World PolicyJournal Winter 2016 2017

VOL.
XXXIII, No4, WINTER 2016 / 2017
AN ALL-WOMENS ISSUE GUEST-EDITED BY FOREIGN POLICY INTERRUPTED
WORLD POLICY JOURNAL

VOL. XXXIII, No4, WINTER 2016 / 2017
A P U B L I C AT I O N O F
THE WORLD POLICY INSTITUTE
F E ATUR E S
IN TE RRUPTED
1
48
EDITORS NOTE
Get in formation
A B BY S E I F F
THE BIG QUESTION
What do sex workers need to better control their

working conditions?
10
A SEAT AT THE TABLE
The fight for gender parity in Kenya and Somalia
55
TA N I A K A R A S
61
68
GOOD GIRLS REVOLT
73
PARTNERING UP
How to work with religious leaders to counter

violent extremism
M AU R A E L I Z A B ET H C U N N I N G H A M
MAP ROOM
MANAL OMAR
Legal transitions
26
THE GREAT EUROPEAN UNRAVELING?

A L I N A P O LYA KO V A
The future of feminism in China
24
GERMANYS SECOND-CLASS REFUGEES
Afghan asylum-seekers stuck in limbo

LAM THUY VO
ANATOMY
Gender disparities in East Africa
18
WAREHOUSE OF SOULS
How the EU abandoned Greece
N A N J A L A N YA B O L A
16
WE HAVE NO FREEDOM
Losing hearts and minds in Thailands deep south
A WITCH HUNT AGAINST POOR WOMEN
81
Across the Americas, abortion laws are harming

health and security
O LGA O L I K E R
84
ANGELIKA ALBALADEJO
RUSSIAN BRINKSMANSHIP
Dont confuse unpredictability with strength
THE NEWEST POWER COUPLE
Iran and Russia band together to support Assad

E L L I E G E R A N M AY E H
C ONVE RSAT ION

35
89
THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT
Why the Saudi-Egypt alliance is on the rocks
D R . A M E E N A H G U R I B - FA K I M ,
P R E S I D E N T O F M AU R I T I U S
S A R A H E L S I RG A N Y
96
WE WANT TO STAY ALIVE
WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT
Why Brazil must confront the crimes of its

military period
PORTFOL IO
39
ISLANDS APART
FERNANDA CANOFRE
102
NEITHER TRUTH NOR RECONCILIATION
Why Indonesias army wants the country to forget its

darkest year
Ending feminicide in Jurez, Mexico

ALICE DRIVER
N ATA L I E S A M B H I
111
RACIST IN THE MACHINE
The disturbing implications of algorithmic bias
M E G A N G A RC I A
118
COVER DESIGN
ABORTION LAW ILLUSTRATOR
CONVERSATION ILLUSTRATOR
INFOGRAPHIC: WOMEN IN MEDIA
Molly Crabapple is a New York-based artist.

Cintia Bolio is a Mexico-based cartoonist (page 30).
Julia Massow is a Hamburg-based illustrator (page 35).
Elmira Bayrasli & Lauren Bohn

Guest Editors
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Christopher Shay
Managing Editor
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Creative Director
Contributing Editor
Editors Emeritus
Meehyun Nam Thompson

Matt Williams
Sherle R. Schwenninger (19821991)
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Karl E. Meyer (20002008)
David A. Andelman (20082015)
Chairman, World Policy Institute
Joseph A. Cari, Jr.
EDITORIAL BOARD
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Hattlan Media
World Policy Institute
Author
The University of Hong Kong
The New York Review of Books

National Security Archive
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Boston University
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Center for Global Aairs, NYU
University of Chicago Law School
The Interview
Seymour Topping
Intelligent Television
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Eric Alterman
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Anne Nelson
PublicAairs Books
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Connect U.S. Fund
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Columbia University
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Johns Hopkins University, SAIS
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Nancy E. Soderberg
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EDITORS NOTE: GET IN FORMATION

ELMIRA BAYRASLI & LAUREN BOHN
ast year, a prominent female foreign policy expert came to us in tears. What do I have to do to be
acknowledged? she asked in exasperation. She felt that a male colleague had been recommended
over her to speak on an important panel. During meetings, her bosses seemed to credit her male
colleagues with ideas that she had brought up. Editors, she said, rarely replied to her pitches. She
felt insecure and unheard. Maybe, she said, she wasnt as smart as she thought.
If I were a man, I wouldnt be overwhelmed with such paralyzing self-doubt, she said. This
wouldnt even be a problem.

