Authoritarianism

TeleSur President Tayyip Erdogan’s drive to tighten his grip on power has caused an increasingly open rift with his prime minister, possibly leading to his exit. Turkey’s ruling party is set to replace Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at an extraordinary congress in the coming weeks, officials said on Wednesday, signaling the end of his term […]

Authoritarianism

Trump culture: threat, fear and the tightening of the American mind

contributors

By Michele Gelfand and Joshua Conrad Jackson | (The Conversation) | – – For the past 10 months, Donald Trump has been a political enigma. Against the predictions of journalists, policy wonks and odds makers, a tabloid darling with no political experience and few coherent policies is now poised to be the Republican nominee for […]

Authoritarianism

Trump: Candidate of American Decline

Tom Engelhardt

By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.com | – – “Low-energy Jeb.” “Little Marco.” “Lyin’ Ted.” “Crooked Hillary.” Give Donald Trump credit. He has a memorable way with insults. His have a way of etching themselves on the brain. And they’ve garnered media coverage, analysis, and commentary almost beyond imagining. Memorable as they might be, however, […]

Arab Spring

5 Years After Revolution, Egyptians See #PanamaPapers as Further Vindication of Mubarak’s Ouster

contributors

By Salma Essam | (Global Voices) | – – Among the names contained in the Panama Papers, the enormous trove of confidential documents revealing how the world's elite exploit tax havens, is Alaa Mubarak, son of deposed President Hosni Mubarak, and other associates of Egypt's former autocratic leader. Hosni Mubarak was ousted in the 2011 […]

Afghanistan

In an Age of Global Terror, do Failed States endanger you, too?

contributors

By Joseph Chamie and Barry Mirkin | (Inter Press Service) | – – NEW YORK, Apr 9 2016 (IPS) – Regardless of whether they are called fragile, failed, or failing states, scores of countries around the globe are plagued by overwhelming problems with few solutions in sight. Moreover, the instability and dire straits of these […]

Authoritarianism

Panama Papers Expose Massive Global Corruption Scandal (TYT)

contributors

Cenk Uygur | (The Young Turks Video Report) | – – “We’ve got a new bunch of leaked papers on some of the most prominent politicians and leaders worldwide. They are laundering money from out of their own countries into private bank accounts in offshore tax havens. Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, breaks […]

Authoritarianism

The Panama Papers and Middle East Leaders’ Secret Bank Accounts

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – An anonymous source has handed over to a German newspaper massive amounts of data from the Panama-based, German-run law firm Mossack Fonseca. The firm specialized in providing clients with offshore accounts, which are typically used to avoid taxes or hide ill-gotten gains. Given the enormous problem […]

Arab World

After the Youth Revolts: Can the Arab Thug-ocracies ever be Reformed?

contributors

By Yezid Sayigh | (Project Syndicate) | – – WASHINGTON, DC – Experience across the Arab world demonstrates that when it comes to security-sector reform, technocratic approaches are inadequate. Simply put, a technocratic focus on upgrading skills and operational capability, in the absence of improved governance of the security services, can be easily subverted by […]

Authoritarianism

Turkey’s Erdogan: Democracy Has ‘Absolutely No Value Any Longer’ given war on PKK Terrorism

contributors

TeleSur | – – “Democracy Has ‘Absolutely No Value Any Longer’” The Turkish president made the comments in the context of the government’s fight against the Kurdish PKK resistance group. In the fight against the Kurdish insurgency in the country, there is no place left for democracy and freedom of speech in Turkey, President Recep […]