Democracy Lab Weekly Brief, June 1, 2012
Author Will Dobson, publisher of the new book The Dictator’s Learning Curve, talks to Christian Caryl about why the despots aren’t as dumb as you think. Thomas Miller learns why Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy believes he can bring the Arab Spring to Southeast Asia. Robert Looney explores Saudi Arabia’s efforts to wean itself off ...
Author Will Dobson, publisher of the new book The Dictator's Learning Curve, talks to Christian Caryl about why the despots aren't as dumb as you think.
Author Will Dobson, publisher of the new book The Dictator’s Learning Curve, talks to Christian Caryl about why the despots aren’t as dumb as you think.
Thomas Miller learns why Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy believes he can bring the Arab Spring to Southeast Asia.
Robert Looney explores Saudi Arabia’s efforts to wean itself off of dependence on oil – perhaps giving hope to other commodity-driven economies.
Min Zin reports on the organizational problems of the team behind Aung San Suu Kyi.
And Jeremy Flattau looks at the controversy surrounding a huge new infrastructure project in Kenya.
And this week’s recommended reads:
Torture in Burma: A new report from the human rights group ND-Burma examines abuses committed by the government over the past two years.
In AhramOnline, Hani Shukrallah explains why there’s more to Egypt’s election results than meets the eye.
Patrick Cockburn, writing for The Independent, offers a powerful analysis of the situation in Syria and scenarios for intervention. (An anti-regime protestor takes part in a demonstration in Tripoli, Libya, above.)
Richard Rousseau argues in Global Asia that stability in Afghanistan is actually highly dependent on security in Tajikistan, as al Qaeda forces frequently take refuge across the borders.
Al Qaeda operations continue to destabilize Yemen as well, in the months after the ouster of longtime president Saleh. Writing for the National Interest, Daniel R. DePetris analyzes the most recent suicide bombing against Yemeni soldiers as a sign that AQAP is actually becoming stronger than weaker.
Christian Science Monitor chronicles the aftermath of a coup in Mali, from separatism to Islamism and the threat of larger instability in West Africa.
The Jamestown Foundation finds that on-going instability in Ingushetia, a republic in the Russian North Caucasus neighboring Chechnya, indicates a larger uprising is at risk.
And an update on the activities of the Ukrainian opposition, provided by the Moscow Times.
More from Foreign Policy
At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment
Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.
How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China
As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.
What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal
Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.
Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust
Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.
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