This month’s vote will be the first conducted while Russia is involved in a major war, and Vladimir Putin is counting on a strong show of national unity and highlighting support in occupied Ukraine.

Syria’s Ba’athist regime has responded to widening pro-reform protests by tightening its crackdown, but this approach is unlikely to quiet restive Syrians like it has in the past, writes CFR’s Mohama…

In a major electoral comeback, Japan’s conservatives have won a supermajority in parliament. But the results have stirred anxieties about how they will use their power, says CFR’s Sheila Smith.