Certainly the U.S. election wont lift the unsettling feeling that a womans competence is valued
less than a mans confidence. How else could an extremely smart, articulate, and experienced woman
lose the U.S. presidency to a reality TV star who boasts about sexually assaulting women? While some
respectfully disagree with her economic and foreign policies, the bulk of attacks against Hillary Rodham
Clinton have always been gendered: Shes shrill; she should smile more; and she lacks stamina. At the
same time, Trumps well-documented misogyny, sexual abuse, racism, and ineptitude werent enough to
keep him from the White House.
As long as men dominate institutions and nodes of power, we will continue to turn to men as
authorities. We will continue to seek male approval, male opinions, and male guidance. Worse, we
will continue to accept mens aws and dismiss their ignorance and transgressions.
Its true: Women have made waves in the highest of oces around the world this year. As one
male foreign policy expert tweeted at us, as if to counter the existence of gender imparity, President
Barack Obamas top three national security advisers are women. Rome and Tokyo voted in women
as mayors. Myanmar and Estonia welcomed female heads of state. Tsai Ing-wen became Taiwans
first female president. Theresa May took charge at 10 Downing. While each has helped shatter glass
ceilings, the perception that women are leaders and experts with value and wisdom to impart must
constantly be defended and justified.
Men continue to dominate policy matters, boardroom decisions, fellowships, professorships, and
opinion pages. Women are usually represented, but often their presence is a box to be checked.
Boxes, in any form, suit a bygone eraa past in which most problems did not immediately pour
over borders or go viral. It was a time when problems could be packaged in morning newspapers
and tackled over cigars in oak-paneled rooms. Todays hyper-connected world has yielded challenges
that can no longer be contained to a particular time or place. From pandemics to warfare, current affairs move in real time and at tremendous speed. But while urgency and reach have upended foreign
policy, they have yet to upend our approach to it.
In todays world, solutions no longer lie in the hands of heads of state or foreign ministers. And
they can no longer be constructed in the minds of only half the population.
ELMIRA BAYRASLI is a World Policy Institute fellow and a lecturer at New York University and Bard College.
LAUREN BOHN is The GroundTruth Projects Middle East correspondent based in Istanbul.
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3813132
Vol. XXXIII, No. 4, Winter 2016 / 2017 2016 World Policy Institute
E D I T O R S N O T E | WORLD POLICY INTERRUPTED
This issue, penned entirely by female foreign policy experts and journalists, imagines a world
where women are accepteda world where we wouldnt need to interrupt to be heard at the table. In
reconstructing a media landscape where the majority of foreign policy experts quoted, bylined, and
miked are not men, we quickly gain deeper insight into a complex world, one historically narrated by
only one segment of society.
How far o is this reimagined world? According to data: far. In the United States, women author
about a quarter of the op-eds published. On the front page of The New York Times this summer, World
Policy Journal found that men were quoted nearly three times more often than women. For the last
two years, weve conducted studies on foreign policy analysis in conjunction with Media Matters for
America. The results are a 1950s redux: Women made up roughly a fifth of foreign policy guests on
major American news programs in 2014 and 2015.
Three years ago, wetwo female foreign policy practitionerswere tired of complaining. We
were tired of figuring out whether we needed to lean in, lean out, or stand on our heads. We
felt stuck in a conversational cul-de-sac where solutions were never discussed. Our frustration
birthed Foreign Policy Interrupted, an initiative to amplify female voices in international aairs.
We run a visibility platform and fellowship program that oers female foreign policy experts media training and editorial mentorship at major publications. To date, weve incubated 12 fellows
from thousands of applicationsbrilliant women around the world who rarely have the opportunity to take the mike.
Dissecting inequality is challenging, but one thing is clear: The gender disparity isnt a supply
problem. Instead, theres a demand deficit. A quick look at our weekly newsletter, which aggregates
dozens of pieces written by women, or any university faculty or think-tank sta directory confirms
that there are binders full of female foreign policy experts.
Women typically face two main barriers to visibility. The first is institutional. Deeply entrenched
societal sexism and bias, unconscious or otherwise, deem male voices as authoritative. In turn, womens voices are rendered unauthoritativesecond-guessed and untrustworthy. This sexism is compounded by a 140-character-driven news cycle in which producers and editors dont have the bandwidth to identify, much less cultivate, new voices. Many have told us that they are often forced to fall
back on whom they knowand thats usually a long list of white men, sprinkled with a few Washington, D.C.-based women. Im called on to opine on everything from Syria to Siberia, quips FPIs
founding board member Anne-Marie Slaughter, president and CEO of the New America Foundation.
Its as though they dont know of any other women.
But theres a second, far more insidious barrier that prevents women from claiming and sharing
their expertise. If the first barrier is institutional, the second one is internal. Confidence matters just as
much as competence, and studies show that women hold themselves to a higher threshold of certainty
before they oer an opinion. Men overestimate their abilities and performance, but women underestimate both. We receive almost daily emails from women who express anxiety over marketing their own
expertise, despite pages of qualifications and years of experience. Theyre not just asking for guidance.
Theyre asking for something far more elusive and existential: permission to call themselves experts.
This oft-discussed confidence gap isnt cleaved by biological coding. Over centuries of disrespect
and abuse, womens insecurity and hesitance to assert themselves have evolved into coping and defense mechanisms. The sidelines have become shelters.
As columnist Jessica Valenti writes, womens lack of confidence is a reection of just how little
society and the media conversation value them. When The Guardian examined 1.4 million comments
GET IN FORMATION
that have been blocked by moderators since 1999, they found that
eight of the 10 writers receiving
the most blocked comments were
women. Topping the list was Valenti herself.
To truly close the gap, we must
create spaces that value womens
voices. Menwho make up most
of the leadership on editorial and
executive boards (including of
this publication)must not only
be allies, but accomplices. Quite
simply, we cannot manifest gender parity without a wide-sweeping He for She campaign. For
instance, Foreign Policy magazine
an FPI board member, has not only pledged to publish more women, but he refuses to participate on
all-male panels. He shouldnt be an exception. Certainly not at a time when the leader of the free
world waxes poetic on the value of a [having] a young and beautiful piece of ass.
Trumps success in weaponizing a collective fear of the other confirms that the interrupting cant
end with women. Our conversation must be recalibrated well beyond the gender divide. Why are
so few expert non-Western voices called upon to opine on the developing world? Why are foreign
policy analysts who analyze Somalia or the Islamic State usually white? Expanding these discussions is
not just for diversitys sake. When you incubate diverse voices, you incubate diverse ideas and diverse
approaches to foreign policy challenges.
This all-womens issue is a testament to that. When we dont see women and hear their opinions,
we marginalize them. We feed the unconscious bias that men are policymakers and women are not.
This Interrupted issue challenges and changes that perception by showcasing the voices of female
experts and leaders.
From cover artist Molly Crabapple who has brilliantly illustrated the U.S.s awed foreign policy
in Guantanamo, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates to our Kenya-based fellow Nanjala Nyabola who
analyzes gender representation in African legislatures to Megan Garcia on algorithmic bias and Ellie
Geranmayeh on Tehrans split opinion on Moscow, the following pages oer a more dynamic look at
the world through a diverse set of eyes and ears.
The mediaa volatile battleground for paritydoesnt reect the societies it aims to represent.
Right now, some voices are valued over others, and vestiges of patriarchy and bigotry determine not
only whose voices matter, but whose lives matter.
Raising awareness about media representation is not enough to change it. As we move into a
new year, were still faced with civil war in Syria; a refugee crisis; growing extremism, fascism, and
authoritarianism; climate change; and myriad other problems. Knowledge of our dangerously broken
discourse is a necessary but insucient step to address these challenges. We must also meaningfully
change who we call upon as experts. This Interrupted issue is a preview of the possibilities. O
WINTER 2016 / 2017
JILBERT EBRAHIMI
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T H E B I G QUE S TION
WHAT DO SEX WORKERS NEED TO BETTER

CONTROL THEIR WORKING CONDITIONS?
TAKING CONTROL
confiscation has a chilling eect on condom use
ANNA SAINI
by vulnerable people in the sex trade, its rarely

an eective way to prosecute trackers or others
TORONTOMost sex work regulation around the
who abuse people. Good public policy incentiv-
world criminalizes harm reduction tools, encour-
izes condom use and other harm reduction tools
ages the overpolicing of immigrant communities,
to promote better outcomes for sex workers.
and leads to the assault and murder of more sex
Criminalizing and stigmatizing our means of
workers. Regardless of intent, todays policies
survival is ultimately the greatest oppression sex
only exacerbate the problem of human track-
workers face. Its reected in the disbelief and
ing. They control sex workers rather than aord
silencing of our allegations of rape and murder.
them control.
Its evident when serial killers and rapists target
Many workers enter the sex industry, like I
sex workers, because theyre perceived as dispos-
did, due to what I call economic coercion, not
able and discredited by law enforcement. And its
physical force. I had lost my job, which meant
made clear when advertising venues like My Red
losing not only my income but also my ability to
Book, Craigslist, and Backpage are threatened,
legally work in the country I had made my home.
surveilled, and shut down, preventing my col-
One of the only jobs I could work without papers
leagues and me from working on our own terms.
was in the sex industry. Because of my lack of im-
The Nordic model, which Canada has ad-
migration status, I risked greater criminal penal-
opted, is incorrectly framed as an alternative to
ties, including a lifetime ban from entering the
criminalization. Rather than decriminalizing sex
U.S., if I was ever convicted of prostitution. These
work, the Nordic Model infantilizes and patroniz-
potential consequences make the stakes too high
es sex workers by framing them as victims, while
for sex workers to collaborate with law enforce-
shifting the illegality from selling to buying sex.
ment to address sexual assault, tracking, and
Not only does this deny workers agency, it fails to
other violent crimes. The justice system is wea-
prevent the injuries inicted by law enforcement
ponized against us rather than being an ally that
on sex workers. A sex worker today may face ab-
promotes our safety. In the U.S. and elsewhere,
surd charges of tracking oneself or a colleague,
governments need to remove the threat of per-
rather than the simple misdemeanor prostitution
manent deportation for migrant sex workers and
convictions of the pre-Nordic Model era.
create other viable avenues for work and income.
Decriminalizing and destigmatizing sex work
In New York, I was part of a coalition of sex
through policy change means delisting every as-
workers and allies that won a statewide ban on
pect of the sex trade as a criminal oense, includ-
the use of condoms as evidence of prostitution
ing the purchase and advertisement of sex work.
a hard-fought step to promote condom access

within our communities and end the prevalent
ANNA SAINI is a Toronto-based advisory board
belief that possessing condoms is grounds for
member at the Best Practices Policy Project.
criminal prosecution as a sex worker. While
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3812858
E S S A Y | WORLD POLICY INTERRUPTED
AN ACTUAL JOB
moralistic preaching and treatment that re-
ELENA EVA REYNAGA
ects the stigma surrounding our work. Even

when we are just suering from a cold or stom-
BUENOS AIRESThe rights of women sex work-
ach ache, doctors will request an HIV test.
ers are constantly being ignored. I have been de-
The current lack of regulation means that
nouncing the violations we suer daily for more
were arbitrarily arrested and subjected to ex-
than 22 years, and even though there have been
tortion and threats from security forces that
steps forward in the way we organize, its appall-
should be protecting citizens. Cruel, degrading,
ing that we are still discussing basic demands.
and inhumane treatment, constituting institu-
In Latin America, only Uruguay has a law

that recognizes sex work as work. And its not
tional violence, occurs daily, because were not

recognized as legitimate workers.
even a good one, since it gives more power to
We dont want to live double lives by hiding
the owners of bars than to the workers them-
from people who find our work oensive. We
selves. Regulation is the key to gaining access
are women. We are part of the community. We
to labor rights, which will directly improve our
have families and friends. We need recognition
working conditions.
and access to human and labor rights. We de-
Regulating sex work will acknowledge it as
serve that much.
an actual job; it exists, a lot of us women do it,

and we shouldnt be ashamed or face discrimi-
ELANA EVA REYNAGA is a sex worker and founder of
nation and stigma. We are free adults, and our
the Network of Women Sex Workers of Latin America
decisions should be respected, whether society,
and the Caribbean (RedTraSex).
religion, government, or fellow feminist activists like it or not. We own our bodies and should
be able to control them.
We deserve legal protections that guarantee
decent working conditions, especially when it
MEANINGFUL INCLUSION IN THE PHILIPPINES

