Since his election as president of Venezuela in 1998, leftist strongman Hugo Chávez has shattered his country’s already weak institutions to expand and sustain his grip on power and has built an anti-U.S. alliance with Cuba, Iran, Russia and China.

The failure of South Ossetia’s presidential election and the popularity of Alla Dzhioyeva are indicative of broader trends that have significant, largely favorable consequences for the U.S.

In India, it's been the year of the scam. Over the past 12 months, allegations of graft or wrongdoing have touched, among others, Parliament, the media, mining, construction, hospitals, airlines, and sports. But after bubbling for the better part of a year, India's national debate over corruption may finally have come to a boil.

Four days into the fast, thronged by joyous followers and watched by millions on television, Anna Hazare broke his fast after forcing the government to concede his key demand: to begin drafting a tough new anti-corruption bill.

India's problems do not stem from crony capitalism but crony socialism, the continued hold of an often corrupt and inept political class on economic decision making. Like most countries, India could do with greater competition and fewer barriers to entry for new businesses. But it's India's politicians and bureaucrats who need reining in, not its billionaires.

Who are the staunch defenders of corruption at the World Bank? Why are they so opposed to an alternative?

Several years ago, Farid Ghadry​--a Syrian exile activist--published a piece in the Middle East Quarterly looking at what political trends lay beneath the surface of Syria's Baathist dictatorship. He identified the discussions groups that arose during the short-lived "Damascus Spring" and hypothesized that they represented the proto-political parties which might develop.

Eradicating corruption from the health sector through the removal of tariffs is vital.