On September 26, German voters will go to the polls to elect a new Bundestag. The election marks the end of the Merkel era. It is supposed to ring in a new beginning, an Aufbruch, as they say in German. What is largely missing, however, is Aufbruchsstimmung — a certain positive mood fueled by...
As congratulatory messages for Modi pour in from all parts of the world, it is important to remember that the journey doesn’t end at victory. Narendra Modi, the god-like leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), appears to have won another landslide victory. Predicted to secure at least 300...
As Turkey gears up for its tightest election in years, could the Kurdish political movement be the great hope for Turkey’s democracy? On June 7, Turkey will head to the polls in a general election of seismic importance to the country’s democratic future. The incumbent Justice and...
The UK General Election campaigns of 2015 offer practically no promises on official accountability. The 2000s were the most scandal-ridden decade in British politics: Politicians sold their favors and claimed false expenses; politicians and their lackeys lied over war in Iraq; police and other...
To dismiss UKIP as racist is to mischaracterize not just the party, but Britons as a whole. Â The titular question was asked of Fair Observer, so Fair Observer asked me, at which point I realized how little the public knows about the real policies offered by the United Kingdom Independence...
Is democracy in Asia in a state of perpetual crisis? Background For a region that is home to more than half of the world’s population, the state of democracy in the Asia seems to be dire. According to Freedom House’s 2014 report on the Asia Pacific, only 39% of the region is considered to be...
Tunisians voted for Nidaa Tounes to ensure the defeat of Ennahda, an Islamist party that led the country after Ben Ali’s ouster. On October 26, Tunisia held its first parliamentary elections since an uprising ousted former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. US President Barack Obama...
On what should Narendra Modi base his foreign policy? Foreign policy seldom occupies an important position in political agendas during electoral campaigns, and 2014 in India is hardly any different. The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate has, however, evoked a little more...
An overly hasty exit from Afghanistan could embolden terrorist groups. In just over a decade, what started as the War on Terror instead morphed into a badly delayed and compromised exercise in nation-building in Afghanistan. This failure, based on an inadequate appreciation of ground...
