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Archives: Democracy

Can Iran keep its Influence in Baghdad?

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - Iran wants to reunite the fighting Shiite Muslim political parties in Iraq that once gave it unconditional support. But that job is far…

Arabs, Thomas Friedman and the “iron fist”

By Brian Whitaker | ( Al-Bab.com) Writing about conflicts in the Middle East for the New York Times yesterday, columnist Thomas Friedman talked of "the power that is lost to a society…

Trump’s ‘Election Integrity’ Commission Hearkens Back to Jim Crow

By Diallo Brooks | (Otherwords.org) | - - Politicians have stolen our right to vote before. They'll do it again if they get the chance. Joseph Cox watched his friends and neighbors…

Iraq’s Next Elections will be the most Important in its History

Mustafa Habib. | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - In Iraq, larger political parties disagree on everything except maintaining the status quo: Parliament just passed a law that will badly affect the…

Guess What Iraq’s Biggest Problem Really Is

By Pamela Abbott, Andrea Teti and Kevin M. DeJesus | (The Conversation) | - - With the defeat of the so-called Islamic State (IS) on the battlefield looking imminent, Iraq is confronting…

How our Intel Agencies Screwed us by Letting Sessions, Trumpies get away with Russia Scheme

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima and Greg Miller at WaPo report from a US intelligence source that former Russian ambassador to the US, Sergei…

Morocco’s Rif Revolt: Only a Democratic Response is Sufficient

By Hsain Ilahiane | (Informed Comment) | - - Since October 2016, the Berbers (Imazighen) of the Rif, a region on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, have been carrying out one of…

Who are the Trumps’ Russian Fixers? Meet Rinat Akhmetshin

By Mike Eckel | ( RFE/RL) | - - WASHINGTON -- As recently as last year, Rinat Akhmetshin could be seen regularly pedaling through downtown Washington, D.C., nattily dressed, with a pocket…

Session on Harris’s Questions re: Russia: “It makes me Nervous”

Sessions on Harris’s Questions re: Russia: “It makes me Nervous”

TeleSur | - - Sessions' testimony did not provide any damaging new information on alleged Trump campaign ties with Russia. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday denounced as a "detestable lie" the…

Is Rouhani’s Reelection a step toward Democracy for Iran?

Ebrahim Deen | (Informed Comment) | - - Hassan Rouhani’s victory in Last Friday’s Iranian presidential election, by a large majority, portents a continuation of the country’s path toward global reengagement, both…

Thousands protest against Trump in ‘hellhole’ Brussels

EurActiv.com | - - Thousands of protesters carrying effigies of Donald Trump marched through Brussels on Wednesday (24 May) after the US president arrived for talks with the EU and NATO.“Trump not…

Rouhani’s win a Victory for Reform, will Trump waste Opportunity?

By Shahram Akbarzadeh | (Informed Comment) | - - In Iran's election, Hassan Rouhani’s re-election was not a forgone conclusion. Criticism of Rouhani’s performance focused on growing unemployment, as the economy was…

The Iranian Election: It’s the Economy, Stupid!

By Stella Morgana | The Conversation | - - On May 19, Iranians will choose their next president and determine what direction the country will take. The race has become tighter now…

Iran Election: Rouhani charges Rivals are ‘Executioners & Jailers’ in Risky Move

By Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL ) | - - Less than two weeks before voting in Iran's presidential election, incumbent Hassan Rohani has risked crossing the political establishment's "red lines" in…

Iran: Will Voters’ Economic Gloom Doom Rouhani’s Reelection Bid?

By Nader Habibi | (The Conversation) | - - Markets breathed a collective sigh of relief after Emmanuel Macron won the French presidency. But there’s another vote this month that’s just as…

No Woman Has Ever Run For Iranian President. Will Azam Taleghani Be The First?

By Golnaz Esfandiari. | ( RFE/RL) | - - Update: Ms. Taleghani has been disqualified. Her journey is still amszing. On April 14, a tiny, frail-looking woman wearing a chador and using…

Can a New Era of Progressive Protest Revolutionize our values in Age of Trump?

By Ira Chernus | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | - - You could hear the deep sadness in the preacher’s voice as he named “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today --…

Is the Public turning on Trump over Russia Ties, Sessions’ Perjury?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Americans have become deeply concerned about Russia. Some 75% of them see it as a very or moderately serious threat. This, according to…

Reflections by a Middle Easterner on the Electoral College as a Remnant of Elite Tribalism

By Hsain Ilahiane | (Informed Comment) | - - The Founding Fathers wrote the electoral college in the United States Constitution. In late summer 2004, I became a naturalized United States citizen…

5 Surprising Signs of Positive Change in 2016

Sarah van Gelder | (Yes! Magazine) The election divided the year into “before” and “after.” But there remain signs of hope for 2017. It was a year blown up by the election…