Culture & Society 
The Political Economy of Development and Democratic Transitions in Kenya
By Cassandra R. Veney* and Paul Tiyambe Zeleza* Since the 1990s, Kenya, like most African countries, has undergone a protracted transition to democracy. There are arguably four watershed events in this story: 1992 when the first multiparty elections were held since Kenya had become a one-party state; 2002 when the 40 year reign of Kenya [...]
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International Development is Gay: How the New Policy Focus on LGBTI Rights Can Transform Development for the Better
by Rachel Bergenfield* “Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights,” proclaimed former Secretary of State Clinton in 2011. On the same day, President Obama directed all US agencies involved in foreign policy and development[i] to ensure that their work protects and promotes the human rights of LGBTI[ii] people, United Nations Secretary-General [...]
A License to Publish: Burma’s Insurance against a Free Press
By Rob Cuthbert On the surface, Rangoon is a city that is rotting from without. Significant civic investment has been on hiatus for 60 years. Architecturally, the Burmese government and its people have chosen to invest in interiors, rather than exteriors. The exterior of the high-rise I visited on a summer night in 2012 was [...]
Secular Autocracy vs. Sectarian Democracy? The Christian Predicament in the Syrian Uprising
Salma Mousa* “The demonstrators are nothing but terrorists,” said Archbishop Tabé of the Syrian Catholic Church, scarcely veiling his contempt. “In any political system, there are always 10% who have to be sacrificed.” Although hardcore Christian support is steadily waning, after a year of political crisis the majority of Christian leadership and laity alike [...]
More in this category
- Protesting the Assad regime: An Interview with Syrian writer, journalist, activist Samar Yazbek
- Completing Democracy: Women’s Rights in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya
- In the Name of Defense: How the Costs of Assisting the U.S. Arms Industry Outweigh the Benefits
- Brazil’s Trial of the Century
- Falklands – Assessing Military Preparedness
- Growing Up Cambodian: Childhood and Crisis Three Decades after the Khmer Rouge
