri Al-Maliki / Paul Bremer / Politics / Protests / Saddam Hussein / Shia / Sunni / Syria / Middle EastBy Bilal AhmedTensions are rising in Iraq, as new waves of violence rock the country following hotly-contested elections and months of protests by its Sunni minority. It has been a bloody few weeks for Iraq. Following months of escalating protests in Sunni-dominated areas of the country, a series of highly coordinated bombings have rocked Iraq. The unrest has worsened with additional turmoil, as at least 218 people have been killed in gun battles that began when security forces attempted to clear an encampment in northern Iraq. Analysts fear that this violence, the most significant since the December 2011 US withdrawal, risks dragging Iraq back into civil war. It is difficult to discount these fears...