The Threat to Democracy Runs Deep, But Mathematics Could Address the Abominable State of Representation and Voting
In November 1990, an election took place in Bosnia, my home country, that changed the…
Read MoreIn November 1990, an election took place in Bosnia, my home country, that changed the…
Read MoreWhen all you have left is a drone, every problem looks like collateral damage.
Read MoreSo what should we do now? Nothing.
Read MoreMuch of the coverage of Turkey can be politely described as ‘trampoline journalism’—bounce into Taksim and bounce out. What I saw in Istanbul didn’t match the feverish descriptions that made it even onto the BBC or that clogged up my Twitter feed. More relevant to me, almost no one was interested in hearing from religious Turks. So I went ahead and talked to them.
Read MoreBut the demand for hierarchy has a larger impact on politics. In Bill Clinton’s often-quoted words: “When times are uncertain, the American people would rather have a leader who is wrong but strong than one who is right but weak.” Just as the father must rule to keep the home in order, and the Father in Heaven must be obeyed to keep the universe in order, so the “great white father” in the White House must have firm control to keep order in the political realm.
Read MoreIn the Muslim world, pluralism collides with democracy and sovereignty, which is far more interesting and alarming than the battle lines we’ve imposed on the Middle East—of secularists versus Islamists, of free-thinking liberals versus religious autocrats.
Read MoreHow dare they pick the Muslim version of me?
Read MoreAssuming religious politics will play a significant role in the new government after the elections, will it be radical, moderate, or just the familiar gridlock experienced by most democracies?
Read MoreRemembering the leader of the “Velvet Revolution” through his writings.
Read MoreWhat the anxious West has failed to recognize in the Arab Spring is that the political transformations of the Middle East are the coming of age of a new Islamism.
Read More