Smoke and Mirrors in Turkmenistan: Democratization or Power Transition?
[Illustration by Niccolò Cedeno] On March 28, the citizens of Turkmenistan went to the polls to elect, for the first time, the members of the new upper house of Parliament. It is a novelty of these elections: until now, in fact, the Turkmen Parliament was composed of...
What it takes to be resilient: the Pandemic, the Parliament and Us
Article by Alessandro Zerbini | Illustration by Matilde Morri Euphemistically speaking, 2020 has been a year of great adaptation. Individually and collectively, we have had to accept and adapt to different rhythms and behaviours, and hardly any realm of our societies has been spared from this revolution. Parliaments are...
Belarus has woken up
Article by Angelachiara Allegretti | Illustration by Niccolò Cedeno The official results of the Belarusian presidential election of 9 August 2020 overwhelmingly sanctioned the victory of outgoing President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who has led the country for the past 26 years. In the weeks before and after the election, numerous...
Something brewing in Kyrgyzstan, again
Article by Angelachiara Allegretti | Illustration by Armadilly After the 4 October parliamentary elections, Kyrgyzstan was shaken by violent protests. The Kyrgyz population took to the streets in the capital Bishkek and throughout the country to protest the results of the vote. The two parties close to the current...
Are Americans running in circles? A glance to Civil-Rights Movements in the United States
Article by Laura Governi | Illustration by Viola Bartoli “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.” (Martin Luther King Jr.) It was December...
Senatores boni viri, senatus mala bestia? Nine simple ways to improve parliamentary ethics
Article by Alessandro Zerbini | Illustration by Chiara Zilioli The Latins had catchy wisdom pills for everything. One of the most bizarre of these sayings went, ‘senatores boni viri, senatus mala bestia’. In modern-day English, this quote roughly translates into a curious clarification: senators are good people, it is...
Hong Kong is dying, but was it ever given a chance to live?
Article by Laura Morazzini | Illustration by Silvia Baccanti “No other concept is as powerful, visceral, emotional, unruly, as steep in creating aspirations and hopes as self-determination.” (Wolfgang Danspeckgruber) It’s official. While the rest of the world was busy fighting covid-19 and while social distancing made protests less likely,...