SHARMILA PARMANAND
comes to hygiene, safety, and security. Failing

to respect our choices, governments prevent us
Sex workers can better control their working
from improving our conditions. Latin American
conditions if they are meaningfully included
countries have signed international agreements
in policy conversations about issues that aect
committing to the protection of womens rights.
them and if sex work is decriminalized, which
Yet sex workers regularly face violence and
will allow them to organize, raise funds, and
abuse, and our wishes arent being considered
more easily seek legal representation. They are
or included in public policy decisionsnot even
well-positioned to identify their needs and sug-
when these laws directly aect our lives.
gest relevant interventions.
Since being a sex worker is an autonomous
For example, some Overseas Filipino Work-
decision and we provide a service to custom-
ers engage in various forms of sex work in desti-
ers, we are entitled to labor rights just as any
nation countries, even if this isnt their primary
other employed (or self-employed) person. We
work. The workers face health risks, and can
want to pay taxes and receive the same social
also be jailed and deported if caught. The Philip-
security as any other worker. We should be
pine government can improve the legal support,
able to have a bank account, rent a house, and
protective information, and health services it of-
access health care and retirement programs.
fers to migrant Filipino workers to account for
Now, when we go to a hospital, we often face
this reality.
BIG QUESTION
Discussions on HIV/AIDS also require input
vulnerabilities are more the result of their crim-
from sex workers, who argue that the defini-
inal status and inability to fully enjoy basic hu-
tion of non-discrimination should be expanded
man rights, such as health care or justice. Many
to include occupation as an unacceptable basis
sex workers also report being shamed when
for unfair treatment. The dominant paradigm of
they do try to access health services or report
eradicating prostitution to prevent the spread of
abuse. For instance, they are made to feel like
HIV undermines the goal of reducing stigma
they deserve STIs or to be raped. A decision to
because it reinforces notions of sex workers as
act upon sex workers feedback ought to drive
primary transmitters, even when data shows
an aggressive retraining of law enforcement
that they are just one of many at-risk popula-
and other service providers to engage with sex
tions. Male and transgendered sex workers, who
workers in a respectful, rights-based manner.
are largely invisible in legal and policy discourse,

can also speak to their own vulnerabilities.
The human rights critique of the current administrations violent war on drugs must include
SHARMILA PARMANAND is a Gates scholar and a

Ph.D. student in multi-disciplinary gender studies at
the University of Cambridge.
the impact on street-based sex workers in the

Philippines, whose work has become more unsafe because they or their clients can get tagged
as drug suspects and summarily executed.
The anti-tracking sectorcomprised of
ITS SCARY FOR YOU ... IT HAS TO BE

MELISSA GIRA GRANT
government agencies, civil society organizations, some womens rights groups, and faith
NEW YORKIn October, a group of men sat in a
organizationsand advocates of the Anti-
Calgary hotel room with printouts of escort ad-
Prostitution Law tend to conate voluntary
vertisements. At least one man was armed. The
prostitution and sex tracking. They focus on
men called the ads one by one, setting up ap-
discouraging demand and facilitating womens
pointments with each woman who answered.
exit from prostitution and reintegration into
But when the women arrived at the hotel, they
society through rehabilitation and economic
were met with a lecture, not paid work.
empowerment.
nonprofit
I know its scary for you; it has to be, one
organizations are widely represented in these
Anti-prostitution
of the men told an escort, according to news re-
discussions. Women who identify as sex traf-
ports. You walked into a room where a man had
ficking survivors are also becoming increasingly
his gun on his belt. Im a good guy, but a lot of
involved. It is necessary, however, to consult
them wont be.
sex workers and sex worker-led organizations
The men were law enforcement, and they
before making general claims about their lack
targeted a total of 41 women. The police
of agency and best interest.
called it Operation Northern Spotlight. Sex
Sex workers who have been aected by

state interventionssuch as the closure of
workers fighting for labor rights in Canada

called it police profiling.
establishments that employ them, raid and
In Canada, selling sex is not technically il-
rescue operations, and rehabilitationneed a
legal. Yet police have a great deal of control over
space to speak freely about the impact these
sex workers. Sex workers workplacesoften
actions have had on their lives.
private venues like hotels or apartmentsare
While there is a popular assertion that

violence is inherent to sex work, sex workers
regarded as sites of crime, not as legitimate

places of business.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
This is also the case in countries like the

United States, where selling sex and operat-
MELISSA GIRA GRANT is author of Playing the
ing a prostitution business have been crimi-
Whore: The Work of Sex Work (Verso, 2014) and a
nalized. But it is true, too, in countries like
contributing writer at Pacific Standard.
Norway, whose laws against prostitution are

often described as having decriminalized
sex workers. In Norway, Amnesty International found that police had gone so far as to
THE LAW IS AN ASS
issue an ultimatum to sex workers landlords:
SHEREEN EL FEKI
either stop renting to sex workers, or face arrest. Cops called this Operation Homeless.
When I was a member of the Global Commis-
When police can enter a workplace with
sion on HIV and the Law, the testimonies of
impunitysuch as they have in Operation
almost 700 people and organizations in 140
Northern Spotlight, without a warrantand
countries were central to our deliberations.
attempt to disrupt their work, they are violat-
These individuals were on the sharp end of
ing workers rights. Ending these rights viola-
laws that, more often than not, were hamper-
tions is one reason advocates for sex workers
ing rather than helping the global response to
rights demand the full decriminalization of
HIV. We heard from an array of people with
sex work, a stance now supported by Amnes-
myriad experiences in diverse legal settings,
ty International and Human Rights Watch,
but it was one simple statement, from a fe-
as well as United Nations agencies UNAIDS,
male sex worker in India, that cut through the
UNDP, and WHO. An inuential 2012 report
complexity and summed up the reason for our
by the Global Commission on HIV and the
work. There has to be some law, she said.
Law recommended repealing legislation that
Are we not humans? We also have desires and
prevents sex workers from working safely
rights, and we deserve better treatment.
like laws against living o the earnings of

