This January, Turkey’s parliament passed a series of constitutional amendments that would drastically expand the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Slated for a national referendum in April, Thomas Lee discusses the potential implications of President Erdoğan’s new powers, and the impact they could have on the future of the country’s democracy, security, and multilateral relations.
The political battleground pitting South African President Jacob Zuma and his personal elite against opposition groups, civil society, and the state’s democratic institutions reached new heights this past year. Thomas Lee takes a look at the country’s rampant corruption, increasingly precarious political and economic backdrop, and the prospects for Zuma’s downfall in 2017.
With the election of pro-Russian presidential candidates in Moldova and Bulgaria in November, some Western critics fear the further disintegration of the European project. Thomas Lee examines the votes in each country and the potential likelihood of a pivot to Moscow.