Latest Articles
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Yemen: An Aborted Democratic Dream
This report analyses the challenges in Yemen which has for fourteen years suffered from the problem of aborted democratization. This is aggravated by acute and continuous state failure. After a discussion of state fragility since the popular uprising of 2011, the report outlines what is needed in Yemen. This includes a process of national reconciliation…
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The UN’s Moment of Truth
The United Nations is being defunded in the middle of a crisis it was built to prevent. I have watched the United Nations do what no other institution could. As UN Resident Co-ordinator in Viet Nam, I saw the organisation convene the government, agencies and civil society around HIV/AIDS prevention when no bilateral actor had…
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A New Syria in a ‘New Middle East’: Challenges and Opportunities for Democratization
This report seeks to chart the political transition and the prospects for pluralist, if not democratic, rule in a situation that remains very much in flux since the fall of the Assad regime in Syria in December 2024. Profound changes in Syria, spearheaded by President (of the Transitional Phase) Ahmed Al-Sharaa and his government, unfold…
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Imagery, Algorithms, and the Ballot: What Takaichi’s Victory Says About Youth Politics in the Digital Age
Sanae Takaichi’s electoral victory in February marks a historic turning point in Japanese politics. As Japan’s first female prime minister and the leader of a commanding parliamentary majority, she represents change in both symbolic and strategic terms. Conventional wisdom long held that younger Japanese voters leaned progressive, were sceptical of assertive security policies, and disengaged…
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Lebanon’s Democratization: The Impasse of Political Parties Reform
This report focuses on the impasse of legal and political reform in Lebanon, with special reference to political parties. It examines some of the chief challenges Lebanon’s political parties face in a fragile and sectarian political system. In particular, how do the obstacles to reforming political parties limit the prospect of genuine democratization? It addresses…
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