prostitution and brothel-keeping.
Amen to that. When it comes to sex work,

Charles Dickens was right: The law is an ass.
At the recent Association for Womens
And that is why the Global Commission was
Rights in Development Forum, advocates
resolute in the need for change. Based on an
from India, Brazil, and Canada spoke out
exhaustive assessment of the latest evidence
against this kind of harassment and discrimi-
from around the world, the Commission con-
nation, which is often carried out in the guise
cluded that sex work is best regulated by ap-
of rescuing sex workers. Elene Lam, the
plying employment law to practitioners and
founder of Buttery, an Asian and migrant sex
consumer protection law to clients, and not by
worker network in Canada, told forum partic-
criminalizing either group. A safe workplace,
ipants that when police conduct these opera-
adequate minimum levels of remuneration,
tions, they demand sex workers produce legal
access to health care, freedom to form collec-
identification or face detention. Migrant sex
tives and other autonomous organizations, and
workers are especially vulnerable as they can
freedom from fear of harassment (including
face jail and deportation as a result.
misguided rescue or rehabilitation initia-
The solution to ending persecution and
tives aimed at sex workers) create an environ-
rights violations, advocates say, is for both
ment in which incentives to practice unsafe
the law and the police who enforce it to rec-
sex are minimized. Criminal law should en-
ognize sex work as work.
force measures against tracking in persons
BIG QUESTION
and the sexual exploitation of minors, but such
I spent seven days in prison. I went to
conduct should be clearly dierentiated from
court and I asked if I could speak to my
adult consensual sex work.
mother. The judge said Why are you
The Global Commissions findings have
here? and I told him I was [soliciting], I
helped to support groups fighting for sex worker
need money for my child. We are used
rights, among them Amnesty International and
by the police, they take us to cemeter-
the Global Network for Sex Work Projects. Along
ies and the beach to have sex without a
with these advocates, the Global Commission
condom. Sometimes we are beaten up
has taken ak from those who challenge its prag-
by the police.
matic approach to sex work. Reforming laws already on the books can be hard, especially where
Sadly, she is not alone, as sex workers
conservative religious interpretations hold sway,
in more than 100 countries and territories
so the Commissions follow-up work has focused
with punitive laws can attest. Sex work is still
on shifting law in practice, be it policing on the
more red light than green lightand that
streets or judgments from the bench.
needs to change.
One woman from Mozambique laid out the

problem in no uncertain terms:
SHEREEN EL FEKI is the author of Sex and the Citadel: Intimate Life in a Changing Arab World (Pan-
Sometimes there is illegal detention and
theon, 2013) and the former vice-chair of the Global
you are humiliated. I was detained when
Commission on HIV and the Law.
there was a summit in Mozambique.
Compiled by Omri Bezalel, Kirsi Goldynia, and Christine Lee
WINTER 2016 / 2017
R E P O R T A G E | WORLD POLICY INTERRUPTED
A SEAT AT THE TABLE:
THE FIGHT FOR GENDER PARITY IN

KENYA AND SOMALIA
THE-TIME-LINE
N A N J A L A N YA B O L A
AIROBI, KenyaWhen Bina Maseno was 23, she decided to run for
Council Assembly in Nairobi City
County and reached out to a few
experienced female politicians for advice. She expected to hear suggestions

for navigating party power dynamics
or articulating campaign messages for
a broader audience. But what she got
was a primer in protecting herself from
sexual assault by male politicians and
putative voters.
Wangari Muta Maathai,

Nobel Prize winner and
former Kenyan MP
10
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3812933
10
GENDER PARITY IN EAST AFRICA
I was shocked, she recalled. One woman
constitution requires that 30 percent of all
told me that I had to dress in a matronly way,
decision-making bodies be made up of wom-
because voters always think that youthful look-
en, while Bolivia passed a raft of measures in
ing women are sleeping their way through the
the run up to its 2014 parliamentary elec-
party. Another woman advised that I should
tions to increase womens participation in the
never go to a rally without wearing biker shorts
electoral process.
underneath my clothes, because inevitably the
In contemporary conversations on achiev-
men in the audience would try to strip me.
ing gender parity in parliament, there is little
During Masenos 2012 campaign, this latter
debate about whether quotas are the easiest
piece of advice was repeatedly tested and found
way to create a space in which women can be
to be accurate.
heard. In a March 2013 press release, the sec-
For women across the world, electoral poli-
retary general of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
tics can be a hostile and violent place. Women
(IPU), Anders B. Johnsson, said, Although quo-
who stand for oce can expect casual sexism
tas remain contentious in some parts of the
and discrimination, ranging from snide remarks
world, they remain key to progress on gender
about their appearance to being propositioned
parity in political representation. There can be
by their male colleagues. In some countries,
no claim to democracy without delivering on
this psychological violence escalates to physical
this. The same press release noted that nine
violence in which men seek to make the public
out of the top 10 countries with the highest
sphere so inhospitable for women that they dis-
growth in the number of women MPs between
engage from electoral politics.
2011 and 2012 had used quotas.
Percentages of women in parliament reveal
The disparate fortunes of East African
two interesting facts on global underrepresen-
countries like Rwanda, Kenya, and Somalia
tation. First, although women make up roughly
tell a story of how well quotas can work when
49.6 percent of the worlds population, only
supported with institutional will and how re-
two countries in the world had parliaments that
soundingly they can fail when patriarchal po-
exceeded that ratio as of August 2016. Rwanda
litical spaces conspire to undo them. All of the
leads57.5 percent of its parliament is made up
eight countries that are traditionally thought
of womenand Bolivia follows with 51.8 per-
to make up East AfricaKenya, Uganda, Tan-
cent. Second, there is almost no correlation be-
zania, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Ethiopia,
tween a countrys level of development and the
South Sudanhave quotas entrenched in their
proportion of women in parliament. Hence, the
electoral systems.
United States (19.5 percent) finds itself sand-
These quotas take dierent shapes. Arti-
wiched between Saudi Arabia (19.9 percent)
cle 27(8) of the Kenyan constitution requires
and Kyrgyzstan (19.2 percent).
that no more than two-thirds of the legisla-
The countries that were able to achieve
ture be made up of either gender. In Somalia,
some measure of gender parity all have one
the Electoral Implementation Teama donor-
thing in common: They initially or continue
supported body that has devised and will be
to rely on quotas to increase representation of
implementing the rules under which the 2016
women in parliament. Rwandas post-genocide
election will occurpromised that 30 percent
NANJALA NYABOLA is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi, Kenya, where she researches and publishes primarily on politics, conflict, and crises in the East and Horn of Africa, as well as on refugee rights
around the world. She is also a fellow at Foreign Policy Interrupted.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
11
of all the seats in the incoming parliament
and is rewarded and admired. This has created
would be reserved for women.
a space in which most womenand non-elite
And yet at 20.8 percent and 13.8 percent
menprefer not to compete.
respectively, Kenya and Somalia have the lowest
Kenyas recent history in regards to wom-
proportions of women in parliament in East Af-
ens participation in politics is mixed. For in-
rica. Rwandas near two-thirds female-majority
stance, Nairobi had a female mayor in 1970 but
parliament leads the pack followed by Burundi
not since. Only 16 out of 274 elected members
at 37.8 percent, Ethiopia at 37.2 percent, Tan-
of the lower house are women, or 5.8 percent,
zania at 36.6 percent, Uganda at 33.5 percent,
while the constitutional quota brings the pro-
and war-ravaged South Sudan at 26.6 percent.
portion of female members up to 20.8 percent.
Unlike their neighbors, Kenya and Somalia
The 2010 constitution allowed in Article 97(1)
have failed to bring in large numbers of women
(b) for forty seven women each elected by the
into parliament. And both are at palpable risk
registered voters of each county, each county
of not only continuing to fall short but in undo-
constituting a single member constituency.
ing existing meager provisions that encourage
These are the reserved womens seats, one rep-
women to participate in public life.
resentative from each county. But, although the
A major part of Somalias gender issues can
2012 elections saw a numerical increase in the
be attributed to ongoing strife. The conict
number of women in parliament, no woman
has made room for militant extremism in the
was elected to the upper house of the national
form of piracy and the terror group al-Shabab.
parliament, and the vast majority of women
TrustLaw, part of the Thomson Reuters Legal
came to parliament through the 47 reserved
Foundation, determined in a 2011 survey that
seats. A similar pattern emerges at the regional
Somalia was the fifth worst place in the world
level: Just 82 women were elected to the 1,450
to be a woman, due to risk of female genital
open county assembly seats in the 2013 elec-
mutilation and domestic violence. Indeed, the
tions, while 680 were nominated to meet the
minister for development and social aairs at
constitutional threshold.
the time, Maryan Qasim, told The Guardian that
Even though it is considered one of the core
she was surprised that Somalia was not in first
principles of the hard-won document, parlia-
place, because for women it is a living hell.
ment has repeatedly failed to pass implement-
Kenyas patriarchal politics, on the other
ing legislation that would allow for Article 27(8)
hand, cannot be attributed to generalized vi-
to come into eect. The constitution, passed in
olence. Rather, as corruption and brutal con-
2010, did not provide for a mechanism through
testation in politics have become normalized,
which the two-thirds distribution would be
women have been crowded out for not organiz-
achieved beyond the creation of reserved seats.
ing or participating in political violence. Con-
Worse still, the reserved seats have had a
sider that the current president and deputy
deleterious eect on any gains of the last 20
president won the 2013 election by a land-
years. In 2007, Charity Ngilu, the former MP
slide, despite the fact that both men were fac-
for Kitui who has also held several cabinet
ing charges at the International Criminal Court
seats, became the first woman in Kenya to run
at the same time for orchestrating the 2007
for president. Since then, at least six women
post-election violence that left over 1,500
of various backgrounds and abilities have at-
people dead. The ability to muster and marshal
tempted it. But in parliament, instead of en-
violence to intimidate opponents is known col-
couraging more women into mainstream poli-
loquially as mimi ni ndume (I am a bull) politics,
tics, the reserved seats have created a ghetto
12
within the national legislature. This feeds the
Many of the progressive provisions of the 2010
misconception that women representatives
constitution have been rolled back, including
are in parliament exclusively to articulate the
protections for LGBTI groups, the disabled,
demands of women rather than to participate
and other special interest groups. In regards
as full parliamentarians.
to womens rights, crucial legislation like the
This pigeonholing of these appointed rep-
Matrimonial Property Law was gutted so that
resentatives stems from the violence of the
women were not automatically entitled to 50
electoral process in Kenya. Minnie Kasyoka, a
percent of the assets accrued during their mar-
24-year-old potential Kenyan candidate who
riage but only to their contribution, a formu-
changed her mind about running, told me: I
la that distinctly favors men.
opted out for mental health reasons. The back-
This is the male-dominated space that
lash is crazy. Without [a support group], I dont
could generate two billsboth introduced by
think I have the mental acuity to survive the ver-
mento defer the implementation of Article
bal abuse and threats. Its not safe and most
27(8). The MP from Ainabkoi, Samuel Chep-
people think its OK that the job description in-
konga, proposed a bill that would ignore the
cludes constantly being afraid for your life.

