Alexander Sodiqov, a University of Toronto PhD candidate, was detained on June 16 by the Tajik KGB while he was conducting academic research in the country’s Gorno-Badakhshan province. His arrest has sent shockwaves through academic communities in Europe and North America.
Since Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe in 2001, the country's grim human rights record has only become worse. The Council's and EU's ambiguous reactions to the October 9 presidential election raise new questions about Europe's role in Azerbaijan's transition to democracy.
The crackdown on Turkish protesters and Prime Minister Erdogan's refusal to accept the demonstrations as legitimate represent another deviation from the country's fragile commitment to democracy. But this may also offer a new hope for the leftist opposition in Turkey - will they take it?
Ahead of a presidential election scheduled in October, a profile of Azerbaijan; its political and economic challenges, and some potential solutions.
The 2004 Annan Plan to re-unite the island failed spectacularly; but within the current economic crisis there is room for reconciliation in Cyprus.
Why does Turkey need a new constitution and what makes it so difficult to draft one?
International observers have always nurtured mixed feelings towards Recep Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister: is he a resolute champion of democratisation, or an Islamist with hidden authoritarian tendencies? The answer might have less to do with his personal traits than with the system he operat
As Prime Minister Recep Erdogan's Justice and Development Party celebrates one decade of power, Turkey looks back with satisfaction on the journey travelled. But big mountains still loom ahead for Erdogan and his government.
