As 2011 draws to a close, it is time for our annual top five events of the year. We gave serious consideration to expanding the list beyond five since many highly influential events occurred this year. Kim Jong-Il’s death is notably absent. His death certainly will change the environment on the North Korean peninsula but the dust will most likely not settle until next year. The following list looks at key events this year that had a significant impact on world affairs and the trajectory of the United States.
This year marked many transformative events. 2011 was not kind to dictators. Kim Jong-Il and Muammar Gaddafi are dead. Hosni Mubarak and the presidents of Tunisia and Yemen are out of power. Bashar al-Assad is on his way out. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Putin has faced the largest protests in a decade. Even dictators cannot ignore there people anymore thanks to social media and the power of the internet. However, democracies are not immune either. Europe is in crisis as governments collapse over austerity measures and the EU appears impotent against the sovereign debt crises. In the United States the Progressive movement awakened from hibernation and took to occupying city squares in protest of corporate greed.
This was a year of crises and the next year does not look much better. Congress does not show any signs of improving its reputation. Democracy still has a way to go in the Middle East. The whole world will watch in earnest as new governments in the region take power. Also there will be key elections in the United States, Taiwan, Russia, Mexico, France and a leadership transition in China. It will not be an easy year. Before we buckle down for 2012, lets take a look at the top five events of 2011: Continue reading
It has been thirteen days since the Allied air campaign to impose a no-fly zone began and Moammar Gaddafi still shows no signs of stepping down from power. The situation on the ground is essentially a stalemate. The rebel forces control the eastern portion of the country but they are unable to move west due to the regime’s better armed, better trained, and better led military forces. Meanwhile, pro-Gaddafi forces are unable to push east due to the punishing NATO air-strikes. Commentators in the United States and Europe argue that more aggressive air-strikes will cause the army to turn on Gaddafi citing the precedent from Tunisia and Egypt.