Word: grip
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...most monetary matters, is long-term credibility. But for Europe, it is also about honoring standing promises. After all, the EU was part of the “value proposition” offered by the West after the communist grip on the region collapsed. It has arguably brought strengthened institutions, representative democracy, and better respect for human rights. Even though these countries may not be technically ready for the euro just yet, the ECB should push for its adoption in order to further integrate nations like Hungary and Poland. Only Europe can deliver them from a potentially catastrophic confidence crisis...
...Under the cover afforded by the agreement - he was once touted by a Pakistani Army official as a "good Taliban" - Mehsud quickly tightened his grip on Waziristan, converting the rugged region into a haven where militant groups could freely operate camps and training facilities. In 2007, he signaled the depth of his influence in the region when he took hostage more than 200 soldiers who had been on patrol...
...accession, told Turkey loud and clear that it no longer wanted to hear excuses for inaction. The E.U. wants Turkey to stop prosecuting critical writers and journalists; do more to protect the rights of women and minorities; improve the functioning of the economy, for example by getting a grip on industrial subsidies; and much else...
...this has once again raised the possibility of regime change in the North - perhaps by the kind of implosion seen in Eastern Europe nearly 20 years ago. It's a beguiling prospect. But however much the world may want to see 23 million people released from the grip of a detestable regime, the possibility discomfits some South Koreans. Reeling from the global economic crisis, they aren't sure they can afford sudden reunification. And it absolutely petrifies China, which likes having a buffer state not allied with the U.S. between itself and the South. (See pictures of Kim's rise...
Durability is right. Kim had been in power only a few years when the famine struck, but it didn't shake his grip. Ever since then, China has been pressuring him, unsuccessfully, to reform his economy. Kim has been able to resist such demands partly because North Korea is dynastic, with a cult of personality that is freakishly strong; there are no fewer than 30,000 statues and monuments to the Kim family throughout the country. Kim has three sons from which to choose a successor, and it's now become something of a parlor game among analysts to select...