by The Iran Project Do Iran’s Presidential Elections Matter? Iranian presidents are sandwiched between the Supreme Leader (the ultimate decider),parliament, and the Guardian Council (the arbiter of law’s conformity with Islam). Together,these institutions have a direct say and exercise veto powers… Continue Reading
by Tatyana Ivanova In the face of demonstrations throughout the country that raise comparisons to the Ukrainian Euromaidan protests of 2014, Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko has ordered his security forces to “pick out” the organizers of protest actions “like raisins from… Continue Reading
by Noam Chomsky [This piece, the first of two parts, is excerpted from Noam Chomsky’s new book, Who Rules the World? (Metropolitan Books). Part 2 can read here.] When we ask “Who rules the world?” we commonly adopt the standard… Continue Reading
by Djavad Salehi-Isfahani Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has described Iran’s parliamentary election this Friday as critical, setting the course for years to come. It will certainly set the course for the rest of President Hassan Rouhani’s presidency, especially whether it… Continue Reading
by Thomas W. Lippman It hardly came as a surprise that the Saudi Arabian government budget for the upcoming fiscal year, approved by the cabinet the weekend after Christmas, projects a yawning deficit. Economic analysts knew it was coming; the… Continue Reading