Paul Salopek of National Geographic is an ambitious guy. In 2013 he began ‘Out of Eden‘, a journey to trace—on foot—the travels of humankind from our origins in Ethiopia to our last stop in South America. As much as Salopek’s trek is an odyssey through time, it is also a journey through space. Recently, Salopek traversed … Read more
Pakistan has seen too many coups to applaud when a man in uniform declares one. Yet Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s recent video proposing a coup to the people of Pakistan was met with acclaim. Unlike previous army takeovers, this one would involve no guns, uniforms, or military microfactions; rather, it would be purely cultural. Having launched his political … Read more
Disclosure: The author served as an intern for Narendra Modi’s office during the summer of 2013 and is the son of Piyush Goyal, a member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and national treasurer of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The world watches as 800 million eligible voters take to the polls in India, making the 2014 Lok … Read more
Roads, Riots, and Rabble-rousing: the World’s Largest Election Each time we turn the corner onto a different street in Ahmedabad, Gujarat’s largest city, my grandmother taps me on the shoulder. “Modi paved this road,” she says, every time. We were returning from a week in Mumbai, where we trundled through hours of traffic to relatives’ … Read more
Despite threats from the Taliban and fears of corruption, Afghanistan’s elections went forward without significant incident on April 5. With President Hamid Karzai constitutionally barred from seeking reelection, new candidates such as Abdullah Abdullah, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, and Zalmai Rassoul have been jockeying for position over the past several months. The election and ensuing transfer … Read more
BARI, Italy — 6 p.m. in the traffic-packed Italian city streets, all lit up in the fervent wait for Christmas. I’m sitting on the bus, the computer on my lap and earphones plugged in tight enough to cover the sound of two old ladies loudly arguing over whether cucumbers have gotten cheaper than radishes. As … Read more
India, the world’s largest democracy, is currently gripped by election fever. Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are set to win big, as popularity for the current governing party, the Indian National Congress (INC), is in steep decline. Yet, in the complex Indian political landscape, nothing is so simple. We will not know … Read more
It was 3 a.m. on April 5 when my parents called me from Afghanistan. Their first words were, “We voted today.” I could hear the excitement in their voices and the hope in the way they talked about the election. Just like my family, for many Afghans April 5, 2014 was the biggest day of … Read more
It was 3 a.m. on April 5 when my parents called me from Afghanistan. Their first words were, “We voted today.” I could hear the excitement in their voices and the hope in the way they talked about the election. Just like my family, for many Afghans April 5, 2014 was the biggest day of … Read more
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent time in office has not been without excitement. In addition to dismissing half of his cabinet during a corruption scandal in late 2013, Erdogan and his regime are now under close international scrutiny for preparing a “false flag operation,” an operation organized by one country under the guise of another. … Read more