The founder of India's ruling party was a moderate whose creation has become a vehicle for extremism.
Category: Central and South Asia
Pakistan votes for change, again
I'm back from Scandinavia, with a fair bit of election news to catch up on. First up is Pakistan.
The precarious success of Pakistani democracy
Another democracy in trouble, as the Pakistani government needs to counter the influence of its own military to win a second term.
Recommended weekly reading
A new feature: links to some recent material that readers should find interesting.
Sri Lanka completes its upheaval
Sri Lanka's new president succeeds in getting a parliament that's less likely to show loyalty to his discredited predecessor.
The limits of Europe, part II
Russia and Britain, for all their obvious differences, have the same sort of equivocal relationship with Europe: unmistakably European powers, but with interests and traditions that draw them elsewhere.
Close elections start the year
The psephological year kicks off with presidential elections in Sri Lanka and Croatia, both upset victories by narrow margins.
Blair, Iraq and Afghanistan
The successful conduct of an election in Afghanistan provides an interesting counterpoint to Tony Blair's call for a new intervention in Iraq.
Another look at those Indian numbers
India's election result would have looked very different under a proportional system. But in politics, perception quickly becomes reality.
The system produces an Indian landslide
Narendra Modi will lead India with a big parliamentary majority, even though most people voted for someone else. Don't expect the media to tell you such inconvenient truths.
The World is Not Enough 