As Kasyoka notes, violence and intimidation are par for the course in Kenyan politics.
When women put themselves up for election,
they not only face casual sexism but risk physical harm. After the 2012 elections, a group of
female candidates reported to parliament that
their campaigns had been subjected to harassment, intimidation, violence, and other underhanded tactics.
Janet Chepkwony, a losing candidate in
Kapsabet, a town in the former Rift Valley prov-
NEITHER THE QURAN

NOR THE SUNNAH REJECT
WHAT CURRENT WOMEN
POLITICAL ASPIRANTS ARE
AIMING FOR.
ince, reported: I received threats to my life,

while my supporters were physically abused
implementation deadline and defer the enact-
or intimidated. This made it dicult to access
ment of the two-thirds rule until 2037. Then,
some of the areas and compete with my rivals
House majority leader Aden Duale cham-
on an equal footing. According to the Kenya
pioned a bill that he called the top-up ap-
Women Parliamentary Association, women
proach, which would allow parties to nomi-
candidates in 2012 were forced to employ pri-
nate women to parliament after the election,
vate security and pressured by senior men in
corresponding to the number of seats won by
their parties and ethnic groups not to stand for
the party at the election.
oce. The men claimed their political participation went against traditional gender roles.
Both of these bills are clearly unconstitutional. The constitution mandated the imple-
Retreating to the womens representative
mentation of quotas occur within five yearsa
seats may have ensured the political survival
due date that has since lapsed. The Chepkonga
of strong female candidates during a period of
bill was arguably the more agrantly uncon-
upheaval, but it robbed the National Assem-
stitutional of the two, but many opposition
bly of key voices. With few women legislators,
legislators see the Duale bill as a Trojan horse
the patriarchal mainstream has capitalized.
that would allow the ruling party to augment
WINTER 2016 / 2017
13
its presence in parliament without having to
inuence from more conservative Gulf na-
return to a vote. As of August 2016, both bills
tions have already constricted the space for
had failed in the House, though the Duale bill
women in public life. Negotiated democracy
will be introduced again once parliament re-
only aggravates this situation. Elections in So-
convenes this winter.
malia are not by direct, universal surage but
Very little of this jives with Kenyas self-
by nomination and quotas based on the coun-
proclaimed image as the most progressive
trys four major clans. Here, too, it is the coun-
country in the region, but it makes sense when
cil of elders who determines which candidates
you consider the extent to which political life
will be allowed to speak for the group, and
in the country is shaped by patriarchal institu-
again the councils rarely allow women to take
tions. Candidacy for elections in Kenya is not
up the mantle. In fact, on Oct. 2, a council of
simply decided by political platforms but by
religious elders denounced the 30 percent par-
a network of interests. For instance, all of the
liamentary quota as a foreign-led initiative.
large ethnic groups in Kenya are headed by
This system negates the many progres-
men-only councils of elders, whose endorse-
sive electoral and legal changes that were put
ment is required to secure the support of the
in place in Somalia before the war. In 1975,
ethnic group for a candidate.
for instance, changes to the family law made
In the Somali community of Kenyas North
men and women equal in the eyes of the legal
Eastern province, councils of elders determine
system and secured matrimonial property for
entire slates. This means elections are almost
women in the event of a divorce. This law is
always decided before people cast their ballots.
no longer in use in Somalianor even in So-
The council of elders in Mandera, a constituen-
maliland, an autonomous region that considers
cy on Kenyas border with Ethiopia and Soma-
itself more progressive than Mogadishu.
lia, has already announced the candidates for
Terrorism has only made things worse.
all electoral posts in the county. Most will be
Aside from defining strict domestic roles for
uncontested. In July 2016, the Njuri Ncheke
women, the presence of al-Shabab has in-
council of elders from the Meru communities
creased the risk of gender-based violence and
of central Kenya threatened to disown and put
generalized violence against women. In the lead
a curse on politicians who excluded them from
up to the 2016 election, one sheikh in Moga-
decision making. In the Kikuyu community
dishu seemed to suggest that equality of men
of central Kenya, the council of elders is lob-
and women was contrary to Islamic teachings,
biedoften financiallyby various candidates
though he has since retracted the statement.
over a number of months before securing the
Still, this does not deter women like Fa-
endorsement. Councils of elders in Kenya have
dumo Dayib, who, in 2014, became the first
rarely supported a female candidate for any
woman to declare her candidacy for president
national position, and have often intervened to
in Somalia. Dayib is deeply opposed to the ne-
discourage women from running against men.
gotiated democracy system and has made a call
This idea of negotiated democracy is supposed
for universal surage a centerpiece of her cam-
to protect the peace, but it subtly excludes
paign. She has faced numerous personal threats
those who are not represented in or do not
simply by putting herself forward, including
wield inuence over these councilswomen,
from al-Shabab, but Dayib remains determined
the disabled, and the poor.
to return to Mogadishu and campaign. For
This phenomenon is also prevalent across
her and other Somali women, its not simply
the border in Somalia, where conict and the
about convincing the electorate of a vision for
14
the country. Its also about gaining the support
Other East African countries certainly have
of a cabal of men who have strong interests in
issues in terms of how women politicians are
maintaining the patriarchal status quo.
viewed and treated by their male peers. There
Meanwhile, Anisa Hajimumin, minister for
are many who argue that leaders like Paul
Women Development and Family Aairs in the
Kagame in Rwanda and Yoweri Museveni in
semi-autonomous Puntland region, is emphatic
Uganda court women as a political bloc, be-
that the 30 percent quota should just be the
cause they view them as more malleable or sus-
beginning. Hajimumin argues that women have
ceptible to inuence. But the fact remains that
always played a major role in keeping Somalia
these leaders interact with women as a politi-
running, especially during the war years, and
cal force to be reckoned with. Women are part
they deserve to have their concerns about de-
of the conversation in these countries in a way
velopment and social protection articulated in
that they are not in Kenya and Somalia.
the legislature. By claiming that women will be
Representation of women in legislatures is
no part of politics, [these politicians are saying]
about more than simply increasing the percent-
only men will rule and be ruledan indirect
age of women MPs, but where even that is lack-
denial of access to development for women and
ing, getting the numbers is an excellent start. In
children, the minister said.

