regime change

Nicaragua is a cautionary tale for those who see history trending toward democratic governance. President Daniel Ortega has subverted the country’s institutions to create a personalist, authoritarian regime. Now, after the cutoff of oil-based aid from Venezuela, he is relying on guile and bloodshed to stay in power.

The fall of President Omar al-Bashir in Sudan can be seen as the demise of just another African strongman. Yet in a large state divided along complex ethnic, religious and political lines, his personalized tyranny made political stability possible. Now that is gone and an internationally mediated transition agreement is ...

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 ...

Nursultan Nazarbayev ruled Kazakhstan in patriarchal fashion since 1990 and is widely regarded as one of the ablest politicians in the post-Soviet sphere, winning respect even from his powerful neighbor, Vladimir Putin. Now that the moment has come to hand over presidential power, it appears that he has prepared with ...