Democracy and Governance

BY AUSTIN DAVIS US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has unchecked authority over thousands of people seeking asylum in the United States. The NAACP, among others, has also condemned Sessions’ history of “racist comments,” and he has spoken out on multiple occasions against asylum seekers as a group. So how has Sessions used his power? To […]

By AMITA ARUDPRAGASAM The United States and Europe have traditionally spent substantial financial and human resources to promote democracy. They fund workshops, research, and civil society organizations with the goal of promoting freedom of speech and association, free and fair elections, and the rule of law. While global democracy is not in peril, democracy promotion […]

The decision to support or reject the opposition in its appeals to AKP voters is bound up with its identity as the representative of official secularism, a reputation that has proved difficult to shake. The memory of the divisive 1970s and the terror-filled aftermath of the 1980 coup remains a deeply impactful force conditioning voter behavior. An understanding of these traumatizing years, which left few segments of society untouched, contextualizes the steep odds against which the opposition was forced to contend.

BY QUINTON MAYNE For many Americans, cities have become a beacon of hope. The can-do, eye-level politics of our city halls is increasingly viewed as an antidote to what seems like a culture of top-down, self-serving, and polarizing party politics inside the Beltway. An important question then is whether city leaders will live up to […]

Erdogan’s dominance in Turkish politics should not obscure the fact that the individual office holder rather than an ideologically-grounded bloc is now the fulcrum upon which Turkish politics shifts.

At Erdoğan’s election in 2002, he appeared to be the latest in a line of populists elected to office. Initially, his success seemed the result of an ability as an Islamist to appease the concerns of the secular establishment. The attempt by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to reimagine Turkish democracy for the 21st century took the form of a general push for constitutional reform.

In Turkey, generations of political leaders have used constitutional reform as an opportunity to set their political agenda and highlight their priorities. The 2017 referendum must be understood in the context of a democracy where voters have experienced successive constitutional reforms aimed at complementing the mission each new generation of leaders gives itself.

BY ASHLEY LEE Increasingly, we have come to think of digital platforms such as Facebook and Twitter as the public sphere, a place where citizens can freely discuss the issues of the day and engage with a diversity of opinions. However, the core business model of these companies—selling ads by harvesting the attention of targeted […]

Dr. Bruce Rutherford, Associate Professor of Political Science at Colgate University, sits down with JMEPP Editor Elissa Miller to discuss political developments in Egypt since the 2011 revolution, including the current state of political Islam and prospects for democratic change in the country. This talk is part of the Middle East Initiative’s Inside the Middle East Q&A series.

BY HAMADA ZAHAWI A year ago I was a part of a delegation from the Harvard Kennedy School competing in the Student Challenge at the World Government Summit in Dubai, UAE. Against twelve teams, we won with a pitch to incentivize civic engagement through citizen-government digital coins that directly activate the power of the people. […]

In our first story on this week’s episode we discuss the history of corruption charges against Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders. Next, we discuss the Turkish military’s attack on a Syrian convoy heading to reinforce YPG forces in Afrin. Finally, we discuss an underreported story of U.S. strikes killing hundreds of Russian mercenaries in Syria. If you want more information on any of these stories check out the articles we recommend below.

Although the Netanyahu administration has been roundly criticized for its brutal treatment of Palestinians, lack of commitment to the peace process, and flouting of international law, it might ironically be the more mundane charges of common graft that ultimately bring about the Prime Minister’s downfall.