As we work around the world, for business, governments, NGOs and political parties, we are often on the cusp of new dynamics that affect the way we work. Changes in technology, thinking, political movements and economic systems affect the way in which we must navigate the treachorous waters of public opinion. No business, political compromise or diplomatic peace negotiation can survive without understanding their new environments.
The success of ISIS, or rather the failure of the Iraqi and Syrian governments, has prompted some to reassert that some cultures are not predisposed to democracy. But it’s more likely that the course of history has bestowed advantages upon certain countries. Seven traits determine the success or failure of a transition to democracy, and […]
Democracy and Election in the New East Central Europe: a Report from the Field. A drive through the countryside of either Hungary, Romania, Slovakia or Bosnia-Herzegovina forces one to come to terms with the fact that in these countries, in the 1990’s, it is still common to witness a 40 year-old farmer walking across a […]
Now that elections are over, we need to begin a real dialogue over how to rebuild the fundamentals of the American economy. While there is no denying that tax policy creates incentives for businesses, it is not a cure-all. The notion that the Chinese laborer has ruined manufacturing in this country is short-sighted and misguided. […]
[This article was written to bring international attention to the elections in Somalia. Although SAIPR is assisting the People Party of Somalia, the goal of this article is not to be partisan, but to engage the international community in this important event.] For two decades Somalia has existed as a failed state. Transitional governments have […]
Many of Occupy Wall Street’s esteemed protesters believe that inequality of incomes is Wall Street’s fault, and they clearly think that attacking our financial system will somehow make the 1% of fat cats reflect on their good fortune and decided to share it with those in Zuccotti Park. To most people who possess a shred […]
Where Pakistan differs from many other countries that waffle between democracy and dictatorship is that Pakistan lacks domineering amounts of natural resources. And that matters! Working with politicians in Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Bosnia and Russia has, for me, crystallized a notion that democracy needs certain critical elements to be put in place before it can […]
Recently I received an e-mail from a colleague in Lebanon. “It seems we have no future in this part of the world,” he said. “The region is full of feelings of hatred and grudge. We will never be able to solve our problems and build our countries politically, economically, or even socially with negative feelings […]
Sunday, June 12, 2005 Poughkeepsie Journal, NY BY DANIEL ODESCALCHI When a constitution was drafted to form the United States of America, not everyone agreed with that course of action. Gov. George Clinton of New York was quite opposed to it. In Europe, the French and the Dutch have just voted down the concept of […]
The Budapest Sun – Insight Section / 1994 By Daniel Odescalchi To many foreigners, Hungary is a success story. Hungarians themselves, apparently, see things quite differently. Voters last week tossed out the ruling Hungarian Democratic Forum and turned to the reformed minded communists who ruled the country before the political changes. But what are voters […]