Domestic Politics

The new Hong Kong security law also threatens the territory's prosperity and character, argues Maximiliaan van Lange in this op-ed.

20 June was a sad day for Georgian politics. It started with a political blunder, and ended in an orgy of rioting that left dozens injured.

Georgians must not allow debates between liberals and conservatives on social issues, important and vital as they are, to become new fault-lines within their society, argues Dennis Sammut in this week's Monday Commentary

The period of democratic transition is over, and a new phase, where the emphasis must be on state and democratic consolidation, has opened. The October 2016 Parliamentary elections in Georgia were not perfect, but they were the best the country ever had, and within the accepted international standards. Well organised, competitive and fair elections now need to become a habit, so that politicians and voters alike can focus on policies and substance.

In the end, what needs to be judged, is not the ability of a particular political party to push through constitutional changes, but the substance of these changes, and the process used to adopt them.

One can still see signs of the old politics in Georgia’s political campaigning, but they are the signs of a dying political culture that is slowly but surely making way to something much better, and much healthier. How the process will play out on election day itself - 8 October, will either seal this trend or reverse it.

The United States Ambassador to Georgia, Ian Kelly, this week was quoted as describing the campaign ahead of the 8 October parliamentary elections as "very good and exemplary". Indeed, those familiar with Georgia's election history are pleasantly surprised, but point out that there are two weeks of campaigning yet, and of course election day itself, and surprises cannot be excluded.

In this analysis of events in Turkey over the last days Dennis Sammut assesses the mood of a nation torn by mixed emotions, as the dust of the failed coup settles down