The revelation that modern Turkey continues secretly to classify its citizens according to religious criteria reflects the weight of the Ottoman past. It also has implications for those in the middle east seeking a state based on equality before law, says Vicken Cheterian.
Syria's internal stalemate and the wider regional standoff make a political settlement ever more remote. But the military trends are going the jihadist paramilitaries' way.
Paraguayans' resentment of their giant neighbour draws on both long memories and modern inequities. A shady new president may fuel not dampen it, says Andrew Nickson.
The Yemen-related security alert that has led to a western diplomatic shutdown in the middle east and north Africa highlights an enduring feature of the United States's jihadist adversary.
The promotion of an army general accused of complicity in human-rights violations raises a wider question about the military's role in Argentina's political life, say Federico Finchelstein & Fabian Bosoer.
Attacks on Cecile Kyenge, Italy’s first black minister, reveal interlocked legacies of xenophobia and sexism that continue to manifest in Italian public life.
The military's deposition of Egypt's elected president has been welcomed by the Muslim Brotherhood's liberal opponents. This is a historic error that carries big costs and risks, says Khaled Hroub.
The hope for progress in the core middle-east dispute arises at the very time when a new Iranian president tests Israel's unyielding stance on nuclear security.
Xiaoyu Pu responds to strong arguments from David Schlesinger and Hugh Shapiro who have both challenged Pu's views on whether China could one day be a normative power. A contribution to the openGlobalRights debate on Emerging Powers and Human Rights.
The 90th birthday of General Jaruzelski, the military figure who imposed martial law in Poland in 1981, was marked by a flurry of backward-looking, politicised debate. A pity, says Krzysztof Bobinski, for the experience of those times offers potential lessons to many regions around the world.
Edward Snowden's non-journey to Bolivia is worthy of a John Le Carré novel, says Goran Fejic, who offers a hypothetical plot.
