Dive into the archives.
- The Economist Still Opposes the Beijing Olympics
From John Micklethwait, Editor in Chief of The Economist:
In 2001 The Economist argued against the Olympic games being given to China, making unkind comparisons to the event in Berlin in 1936. Now that the games are about to begin, many people, not least in China, say we were wrong: the Olympics have helped the world’s [...]
- Pinochet v.s. Castro
The Washington Post has a great article about two former dictators dead or near death, Pinochet and Castro, and discusses the substantive differences between the two in a manner similar to how Kaplan (and myself) have approached the issue before:
A Dictator’s Double Standard
Augusto Pinochet tortured and murdered. His legacy is Latin America’s most successful country…
Like [...]
- Southern Italy Would Turn into Pakistan
The following is part of an email exchange between Chirol and a very close Italian friend. This friend worked at the polls in the recent referendum and had this additional information to add since microstates and devolution have been all the rage recently. The title of the post is a rather humorous comment from him [...]
- The Devolution Caravan Keeps Moving
Oh ye of little faith! Microstates are coming. In the Balkans, you could write it off as Yugoslav leftovers. In Spain, perhaps some legacy of the Spanish Civil War. Today it’s Scotland. And the trend is becoming clearer by the day. The only question is who’s next!
IJ pointed out the following. Looks like I missed [...]
- Post-Colonial Bosnia
Foreign Policy’s blog notes the next major change in the Balkans:
The End of Trusteeship?
Bosnia’s international supervisor, Christian Schwarz-Schilling, has announced that his position will self-destruct by mid-2007. After that time, he’ll merely be the EU’s special representative to Bosnia. The post of High Representative was created in late 1995 as part of the Dayton Accords. [...]
- Independence Inc.
Not long ago, I discussed the idea of a coming wave of microstates. One of the objections of some to independence for small areas like Kosovo or Abkhazia not to mention huge obstacles, is a lack of qualified people to run a new government. Montenegro, for example, was largely independent from Serbia before declaring official [...]
- Cutting out the Middle Man
Yesterday it was strength in numbers. Today it’s efficiency alone. It seems Montenegro may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Readers will surely have read by now that Catalonia has opted for yet more autonomy within Spain.
Catalans, Spaniards and Europeans all have reason to be proud of Sunday’s democratic decision to expand [...]
- The Coming Micro-States
The effects of Montenegro’s recent independence and Kosovo’s predicted independence are already rippling far beyond the Balkans. If Montenegro, a geographically small country of some 600,000 people, can achieve independence, why too shouldn’t others such as South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karbagh or Transdniestria? Podogorica’s precedent may have indeed set a dangerous precedent for oppressed minorities everywhere. A [...]
- A New Country is Born
First a note of caution. The margin of victory here is very slim, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see another Florida fiasco. However, unlike the last set of Balkan referendums, this one won’t be leading to civil war. But, it seems to have happened:
Montenegro Votes to Secede From Serbia
PODGORICA, Serbia-Montenegro — Montenegro voted [...]
- The Changing Face of the Balkans
On May 21st, Montenegro will hold a referendum on whether it should end its current union with Serbia. The question voters will answer with Yes/No is:
“Do you want Montenegro to be an independent state with full international recognition?”The numbers necessary of independence are that at least 55% must vote Yes, and turnout must be [...]
