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Erdogan Inaugurated as Turkey’s First Executive President Amid Concerns of One-Man Rule
Posted on: 10 Jul 2018
Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in as Turkey’s first executive president after winning elections last month. On June 24, over 50 million Turkish citizens went to the polls to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections. According to the Supreme Election Council (YSK), incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan emerged victorious by securing 52.59 percent of the vote. Runner-ups Muharrem Ince and Selahattin Demirtas trailed behind at 30.6 and 8.4 percent, respectively. Recep Tayyip Erdogan is slated to continue his nearly 16-year reign by assuming a newly created role of executive president. Securing…
Clashes in Congo’s Kasai Spark Fears of Genocide
Posted on: 09 Jul 2018
A recent upsurge in violence throughout Kasai, a southwestern province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, may lead to genocide, warn U.N. torture investigators. Warring Congolese insurgents and government troops have been engaging in acts of mutilation, rape, and mass killings at an unprecedented scale. International observers have drawn parallels with the most gruesome of ethnic clashes around the world. My greatest concern is that what we are witnessing today may be only the prelude of what is still to come. In my view, Kasai already today bears the signature…
Polish Parliament Votes To Revise A Controversial Holocaust Speech Law
Posted on: 28 Jun 2018
On June 27, Poland’s parliament voted to amend a controversial Holocaust speech bill signed into law by President Andrzej Duda in February. The law, initiated by the ruling Law and Justice Party, would make implicating Poland in the World War II atrocities a criminal offense punishable by jail time. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki surprised the world – and his own Law and Justice Party – by supporting the rescinding of the imprisonment clause of the legislation. Mateusz’s move has been hailed as a response to widespread criticism emanating from nations…
Dutch Parliament Passes Partial Burqa Ban
Posted on: 28 Jun 2018
Far-right Dutch politician and anti-Islamic activist Geert Wilders, whose Freedom Party lost the 2017 general elections by a sizable margin, has recently emerged victorious over a bitter legislative battle regarding burqas. On June 26, the Dutch Senate voted in favor of a partial ban on face veils. Wilders was quick to shower the decision with praise on his Twitter page. “Finally, 13 years after a majority in the Dutch Parliament voted in favor of my motion to ban the burqa, it became law yesterday!” he stated, including the hashtags #stopislam…
Winners And Losers From Tuesday’s Primaries
Posted on: 28 Jun 2018
Voters in seven states headed to the polls on Tuesday, deciding on candidates to represent their party in the 2018 midterms. Primary ballots cast across New York, Mississippi, Colorado, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah would upend politics as usual and provide early cues into how the general elections might unfold come November. As the nation still processes results from last night, here are some early takeaways on what went down. Winner: The Progressive Movement A ten-term New York incumbent Joe Crowley, whose 14th congressional district includes the eastern Bronx…
