| | | | Saudi Arabia's Big Promise | | The past three decades don't reflect the real Saudi Arabia. It's time to "destroy" extremist thoughts in the country, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has suggested, reports The Guardian's Martin Chulov.
"The comments were made as the heir of the incumbent monarch moves to consolidate his authority, sidelining clerics whom he believes have failed to support him and demanding unquestioning loyalty from senior officials whom he has entrusted to drive a 15-year reform program that aims to overhaul most aspects of life in Saudi Arabia," Chulov says.
"Central to the reforms has been the breaking of an alliance between hardline clerics who have long defined the national character and the House of Saud, which has run affairs of state. The changes have tackled head-on societal taboos, such as a ban on women driving, scaling back guardianship laws that restrict women's roles and establishing an Islamic center tasked with certifying the sayings of the Prophet Mohammed." - Not so fast? "The risk here is that you can't just throw away the old fundamentals of support of the kingdom. It's like jumping off one train that's still moving and trying to get on another one," Bloomberg quotes Kamran Bokhari, a senior analyst with Geopolitical Futures, as warning.
"The political system of the kingdom is dependent on the religious establishment."
| | The Importance of "Xi Jinping Thought" | | The decision Tuesday to enshrine "Xi Jinping Thought" in the Chinese Communist Party's constitution has officially elevated the current president to a level not seen since Mao Zedong. But what does that mean in practice? The New York Times' Chris Buckley explains:
"The historic decision bolsters President Xi's political position as China's most powerful leader in decades, and makes it harder for rivals to challenge him and his policies."
"Mr. Xi's vision of a resurgent China will now permeate all party indoctrination in schools, the media and government agencies. With the conclusion of the congress, the party and the Chinese news media will begin a national drive to promote its decisions, and especially the elevation of Mr. Xi."
| | The New Populism: It's Really Not About the Economy, Stupid | | | Electoral developments in two countries in the past week -- an election win for a billionaire in the Czech Republic and the announcement of a coalition in New Zealand – should be the final nails in the coffin of a misconception about the new populism, suggests Tyler Cowen for Bloomberg View. It's no longer about the economy, stupid. From Ethiopia to Poland to the Philippines, it is "time to admit that the nationalist turn in global politics isn't mainly about economics or economic failures," Cowen writes. "Instead, the intellectual and ideological and cultural battles in some countries have led to these new political directions under a wide variety of economic conditions, some of them quite positive." "One obvious explanation for populism and nationalism is that many countries are globalizing with more immigration, trade and foreign investment. It's a cultural crisis more than an economic one, as citizens see their national identities shifting. Some electorates respond by wanting to turn back the clock or at least hinder its acceleration." | | Al Qaeda Presents Its More "Moderate" Face to the World | | | Almost 30 years since al Qaeda was founded and the group's future is defined largely by its competition with fellow terror outfit ISIS. With that in mind, its Syrian affiliate spent much of last year rebranding itself as a more moderate option. And it just might be working, suggests Colin Clarke in Foreign Affairs.
"It remains unthinkable to most that the term 'moderate' could ever be applied to an affiliate of the group responsible for the attacks of September 11, 2001," Clarke writes. "But al Qaeda's Syrian franchise has quietly emerged as the less extreme alternative to ISIS within the jihadist universe. And that could spell a situation, at least in the long-term, in which al Qaeda begins to resemble the Lebanese group Hezbollah -- a violent non-state actor that has solidified political legitimacy while still retaining its ability to wage large-scale acts of terrorism and political violence." | | Why Puerto Rico Is Still in the Dark | | Almost a month after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and around three-quarters of the island is still without electricity. The result is a retreat from the modern world and "into an older and more precarious one," writes Yochi Dreazen for Vox.
"The lack of electricity doesn't simply mean months of hardship for the hundreds of thousands of Puerto Rican who will be without air conditioners, fans, televisions, and refrigerators for the foreseeable future. It's also significantly slowing the entire U.S. relief effort, and preventing other vital parts of the island's battered infrastructure from coming back online," Dreazen writes.
"Internet and cellphone service can't be fully restored without a steady flow of electricity to individual cell towers. The pumps, filtration systems, and other equipment used to treat sewage and provide clean drinking water also can't function without power. Right now, those plants aren't receiving much of it." - Time for a grand bargain. Fareed says that Puerto Rico will need a "grand bargain" if the island's economy is to fully recover.
"The federal government should commit to a large multi-year, multi- billion-dollar program of investment, should restructure Puerto Rico's debt and repair the island's infrastructure," Fareed argued in GPS's What in the World segment Sunday.
"In return, after conditions get normal, the leadership of the commonwealth should also make some difficult economic reforms. Many of these have already been proposed by eminent economist Anne Krueger and most are geared to making the island more business friendly in order to bring back jobs, increase the tax base and stop the outflow people."
Watch the full What in the World here
| | Russia: ISIS Fighters Exporter-in-Chief | | Russia is now the leading exporter of foreign fighters for ISIS in Iraq and Syria, writes Jack Moore for Newsweek.
Citing figures from a new report by the Soufan Group, Moore notes that "3,417 Russian nationals have traveled to fight for ISIS, compared with 2,400 in the 2015 estimate."
"Russian security services have long worried about the threat of returning Russian nationals and citizens from former Soviet, Central Asian republics. Many of those Russian nationals who have made the journey have come from Russian republics such as Chechnya and Dagestan."
"Rounding off the top five behind Russia and Saudi Arabia are Jordan (3,000), Tunisia and France (1,910). These estimates are unlikely to increase, the report concludes, because of the heavy military presence in Iraq and Syria at present and increased security around Iraq and Syria."
| | Why Buying a Car Is About to Get (Even) Tougher in Singapore | | Anyone in Singapore thinking about buying a car might want to do so in the next few months. With a population that has soared almost 40 percent since 2000, and with an estimated 12 percent of the city state's land area already taken up by roads, officials have decided to cut the growth rate of vehicles to zero from February, Reuters reports.
"Singapore requires car owners to buy permits – called Certificates of Entitlement – that allow holders to own their vehicles for 10 years. These permits are limited in supply and auctioned monthly by the government. At the most recent offering last week, the permit cost S$41,617 (US$30,563) for the smallest vehicles." | | | | | | |
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