International Affairs Archives

Analyses

International Affairs

Twelve years after the Arab Springs occurred, the curtain is closing on what has been the only Arab democracy: the so-called Tunisian exception. On May 15, 2023, a Tunisian court sentenced opposition Party leader Rached Ghannouchi to one year of prison. His Islamist-inspired Ennahda was the largest force in Tunisian Parliament before Kais Saied dissolved it in July 2021 and started to rule by decree. Ghannouchi’s arrest seems to be part of a crackdown on political dissent that has become more acute since early 2023, but has started at least one year ago according to Andrew March

International Affairs
Poland Heading to the Polls: from the Wheat Crisis
to the Rise of the Far Right
Fabio Turco 8 May 2023

In six months’ time Polish electors who head to the polls to choose their new Parliament will be faced with a big decision: whether to confirm for the third time in a row the government mandate of the Conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) or attempt to bring about a change by putting their trust in the liberal and progressive forces that make up the heterogenous field of the Opposition
Human Rights, International Affairs
Identity and Violence: Abiy Ahmed’s Amhara genocide denial
Aster Carpanelli , Nicoletta Fagiolo 3 May 2023

Ethiopia under the Prosperity Party is a de facto one-party dictatorship and its regime seems to be reinforcing the ethnicity-based apartheid federalism
International Affairs
How Many Ambiguities in the Convenient Marriage
of European Right-wingers and Netanyahu
Claudia De Martino 23 April 2023
International Affairs
Rahul Gandhi’s Expulsion from Parliament:
Can Indian Democracy Recover?
Maria Tavernini 6 April 2023

The Congress leader’s disqualification comes after the banning of the BBC’s documentary on Narendra Modi and when the Prime Minister’s relationship to billionaire Gautam Adani is under scrutiny.
International Affairs, Society
Trying To Reset 12 Years of History in Tunisia
Federica Zoja 14 March 2023

Tunisia is undergoing an authoritarian pivot that seems to be taking back to a time before the Jasmine Revolution paved the way for democracy. It is not difficult to find those who recognize this trend, not only among President Kaïs Saied detractors but even among those who originally supported him. Very few, however, agree to do so in the light of day, putting their name and face to it. Once again, it’s a time for “prudence,” “risk calculation,” “always better to avoid,” because the risks of retaliation even for one’s own family members are real. Reset DOC talks with Tunisian intellectuals, Amel Grami and Zyed Krichen to gauge moods and anxieties over the future of their country in view of the instauration of the Assembly on March 15th.
International Affairs, Society
The Turkish Malaise: Cengiz Aktar on What has Led Turkey Down a Dark Path
Sofia de Benedictis 6 March 2023

On February 6th, two devasting earthquakes left officially over 45 thousand dead in Turkey while the actual figure is estimated to be three to four times higher. This year Turkey is marking 100 years since the founding of the Republic in 1923 and in his most recent essay, The Turkish Malaise, Cengiz Aktar, argues that a combination of factors have led to its current sorry state, which first and foremost is due to the fact that modern Turkey has never faced the sins of its past, and ignoring them has led to Erdogan’s swing towards totalitarianism and kleptocracy over the last 10 years.
Human Rights, International Affairs
Israeli West Bank Occupation at a breaking point:
National Security Minister Ben Gvir’s Endgame
Claudia De Martino 16 January 2023

The Supreme Court’s affaire is diverting the public opinion from a plan that may bring about a breakthrough: the final blow to the “two States-solution”.
International Affairs
Basque Separatists Find New Voice in Spanish National Politics
Andrea Walton 3 January 2023

In the first coalition government in the history of modern Spain that does not rely on a stable parliamentary majority, the role of regional parties has significantly increased and so has the role of municipal and regional elections; the next ones are in May 2023 to be followed by general elections later in the year. On May 28, 2023, there will also be the Basque foral elections, in the autonomous community historically divided between separatist and nationalist forces.
International Affairs
As Tunisia Heads to the Polls, Saied Risks more than He Thinks
Federica Zoja 15 December 2022

As Tunisians head to the polls on Saturday the 17th of December, more is at stake than just the revival of the Tunisian Assembly, suspended since July of last year. Kais Saied may see his presidency in jeopardy if conditions do not soon improve in the country.