The killing of Ahmed Wali Karzai, the half-brother of Afghan President Ahmed Karzai, was a shocking development -- even for Afghanistan, a country steeped in tragedy. But experts are unsure whether it will have a lasting impact on political developments.
With their country torn by ethnic strife and experiencing wrenching political change, it’s understandable why many older Kyrgyzstanis sometimes feel nostalgic for the relative comforts of the Soviet era. By tapping into a sense of loss and longing, Kyrgyzstan’s remaining Communists have been able to maintain a loyal, but small following.
Georgia leads all countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia in the money it spends on lobbyists in Washington, DC, according to a review of US government records.
An attempt to screen Azerbaijani short films in the Armenian capital of Yerevan has failed, blocked in large part by a blitz of opposition spread by social networking websites. But the organizers say they are undaunted and will try to go ahead with the film festival at a later date.
Casting an anxious eye on events in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan is carrying out a fresh drive to promote ethnic harmony. President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who prides himself on presiding over an era of ethnic accord in multicultural Kazakhstan, is leading the campaign.
With just over two weeks to go for Azerbaijan’s November 7 parliamentary vote, a race that pits Baku State University’s prominent rector against a onetime law professor is proving a test case for the maxim that a little education is a dangerous thing.
A proposed new constitution for Georgia, expected to be approved by parliament this month, is feeding speculation about the political motives of President Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration. Saakashvili and his allies insist the new constitution would enhance Georgia’s system of checks and balances. But critics contend that the president is trying to rig the political system in his favor.
Inside the United Nations’ Kabul offices, senior officials have coined a phrase for how they are approaching Afghanistan’s September 18 parliamentary elections and the ongoing vote count: “constructive ambiguity.” The term, critics of the UN’s stance say, indicates that the organization is giving up on the Afghan democratization process.
With a parliamentary vote just under six weeks away, Azerbaijan’s two largest opposition parties, the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan and the Musavat Party, are exploring the possibility of a merger.