For Hajimumin, there is nothing un-Somali
or un-Islamic about women in government:
Neither the Quran nor the Sunnah reject what
current women political aspirants are aiming
for, which is simply a seat at the table.
Highlighting the challenges facing female
politicians in Kenya and Somalia is not to say
I WANT TO CHANGE HOW

PEOPLE THINK ABOUT
POLITICS AND POLITICIANS.
that women in other East African countries do

not face sexism or violence when they choose
the long term, it should involve creating alterna-
to run for oce. Rather, the underlying asser-
tive visions of inclusion and fostering conversa-
tion is that if governments choose not to pro-
tions around belonging, democracy, and other
tect the spaces created to increase the partici-
big ideas. For women like Kasyoka, representa-
pation of women in public life, legislatures will
tion is also about hope: Theres so much nega-
never be fully representative. Kenya and Soma-
tive press on politicians that creates hopeless-
lia have failed to make gender parity a priority,
ness in the citizenry, and that kills progress. I
leaving women vulnerable to the physical and
want to change how people think about politics
psychological violence that locks them out of
and politicians [Including women is about]
the public sphere.
taking back politics. O
WINTER 2016 / 2017
15
ANATOMY
GENDER DISPARITIES IN EAST AFRICA
World Policy Journal examines gender data in politics, education, and labor.
Secondary education rate
ETHIOPIA
TANZANIA
BURUNDI
RWANDA
Number of legislators
61
45
8%
8.8%
86.4%
85.3%
62
102
5.3%
8.3%
83.3%
82%
136
236
5.6%
9.5%
88.1%
90.2%
261
439
7.8%
18.2%
78.2%
89.3%
Labor participation rate
Rwanda has the worlds highest

representation of women in
legislature, in part due to a
shortage of men post-genocide.
Under Burundian law, a

woman cannot pass her
citizenship to her children if
she marries a foreigner.
In Tanzania, salaries paid to

women are on average 63
percent lower than those paid
to men.
Eighty percent of Ethiopias

population resides in rural
areas; women provide the
majority of the agricultural labor
in these communities.
PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN
80
60
40
Vol. XXXIII, No. 4 Winter 2016 / 2017 2016 World Policy Institute
23.6%
A
IN
H
C
EN
YA
20.8%
IS
TA
N
A
BI
20%
PA
K
RA
IA
D
SA
U
ED
IT
N
U
19.9%
ST
AT
E
KO
RE
A
LI
TH
U
A
SO
JA
PA
N
19.5%
17%
13.8%
13.2%
SO
A
SS
I
RU
IA
D
A
BR
IN
ZI
12.7%
11.7%
10.8%
N
A
IL
A
IG
ER
T
N
KU
W
AI
TI
AI
H
16
IA
1.5%
0%
6.1%
5.8%
TH
20
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3812882
87
331
25.3%
31.4%
62.2%
72.4%
143
315
22.9%
33.5%
75.8%
79.2%
39
236
SOMALIA
UGANDA
KENYA
Compiled by Stephen M. Barry and Christine Lee

Sources: Inter-Parliamentary Union, UNDP Gender Inequality Index, FSD International
Designed by Meehyun Nam Thompson
In some areas of Kenya, cultural

custom allows men to inherit
widowed women and cleanse
them via sex.
The Ugandan judicial system

treats domestic abuse as a
family matter, rather than a
criminal offense.
Elections in Somalia are based

on nominations of the four
major clans; this patriarchal
structure rarely selects women
to run for office.
NO DATA
75.5%
93
289
SOUTH SUDAN
37.2%
After nearly four decades of

civil war, women now comprise
over 60 percent of South
Sudans population.
NO DATA
NO DATA
IN NATIONAL LEGISLATURE
D
A
N
RW
A
BO
LI
VI
BA
U
C
A
EL
57.5%
51.8%
48.9%
D
N
D
IC
LA
I
N
RU
PI
BU
IO
FI
A
N
EN
TI
ET
IA
AR
G
ZA
N
TA
G
A
G
N
KI
ED
IT
47.6%
41.5%
37.8%
37.2%
D
A
M
D
N
D
A
AQ
33.5%
29.6%
26.6%
SU
IR
IA
AD
A
C
AN
ER
AL
G
26.5%
S.
26%
25.8%
37.1%
36.6%
WINTER 2016 / 2017
17
THOMAS FISHER RARE BOOK LIBRARY
GOOD GIRLS I
REVOLT:
n China, International Womens Day is usually a candy-and-owers-type aair. But in

2015, feminist activists in several major cities decided to use the March 8 holiday to
publicly condemn unwanted sexual advances

that occur on mass transit. They planned to
hand out stickers with innocuous slogans like
THE FUTURE
OF FEMINISM
IN CHINA
Police: Go arrest those who committed sexual

harassment. But before the women could act,
authorities detained at least nine of the organizers for picking quarrels and provoking trouble,
an ill-defined charge thats dicult to contest.
M AU R A E L I Z A B ET H
CUNNINGHAM
18
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3812921
CHINESE FEMINISM
I had heard of a few of the activists before.
Women in Beijing, where Clinton had declared,
I was vaguely familiar with their Occupy Mens
Womens rights are human rights.) Clinton
Toilets protest that advocated for more wom-
wasnt alone in her use of social media to show
ens restrooms and their demonstration against
solidarity: Human-rights organizations, LGBTQ
domestic violence that involved wearing wed-
activists, and feminists around the world cam-
ding dresses smeared with blood. Distributing
paigned together under the hashtags #freethe-
stickers seemed low-key in comparison. I was
five and #FeministFive.
surprised that this is what landed the women
Despite internet censorship and the curb-
in detention, especially since they hadnt even
ing of free expression, people within China also
carried it out.
voiced their support for the Feminist Five. Be-
Surprised, but not shocked: Ever since Xi
cause the women had not actually been able to
Jinping became president in late 2012, the
execute their protest, Chinese netizens argued
space for free expression in the country has
that the government was undermining its own
been shrinking. The Chinese Communist Party
stated commitment to the rule of law, which
seeks, above all, to maintain social stability.
would seem to prohibit preemptive arrest. More
In the past, this meant the government was
than likely, it was this domestic critique, not the
most sensitive to causes like justice for victims
international support for the Feminist Five, that
of 1989s June 4 massacres or freedom for Ti-
pushed authorities to release the women. After
bet. But with Xis ascension, authorities have
all, the Chinese government has never demon-
also been clamping down on rights lawyers,
strated an interest in bowing to foreign critics
NGO workers, political reformers, investigative
on matters of human rights.
journalists, academics who dont toe the party

