When President Bouteflika came to power in 1999, he sought to liberalise the country’s economy. But these reforms were reversed after only a few years.

Having been formed in large part by the legacy of the post-independence diplomatic process, by forced withdrawal during the civil war and fixation on a few regional issues, Algerian diplomacy has to redefine itself in a rapidly changing world.

Given its colonial history, Algeria does not want foreign powers involving themselves in internal affairs.

During the Cold War, Algeria was one of the Soviet Union’s favored partners. Ties between the two countries deteriorated during the 1990s before going through a renewal around fifteen years ago. 

Successive attempts to institutionalise Islam in France have not resulted in an entirely satisfactory outcome.

A distinct feature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first year in office was the remarkable speed and alacrity with which he moved on external engagement. During his first twelve months as Prime Minister, he travelled to almost twenty countries in different parts of the world. Indeed, Modi appeared to be guided by the impression that high rates of economic growth cannot be generated only by domestic policies and initiatives.

Gangs have relied on cyberspace to evolve. New information technologies have allowed them to speed up and globalize their operations.

When Dmitry Medvedev announced in late 2014 that the presence of ministers and other officials should be sharply increased on the boards of public companies, observers were surprised, considering that four years before the former President started a campaign to remove them from the very same structures.