Control over people's lives is shifting beyond the grasp of traditional institutions. Democracy is embraced as a vision, but can be endlessly frustrated or disappointing in practice.
The Republican system
The career of disgraced super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff is a lesson in the debasement of the Republican political machine and the culmination of the post-1994 "revolution" it proclaimed, says Sidney Blumenthal.
Zimbabwe reforms bite government where it hurts
The Zimbabwean reports that while the government extends its disastrous economic reforms, its own power base in the security forces is weakening through discontent and hardship.
Bulgaria's red mafia on Europe's trail
The experience of the veteran dissident and lawyer Yanko Yankov shows that Bulgaria's communist inheritance is still damaging the country, writes Ilija Trojanow.
Mongolia's democratic puzzle
Is the unexpected political convulsion in Mongolia evidence of democracy’s strength or weakness in the peaceful, post-communist republic? Guido Verboom reports from the capital, Ulaanbaatar.
China's search for justice: the story of Zhang Zhao'an
The struggle of an accident victim has turned into a long march through China’s new institutions of power and cultures of corruption, reports Jemima Streeten in Beijing.
Eritrea vs Ethiopia: the shadow of war
The Horn of Africa is on the brink of another devastating war. If it occurs, the blame will be widely shared, says Edward Denison.
Ukraine vs Russia: the politics of an energy crisis
The bitter gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine reveals the stark difference in the character of the two states. The European Union should take note, says Alexander Motyl.
Failed states or weak democracies? The state in Latin America
The concepts of fragile, failed or collapsed states are usually applied to states where the principles of territorial unity, legitimate monopoly over the use of force and constitutional law do not apply – among them many countries of sub-Saharan Africa, or Afghanistan. Latin America, however, is only rarely included in these analyses of fragility.
Chile's new era
The victory of Michelle Bachelet in the second-round of Chile’s presidential election on Sunday 15 January was in the end decisive. The result – Bachelet received 53.45% of the vote against 46.5% for her rival, Sebastián Piñera – confirmed opinion-poll predictions and the voters’ own forecasts.
Michelle Bachelet's triumph
Michelle Bachelet, the 54-year-old paediatrician who once described herself as incarnating “all the capital sins: socialist, my father’s daughter, divorced and an agnostic”, is set to become Chile’s first woman president after winning 53.45% of the vote in the 15 January run-off election.
Votes are counted quickly and transparently in Chile. When Bachelet’s victory was confirmed at 6.30pm on Sunday, all over Chile her supporters poured onto streets and plazas to celebrate. Improvised motor cavalcades formed with flags flowing from car windows and horns blasting. Thousands of women donned presidential ribbons to mark their collective victory. By 7.00pm, Bachelet’s contender, billionaire businessman Sebastian Piñera, had graciously conceded defeat.
Hosni Mubarak: what the pharaoh is like
After twenty-five years in power Egypt’s president remains a sphinx to his people, says Tarek Osman.
A question of class
The resentment of western elites’ addiction to material excess amidst oceans of deprivation must be addressed if it is not to turn toxic, says KA Dilday.
The state of Nigerian democracy
West Africa’s oil-rich giant is convulsed over the president’s plans to run for a third term in office. Ron Singer maps the debates among political and civil-society activists who are asking if Nigerians can escape from the legacy of “one-man democracy”.
Learning from Aceh
The tsunami’s devastation fuelled the peace process in Aceh, but the people of the disputed Indonesian province need the world’s help to consolidate their fragile gains, says Michael Renner of the Worldwatch Institute.
Liberians' payback hour
The opportunities for Liberia’s people to benefit from a revivified democracy depend on the success of an ambitious aid and monitoring programme, reports Katharine Houreld in Monrovia.
This week's editor
Europe from the bottom up
European debate
Democratic Wealth
Nuclear non-proliferation
oDRussia at journalismfestival .com
Mali - the plot thickens
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Remote control war
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Conference coverage from 50.50
Articles exploring the themes of the fourth international Nobel Women's Initiative conference May 28-31. Jennifer Allsopp and Heather McRobie will be reporting for 5050
Articles exploring the themes of the fourth international Nobel Women's Initiative conference May 28-31. Jennifer Allsopp and Heather McRobie will be reporting for 5050
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Dan Hancox Revel, Riot and Rebellion
Martin Rose Bliss Was It in that Dawn to Be Next Door
Vron Ware Up in Arms
Jim Gabour Sunday Comics
James Warner Standing Perpendicular, as books do
Markha Valenta Inter Alia: religion, politics, culture
Paul Rogers on Global security
Mary Kaldor on Human security
