Nigeria Has Hundreds of Languages and Ethnic Groups, and Critically Important Elections.

On February 25th, Nigerians will go to the polls to vote for their new president and national assembly. On March 11, they’ll vote for their state governors and houses of assembly. This will be the 5th consecutive elections since the country’s transition to civilian rule in 1999—the longest period of uninterrupted governance in the West African country’s history.

As our own experience shows, modern elections almost always present challenges. This is particularly true for Nigeria, a country where solidifying national identity and consolidating democracy are among the most pressing issues facing the country’s long term prospects.

A 2020 Amendment to the Russian Constitution Is Another Sign Putin’s Invasion Isn’t Going as Planned.

One year after Russian forces first rolled into eastern Ukraine, the costs for Russia continue to mount. According to Ukrainian data, cited by the UK’s Ministry of Defence, the death rate for Russian soldiers is the highest since the early days of the war. And while the Kremlin claims to be capturing small communities in eastern Ukraine and it continues to hurl missiles into various parts of the country, there’s little evidence that Ukrainian resolve has been shaken.

It can’t be what Putin envisioned when he began this invasion, as evidenced by political moves he made more than two years ago.

Mere 11 Percent Turn Out for Tunisia's Recent Parliamentary Elections.

We’re accustomed to measuring elections in terms of which candidate or party receives the most votes. But sometimes voter preferences are best measured by the numbers of voters who don’t vote.

In the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings, Tunisia was a country with a bright, hopeful future. In October 2011, less than a year after authoritarian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced from office, the country held its first free multiparty elections to elect a Constituent Assembly tasked with forging a new constitution. In 2013, leading civil society organizations came together to form the “Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet” to help guide the new government through a national mediation process and create a new constitution. The group was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its role in “the building of a pluralistic democracy.”