Foreign Policy has a great article on the protests that are occurring all over the world. It draws on the common themes among these protests. All protests, however, are profoundly local–what is astonishing is how many societies are facing the same problems. The problem is clearly one of governance, and how leaders are failing to discharge their duties to their citizens.
Afghanistan’s elections are scheduled for April, and the results of that election will be critically important. The current President, Karzai, has refused to reach an agreement with the US about whether US non-combat military forces can remain in the country after NATO pulls its forces out in December. Both Karzai and the US have agreed to let the next president make that decision. But the Taliban has threatened to use “all force” to disrupt the elections which may make the final resolution of the dispute impossible.
Former guerrilla leader, Salvador Sanchez Ceren, has won the presidential election in El Salvador. Sanchez Ceren was one of the leaders of the rebel group that fought several US-backed governments in El Salvador in the 1980-92 civil war. It was a very close election, and we should all hope that the political situation in El Salvador does not deteriorate: the rhetoric surrounding this election has been very intense.
World Politics News 
Leave a comment