The system is heavily stacked against it, but nonetheless Turkey's opposition is favored to beat the country's autocratic president in Sunday's election.
Category: Middle East
Defeat in Syria
The final act of the Arab Spring is played out with the Arab League's normalisation of relations with Syria and its dictator.
Giving up Artsakh
The independence of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh), precarious but effective for more than 30 years under Armenian and ultimately Russian protection, looks set to be extinguished.
March electoral roundup
Our regular look at election news around the world. This month, Kazakhstan, Montenegro, Kuwait and the Netherlands.
Twenty years on: an Iraq retrospective
A look back across twenty years of commentary on the Iraq war and its consequences.
Georgia dreamin’
Georgia's government backs down on its plan to restrict "foreign agents", but it's not clear that this will end the political crisis.
A thaw in the Gulf
A peace deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been the cause of some annoyance in Washington, but American policymakers have only themselves to blame.
Turkey’s opposition makes its choice
A consensus candidate is chosen to take on Turkey's authoritarian president in the election scheduled for May.
Is Israeli democracy worth defending?
The defence of Israeli democracy involves overcoming some blind spots on both right and left.
Poland, Israel and the rule of law
Poland's right-wing government moves towards peace with the European Union over rule-of-law issues. Israel is moving fast in the other direction.
The World is Not Enough 