line, and activists for causes that had previously
KNEE-JERK PARANOIA
been safelike feminism.
Watching the Feminist Five case play out, it
Four of the women were quickly released;
seemed clear that the Chinese government
the rest became known as the Feminist Five
had overplayed its hand, and was demonstrat-
and remained in custody until authorities
ing the knee-jerk paranoia it sometimes exhib-
freed them on April 13, 2015. During their
its in response to events that the vast majority
five weeks in detention, the Feminist Five drew
of citizens would otherwise ignore. Womens
international support. Secretary of State John
rights and gender relations are unquestion-
Kerry issued a formal statement calling on the
ably important topics in Chinese society right
Chinese government to release the women,
now, but few favor the showy and sometimes
and ocials in the United Kingdom and the
confrontational tactics of the Feminist Five. As
European Union spoke out on their behalf as
the womens detention showed, taking too ag-
well. On April 6, Hillary Clinton tweeted, The
gressive a stand can land someone in jaileven
detention of womens activists in #China must
when the cause theyre working for is one the
end. This is inexcusable. #FreeBeijing20Five,
government claims to support.
with a link to a New York Times story detail-
My Chinese-language teachers and, later,
ing the womens plight. (The second hashtag
colleagues in academia were often quick to
referred to 2015 being the 20th anniversary
point out that womens rights had improved
of the 1995 United Nations Conference on
under the Chinese Communist Party. This was
MAURA ELIZABETH CUNNINGHAM is a writer and historian whose work has appeared in TIME, the Los Angeles
Review of Books, Dissent, and Pacific Standard.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
19
true: The party had relied on womens support
(male-female equality) had really taken root. As
in its rise to power before 1949. After assuming
my language skills improved, I was able to read
control of the country, it had worked hard to
the help wanted signs posted in the windows
uproot the feudal thinking of Confucian pa-
of Beijings shops and restaurants and realized
triarchy. The first major piece of legislation the
that they were often startlingly specific, noting
new government passed was the 1950 Mar-
whether the business wanted a male or female
riage Law, which, among other things, ended
worker and stipulating certain age, height, and
underage marriage and decreed that both par-
weight ranges. Academiahardly a bastion of
ties must freely enter into marriage, putting
gender equality in the United Statesseemed
an end to arranged unions. The Communist
completely dominated by men; the only place I
Party also strictly enforced an existing ban on
knew of with no line for the ladies room was a
footbinding, a painful process that had never
Chinese academic conference.
been practiced in many parts of China but had
In conversations with my young Chinese-
become a symbol (both in the country and
language teachers and graduate-school class-
abroad) of the oppression of Chinese women
mates, I noticed how grimly determined these
in traditional society.
women in their early-to-mid 20s were to get
During the Mao Zedong era (19491976),
married as soon as possible rather than risk the
state policies promoting gender equality had
label of sheng n, or leftover woman, which
meant that women enjoyed marked improve-
could be slapped on a single woman as early as
ments in opportunities for education and em-
the age of 27. As sociologist Leta Hong Fincher
ployment. Stillas in the United Statesthey
has shown, the All-China Womens Federation
were considered responsible for child care and
the party organization responsible for promot-
household duties, which resulted in many wom-
ing the rights of womenhas actually taken the
en working a second shift at home late into
lead in demonizing the countrys leftover wom-
the night. Propaganda posters depicted women
en, using an extensive propaganda campaign
laboring in fields and factories, parachuting
to warn singletons that failure to marry by ones
from planes, and driving tractors. These were
mid-20s will have severe social and emotional
idealized images, but they encouraged women
consequences. For years, the federations web-
and girls to dream big. Though, unlike in the
site included anti-leftover women articles such
U.S., the goal of such feminism wasnt personal
as one criticizing women who put o marriage
fulfillment, but rather serving the country and
to seek advanced degrees. The author lamented
continuing the communist revolution.
that by the time those educated women were
While a significant change from gender relations in pre-1949 China, these policies were
ready to settle down with a partner, they had

become old, like yellowed pearls.
state-directed and top-down, not open for dis-
And the Chinese Communist Party itself,
cussion. As Chinese author Zhang Lijia, born in
the party that had relied on women in its
the mid-1960s, explained to me, Mao declared
march to power and whose leaders cheerfully
women [had] been liberated ... [so] it wasnt re-
recite the tired Mao-era slogan, n ren neng
garded as an issue. The government told wom-
ding ban bian tian (Women hold up half the
en that equality existed; therefore, it did.
sky), provides a terrible example for its citi-
EQUALITY?
zens to follow. No woman has ever ascended

to the elite Politburo Standing Committee, the
In my early years in China, I often wondered
small cabinet that eectively runs the country
how deeply the concept of nan-n pingdeng
in concert with the president. This pattern of
20
CHINESE FEMINISM
under-representation ripples down through
female advancement, as well as a greater em-
the entire political system.
phasis on marriage, but in the United States, my
In addition, for three decades, Chinas
peers struggled by not being as closely linked
One-Child Policy was enforced by a small army
to their families, especially when it came to
of government workers who monitored and
child care. In China, where people retire earlier
controlled womens fertility. This led to wide-
than in the U.S., its common, if not expected,
spread sex-selective abortion and a dramati-
that grandparents will move in with their chil-
cally skewed sex ratio; in 2014, roughly 116
dren to help babysit, freeing both parents to
boys were born for every 100 girls. Although
work without the imposition of day care costs.
the policy was modified in early 2015, govern-
While these issues were frequently discussed in
ment oversight of reproduction remains firmly
American media and popular culture, for a long
in place: China now has a two-child policy.
time I felt like Chinese women were not pay-
There are some bright spots. Although
ing as much attention to them. Female friends
women cant necessarily climb the party ladder to power, they fare better in the private
sector; a 2015 survey by the Hurun Report
found that two-thirds of the worlds richest
self-made women were Chinese. Despite a
preference for boys, Chinese daughters are by
no means neglected. Rates of female education have risen steadily in recent decades, and
since 2008, college enrollments for women
have exceeded those of men so much so that
THE REAL THREAT

TO STABILITY IS THE
DISSATISFACTION OF
MILLIONS OF WOMEN.
the government has implemented quotas designed to level the ratio. And Chinas export-
and colleagues occasionally expressed anger at
oriented manufacturing sector, which pro-
societal expectationssuch as the call to marry
pelled the countrys economic growth between
earlybut never showed significant interest in
the early 1990s and late 2000s, was powered
fighting back against them. Where, I wondered,
by young women who left their rural homes
were Chinas feminists?
in search of jobs in coastal factories. Through
Ive now realized that I was looking at the
their time as migrant laborers, many of these
country through my American Third-Wave
women achieved financial self-suciency and
feminist lens and searching for an organized
a level of social independence that likely would
feminist movement that, due to Chinas limita-
have been impossible had they remained in
tions on free assembly and free expression, was
their hometowns.
never going to manifest. I was also mistaken in
As I moved between China and the United
thinking that the absence of such a large-scale
States and talked with women in both countries
movement meant that nothing was changing.
about school, jobs, family, money, men, sex,
During my decade-plus of experience in Chi-
kidsthe common topics of conversation for
na, Ive witnessed a transformation in the way
20- and 30-something women everywhereI
young women approach the world and speak
realized that despite the advances in the past
about their place in it. Having grown up in an
half-century or so, the status of gender rela-
increasingly globalized country, and often hav-
tions in both of my homes frustrated me. China
ing spent time abroad, many Chinese women
seemed to have more institutional barriers to
are pushing for changethough few embrace
WINTER 2016 / 2017
21
the in-your-face tactics of the Feminist Five and
the emotional pain suered by Chinas leftover
their activist colleagues.
women, the video went viral and opened up a
Now women have taken the matter into
largely sympathetic discussion about the place of
their own hands, Zhang Lijia told me, referring
unmarried women in Chinese society. Many on-
to the increasing amount of feminist activity in
line commentators remarked that the short film
the past few years. Rather than accepting the
had brought them to tears. Its really so mov-
governments interpretation of gender equal-
ing, one posted, noting that although the video
ity, as they were forced to do during the Mao
was clearly marketing SK-IIs products, he or she
era, women are working to achieve their own
hoped to see more such advertisements, and
versions. Some of this takes the form of what
then the social environment might change a bit!
1960s American feminists called conscious-
None of this, to be sure, is easy. Chinese
ness-raising, via group discussions of books
women who seek change are often fighting a
like Sheryl Sandbergs Lean In or Chinese-Amer-
trifecta of institutionalized discrimination, so-
ican author Joy Chens Do Not Marry Before Age
cietal pressure, and family expectations. But
30, which encourages women to know them-
the fact that many are pursuing their goals in
selves before they commit to a partner. Small
the face of these challenges is a sign that the
group conversations might not translate into
mood is dierent than when I first moved to
large-scale, unified political action, but they can
China in 2005.
bring women together and encourage dialogue
In arresting activists like the Feminist Five
about the shared challenges theyre facing at
or limiting the space for NGOs to carry out their
home and work.
work, the Chinese government is damaging its
Other
women
have
pursued
change
own cause. If it is truly concerned about ensur-
through legal means: The first lawsuit alleging
ing social stability, the protests of a small num-
gender discrimination in employment was filed
ber of activists shouldnt be so alarming. Rather,
in 2012 (the plainti reached an out-of-court
the real threat to stability is the dissatisfaction
settlement with the company two years later),
of millions of women who face state directives
and the first court victory in such a case was
and community expectations concerning their
achieved in 2014. Filing a gender-discrimina-
employment, marriages, and reproduction.
tion lawsuit is not yet a widely pursued or ac-
Given the limitations on assembling a
cepted action; both plaintis used pseudonyms
far-reaching social organization in China, its
for fear that identifying themselves would harm
unlikely we will see a mass movement where
their future employment prospects. Additional-
women file an avalanche of gender discrimi-
ly, the imprisonment of activist lawyers and the
nation lawsuits or unite against planned-birth
unwillingness of Chinese courts to take on con-
policies. Instead, we will see fragmented and
troversial cases pose obstacles. But a few exam-
incremental change, the type that can continue
ples of success in seeking institutional change
for a long time before anyone realizes theres
through the courts can inspire other women to
been a shift. A few more female Communist
consider the same strategy in the future.
Party ocials here, a few less early marriages
Even pop culture and advertising are gradu-
therethese arent the actions that will get any-
ally shifting. When Japanese cosmetics company
one thrown in jail, but theyre no less revolu-
SK-II commissioned a short documentary about
tionary for being quiet. O
22
MAP ROOM
FORCED STERILIZATION OF TRANS INDIVIDUALS
Twenty-two European nations require trans people to undergo sterilization before theyre permitted
to change their gender on ocial documents.
No sterilization required for gender recognition

