Regarding the several approaching appointments with the ballot boxes (Spain, Italy, the United States, and municipalities in France), the author analyzes the democratic components common to the several campaigns. Using the American model and the current political involvement of its citizenry, he reminds the readers that a party system is far from being a summation of apparatuses; rather, the system responds to a dynamic in which each strong force talks to, competes with, and confronts the other.

• The Italian elections: "Obama versus McCain"… Roman style
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• The harmful convergence of politics in Spain
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• Barack versus "Billary"
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The Middle East is experiencing a new escalation in the violence between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants. According to the analysts, the only way out involves the reestablishment of a framework for global negotiation between the Israeli authorities and the Palestinian factions of the West Bank and Gaza, an option that could lead to the creation of another National Unity Government, provided that an agreement is reached beforehand. But in order for this to happen, the author states that Israel must renounce its project of getting rid of Hamas by force.

• Alert before the Unreasonableness of Hamas
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The supporters of Taiwanese independence consider Kosovo to be a precedent that encourages them not to give up in their struggle. Nevertheless, the differences between the two cases are obvious, and not only due to the democratic imperative necessary to constitute a state; neither the origin of the dispute nor the regional and international context of the two cases is similar either. This is why the consequences of Kosovo’s independence will probably be felt more in the South Caucasus (Transcaucasia) or Europe rather than in the Far East, states the author.

• The Kosovan State is unviable
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• Kosovo´s final status: another chapter of turmoil in the Balkans?
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• China-Taiwan: Playing with...the Torch
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The failed meetings between Warsaw and Moscow are numerous and complex. Poland continues to view Russia as a threat, but Donald Tusk’s brand new cabinet intends to confront its great neighbor with a new strategy: to promote negotiation in view of the conflict. The objective of Warsaw is two-fold: to win allies that reinforce their position with respect to Moscow and to promote a more united stance within the heart of the European Union, one critical of the Russian excesses.

• Poland Wagers for Change
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• The United States, Russia, and the "new" missile crisis
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Today Brazil receives an important flow of capital in the form of direct, as well as financial, investments, partly induced by the differential between the American and domestic interest rates. What would happen if the United States were to effectively slip into a recession and the Federal Reserve were to decide to continue lowering the rates? What would the consequences for the local economy be?

• Brazil is looking to accelerate its growth
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• The Globalization of Brazil
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In a few weeks, Italy will elect a new government without resorting to the habitual scores of acronyms. The left and right are presenting new, more integrated and centered formulas, which (they hope) will signify an important step towards the bipartisanship that they yearn for. Italian politics are being Americanized, but the small parties on both sides of the political spectrum and in the disputed center will fight for their survival.

Hugo Chavez’s flight forward is unprecedented in Venezuela’s history, states the author. Meanwhile, the social disorganization, the failure of the educational system, underemployment, shortages of supplies, uncontrollable inflation, police and judicial administrative inefficiency, steady poverty and political polarization (stronger than ever) completely discredit a revolution that announced better times for Venezuela, but has ended up being a true fiasco.

• Venezuela does not want another Putin
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• There is a lack of dialog and a surplus of barriers in Venezuela
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The Philippine education system is marked by high dropout and repetition rates and low overall performance. Under a new definition of functional literacy, the rate could drop to as low as 6 percent. The author contends that the sector is afflicted with a myriad of problems, and although many government programs look promising, he points to governance as being the key.

• Philippine land reform has failed to live up to its promise
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While some proclaim that the Internet has brought knowledge to within everyone’s reach, there are others who believe that technology has amplified the distance between the rich and the poor, between the digitally literate and the citizens without access to the knowledge that the Internet makes available. Be that as it may, the author believes that social networks like Facebook allow for interaction and the spread of knowledge and access to more information, and they constitute a valuable opportunity to bridge the digital gaps.