Since its withdrawal from the USSR, Kazakhstan maintains an authoritative political leadership, where President Nazarbayev, his trusted "inner-circle," and the stalwarts of the Nur Otan party effectively rule the country. Opposition political parties are weak and disorganized, and their leaders are ...
Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union from 1936 to 1991. During this period, it was governed as the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. In December 1986, mass demonstrations by young ethnic Kazakhs took place in Almaty to protest Moscow's appointment of a non-Kazakh leader, signaling growing ...
Furthermore, in a2022 national referendum, the first since 1995, a solid majority of voters approvedamendments to the Constitutionthat decentralised decision-making, among other major changes. The constitutional reforms, affecting one third of the main law, tran...
Turning to the Middle East and North Africa, the roster for December includes an update onEgyptand fully revised reports on theUnited Arab EmiratesandKuwait, where gains for opposition candidates at parliamentary elections held last month figure to reinforce the chronic dysfunction that has characterize...
On Saturday the Syrian opposition called for postponing the negotiations until March 20 due to "ceasefire violations," and in response opposition delegate Osama Abu Zaid tweeted that the opposition will not attend. The sum of these factors indicates that the path toward a political solution still ...
The Syrian National Dialogue Congress, proposed by Moscow in late October at Astana talks in Kazakhstan for Syrian settlement, is expected to bring together opposition and pro-government forces, as well as representatives of all Syrian ethnic and religious groups to work for the peace process in ...
Although Modernization Theory has had a significant impact, it has not been immune to criticism and opposition from alternative theories of development, including dependency, world systems, and neo-Marxist theories. Modernization Theory offers a framework for comprehending the shift from traditional to ...
A 2009 referendum removed presidential term limits, and opposition in the country has been effectively suppressed. Elections routinely return overwhelming majorities for the president and his ruling party, leaving little doubt of the regime's strength (Bedford and Vinatier 2019; LaPorte 2015; Pearce ...
Political and economic life is highly centralized around the presidency—first held by Heydar Aliyev, who assumed office in 1993 and served until 2003, when he was succeeded by his son, Ilham Aliyev, who remains in power today. Given the restrictions on political opposition and civil society, ...
The liberal opposition that was very small before the war has been silenced or disappeared into self-imposed exile. The only political faction that is active are the war hawks who are demanding the continuation and expansion of the war. As the Russian army is getting cannibalized, hundreds of...