GIS Feature

Long before Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was forced to step down in April 2019, it was clear that the crony oligarchy he fronted for – known to ordinary Algerians as “the system” – could not last. If the wheelchair-bound leader looked moribund after a series of strokes, so did the country's ...

Mozambique seemed to have it all. Its economy took off after a long and bloody civil war ended in 1992, accelerating further after discoveries of vast natural gas and oil reserves in 2010-2012 prompted the government to liberalize the energy sector. Yet the country’s rags-to-riches scenario has yet to materialize, ...

Political elites around the world are calling for higher taxes, as well as more centralized, unified systems to ensure as much as possible is collected. Yet populations are increasingly raising the alarm about overly complex or onerous taxes. For years, GIS experts have explained why moves toward higher tax burdens ...

Corruption can be a catalyst for political change, as in Latin America, or the basis of a rent-seeking regime, as in Russia. But in rare instances, it can also affect the ebb and flow of global geopolitics. This is clearly evident on the rim of the former Soviet Union, where ...

France used to be one of the European Union’s “twin engines” along with Germany. These days, this once-proud civilization is considered more of a problem than a solution for the European project. Its economy is ailing under excessive government spending and overregulation, its enterprises are stifled by a rigid system ...

Since coming to office in 2014, Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi has offered his country a mixed bag. He has brought stability and economic growth but cracked down on political opposition and dissident voices. Shunned by the West at first, he turned to Russia for support. Now, with a new administration ...

While corruption has spurred political change in Latin America, it remains the basic currency of power in many other parts of the world. This is particularly evident in post-communist regimes like Russia, where private fortunes can be amassed and confiscated at the whim of a tiny elite. This appropriation of ...

Early in this century, the U.S. unexpectedly moved from being a major natural gas importer to a significant exporter and changed its energy consumption to a more environment-friendly mix. It all happened due to its development of shale gas production. The world’s two other major gas markets – Europe and ...