By SERGEI GURIEV and DANIEL TREISMAN NY Times THE standard image of dictatorship is of a government sustained by violence. In 20th-century totalitarian systems, tyrants like Stalin, Hitler and Mao murdered millions in the name of outlandish ideologies. Strongmen like Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire left trails of blood. But in recent decades, a new…
The Washington Post By Katie Park, Kevin Schaul and Gene Thorp After Flight 17 was shot down in eastern Ukraine on July 17, the Federal Aviation Administration expanded an existing regulation that prohibited certain flights from operating in the region. The FAA regularly issues airspace restrictions and prohibitions for U.S. aircraft traveling through potentially hostile…
BI Foreign Policy magazine has released its annual ranking of the world’s least-stable countries, now known as the Fragile State Index. The rankings are based on 12 metrics, including access to public services, the prevalence of refugees and internally displaced persons, human rights, and the legitimacy of the state. It is no surprise that the Scandinavian…