Ceren Courtesy: BBC
27 June 2014

El Salvador’s new president

The election of Salvador Sanchez Ceren, a leftist ex-guerilla fighter, as president of El Salvador, is a reflection of the maturity and inclusiveness of the Latin American democracies. With his compassionate and pro-poor policies, Ceren has the vision and compassion needed to reduce poverty and break the vicious cycle of crime and violence which has paralysed El Salvador

bhutan1 Courtesy: MEA
18 June 2014

Gross regional happiness

Economic security needs to be defined holistically through an open and democratic discourse. A plurality of perspectives on what constitutes development is essential to democracy across the world. Grass roots protests are driven by a longing for a truly inclusive and fair model of growth.

Jacob Zuma Courtesy: GovernmentZA/Flickr
15 May 2014

Polls in South Africa: lack of choices

The African National Congress has swept the polls in South Africa but high unemployment, violent labour strikes and allegations of crony capitalism has seen an erosion of the ANC’s support base among the black middle class voters whose backing the ANC has traditionally enjoyed

The battle for Benaras & Bihar
8 May 2014

The battle for Benaras & Bihar

Be it Benaras which is gearing up for the most crucial battle between BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and the Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal, or Bihar and U.P. where people are yearning for the ‘Gujarat model’, this election is focusing on some of the substantive issues that impact India

rajni's blog Courtesy:
28 April 2014

Elections: citizens’ initiatives

Elections in India have long inspired a wide variety of citizens’ initiatives aimed at making the electoral process more free, fair and democratic. These initiatives during the 2014 general elections are giving voters not just a chance to be better informed, but also more deeply engaged with the process

modisharif Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
10 April 2014

Elections: a view from Pakistan

Preoccupied with Pakistan’s internal politics, the media has shown little interest in the Indian elections. Nor has the Pakistani establishment expressed concerns about Modi’s ascendancy. But the relationship between Indian Muslims and the BJP led government – if it comes to power – will be a concern for Pakistan

leftlatam Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
8 April 2014

The Left surge in Latin America

Latin America continues to turn to the Left. Michelle Bachelet became president of Chile in March and has promised fiscal reform; Salvador Sanchez Ceren took over as president of El Salvador in June and will tackle inequality; and in Costa Rica too, the centre-left Luis Guillermo Solis assumed power