Word: autocratic
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...country, according to the U.N. Commission of Human Rights - and so holding one is seen as a rare sign of reform from Bashir's military regime. That's until you remember that an election is meant to be about freedom and not endorsing the rule of an autocrat whom the International Criminal Court (ICC) has charged with seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. But democracy's champions - particularly the U.S. government, the busiest and most heavyweight supporter of the coming vote in Sudan - may be feeling a little more at ease this week after the main rebel...
Mugabe is not many people's idea of a democrat. But after three decades of allegations that his party members have beat up the opposition, tampered with ballots and ignored previous election results, the 85-year-old autocrat appeared to change tack in December by calling for a new general election. Though he did not set a date, Mugabe said a vote was "not far off." The 11-month-old government of national unity, in which he serves as President and Tsvangirai, head of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), serves as Prime Minister, has "lived more than half...
...aide was sent back to the drawing board, with instructions to design the highest structure not just in Dubai, not just in the Middle East, but in the world. When the Burj Dubai has its grand opening in January, it will be an 818-meter monument to the visionary autocrat who dreamed the Dubai dream - and, as it turns out, a conspicuous symbol of the hyper-ambition that now threatens the emirate with financial ruin. (See the top 10 bankruptcies...
...principled and cathartic, Tsvangirai believes, but it is ineffective. Criticism has done nothing to dislodge Muammar Gaddafi in Libya (in his 40th year in power) or José Eduardo dos Santos in Angola or Teodoro Obiang in Equatorial Guinea (both in their 30th), while Africa's most enduring autocrat, Gabon's Omar Bongo, died in June in his 42nd year in office. Criticism has actually strengthened Mugabe, allowing him to cast himself as a heroic defender of Africa taking up the cudgel, just as he did when he led the fight for independence against racist Western imperialism...
...main demand around which the opposition is rallying on the streets and imposes a de facto 10-day cooling-off period that could sap, even demoralize, the anti-Ahamdinejad demonstrations. The huge rally in support of Mir-Hossein Mousavi in Tehran on Monday is enough to make any ruler, autocrat or not, tremble. All of this opens the Supreme Leader's window of vulnerability to one very powerful enemy. (See pictures from Iran's tumultuous election...