February 12, 2019
United StatesChances are you haven’t heard of Andrew Yang even though he’s been running for president for more than a year now. By any objective standard, he is the longest of long shots. He has never held politi…
February 11, 2019
Southeast AsiaAs I summarized in a blog post last week, Thailand has in recent days seen some of its most dramatic political developments in decades. After days of rumors, one of the pro-Thaksin Shinawatra parties…
February 11, 2019
United StatesGovernment prosecutors often have political ambitions. The list of prosecutors who became mayor (think Rudy Guiliani) or governor (think Chris Christie) is long. But the last president to have any ex…
February 8, 2019
Democratic Republic of CongoIn the daily Africa in Transition blog, on February 6, 2019, Ambassador Michelle Gavin, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations Africa Program, harshly criticized the United States government’s policy toward the December 2018 presidential election in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
February 8, 2019
Southeast AsiaIn the run-up to Thailand’s elections on March 24, Thailand’s ruling junta initially seemed to have set the stage for the military and its allies to maintain power, one way or another, over the count…
February 3, 2019
United StatesIn case you haven’t been counting, the Iowa presidential caucuses are now exactly one year away. Seven Democrats—Cory Booker, Julián Castro, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Marianne Willi…
January 14, 2019
Democratic Republic of CongoThe Democratic Republic of the Congo’s complicated and long-delayed elections ended with a surprise twist. Right now, it appears that Tshisekedi owes his victory to Kabila and the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy. That loss of connective tissue to the citizens of the country distorts accountability in ways unlikely to deliver the relief from predatory governance that the Congolese people crave.
January 9, 2019
TurkeyErdogan promises to finish America's fight against the Islamic State, but it's the Kurds that he's out to destroy.
January 7, 2019
TogoThe past few months have not been comforting for advocates of dynastic succession in Africa. In Togo and Gabon, favorite sons have become focal points for popular frustration.
May 1, 2017
Southeast AsiaOver the weekend, the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations held the Thirtieth ASEAN Summit, in Manila—the Philippines is the chair of ASEAN this year. As has become usual, much of …