Sterilization required for gender recognition
No policy in place
24
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3812870
LEGAL TRANSITIONS
World Policy Journal examines four countries that are ahead of the curve.
ARGENTINA
GENDER-RECOGNITION LAW
PASSED ON:
PASSPORT ID OPTIONS
M or F
EST. WAIT FOR UPDATED

DOCUMENTS IN WEEKS
In 2012, Argentina became the first country to cover transition-related care with public insurance.
DENMARK
PASSED ON:
PASSPORT ID OPTIONS
M, F, or X

DOCUMENTS IN WEEKS
28
In January 2017, Denmark will become the first country to stop classifying transgender identity as a mental illness.
M A LTA
PASSED ON:
PASSPORT ID OPTIONS
M, F, or X

DOCUMENTS IN WEEKS
In April 2015, Malta became the first country with a bill of rights specifically for gender identity.
NEPAL
PASSED ON:
PASSPORT ID OPTIONS
M, F, or O

DOCUMENTS IN WEEKS
Nepal became the first Asian country to outlaw discrimination against LGBTQ individuals in September 2015.
Compiled by Kristine Marie Jordan and Monica Rodriguez
Sources: Transgender Europe, Human Rights Watch, Argentine Ministry of Interior and Transportation, Nepali Ministry of Foreign Affairs
WINTER 2016 / 2017
25
A WITCH HUNT
AGAINST POOR WOMEN:
ACROSS THE AMERICAS, ABORTION LAWS ARE

HARMING HEALTH AND SECURITY
DENIS BOCQUET
ANGELIKA ALBALADEJO
I
26
n 2011, Maria Teresa Rivera woke up handcued to a hospital

bed. Earlier that day, suering stomach cramps, she had gone to
the latrine in her backyard and collapsed. Her mother-in-law had
found her, lying in a pool of blood, and rushed her to the hospital.
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3812906
ABORTION LAWS IN THE AMERICAS
The 27-year-old Salvadoran garment work-
backed by socially conservative politicians and
er and single mother had miscarried without
the Catholic Church, all of those exceptions
ever knowing she was pregnant. But when she
were stricken from the books in 1998, ex-
regained consciousness, she learned that hos-
plained Charles Abbott, senior legal adviser for
pital sta had suspected her of inducing an
Latin America and the Caribbean for the Center
abortion and reported her to the police. The
for Reproductive Rights.
next day, still nauseated and feverish, she was
Since 2000, at least 129 women have been
moved to a jail cell. A few months later, a judge
prosecuted for abortion-related crimes in El Sal-
sentenced her to the maximum punishment for
vador. The most notorious cases are those of Las
murder: 40 years in prison.
17a group of women, which includes Maria
Maria Teresa is not alone. Across the Ameri-
Teresa, who were sentenced to more than 30
cas, restrictive reproductive rights laws are
years for having a miscarriage or stillbirth. While
harming womens health and security, oering a
still known as Las 17, the group has grown to in-
picture of what the United States could look like
clude at least 25 women, most of whom worked
if Donald Trumps administration has its way.
low-income jobs, lived in poor or rural areas,
Strict statutes paired with inequality and gen-
and had little education or were illiterate. Den-
eralized violence strip women of control over
nis Muoz, a lawyer who has represented sev-
their bodies and impede access to health care,
eral of Las 17, has described the abortion policy
especially for those in the poorest communities.
as a witch hunt against poor women.
The women who are already in vulnerable situ-
A decade-long international campaign by
ations are always going to suer the most, said
womens rights groups and human rights law-
Paula Avila-Guillen, an attorney and programs
yersincluding the Center for Reproductive
specialist for the Center for Reproductive Rights,
Rights and the San Salvador-based Citizens
a global advocacy group based in New York City.
Association for the Decriminalization of Abor-
The discrepancies in the level of access are re-
tionhas kept a spotlight on cases like Maria
ally just outrageous, and it becomes even more
Teresas while pushing for the release of Las 17
worrisome when it comes to access to reproduc-
and reforms to the total ban on abortion. After
tive health services.
four years of domestic and international pres-
Seven countries in Latin America and the
sure, Maria Teresa was set free in May 2016.
Caribbean have complete bans on abortion,
A new judge reviewed her case and deter-
including the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Hon-
mined that serious judicial error in her trial
duras, Nicaragua, Chile, and Suriname. But
had resulted in a conviction without a motive
nowhere in the region is the criminalization
or evidence of wrongdoing. The general picture
of womens bodies more visible than in El Sal-
is one of a complete lack of due process start-
vador. The smallest and most densely popu-
ing with the beginning of the investigation, [fol-
lated country in Central America used to have
lowed by] a very serious combination of human
a three-exception rule common in other Latin
rights violations that can lead to up to 40 years
American countries. Women could seek out an
in prison, Abbott said.
abortion in cases of rape, if the fetus had severe
When they told me I was free, I did not have
defects, or when the pregnancy posed a risk to
words. I felt happy, because I was going to see my
the mothers life. But, fueled by a pro-life lobby
son, Maria Teresa said in a letter to supporters.
ANGELIKA ALBALADEJO is a journalist focused on womens rights, security, gender-based violence, and
social protest in Latin America.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
27
In El Salvador, justice has been served and this
Salvadoran womens rights groups have ral-
needs to happen again with my compaeras, [the
lied together to advocate against the proposed
other women imprisoned on similar charges].
change, and internal disagreement within the
Maria Teresas release followed that of Car-
ARENA party makes it unlikely that the legisla-
men Guadalupe Vsquez Aldana in 2015. At
tion will pass. In October, members of El Salva-
18 years old, Guadalupe was raped and became
dors ruling party, the leftist Farabundo Mart
pregnant. She miscarried while at work as a
Liberation Front (FMLN), introduced legislation
housekeeper. Her employers rushed her to a
that would revert the countrys abortion laws
hospital, but the sta called the police. She was
back to a three-exception rule. But given the cur-
arrested and charged with aggravated homicide.
rent political climate, proposals to ease restric-
A judge gave her a 30-year sentence, despite a
tions on abortion are even less likely to succeed.
lack of evidence that she intentionally ended
Were facing an uphill battle, Herrera
her pregnancy. After serving seven years, she
said. Im not sure things will get any easier in
was granted an unprecedented pardon by the
my lifetime.
Salvadoran legislative assembly. Morena Herrera, president of the Citizens Association, at-
COLOMBIAS PARTIAL DECRIMINALIZATION
tributed the pardon to significant social pres-
While El Salvadors laws are among the most ex-
sure, nationally and internationally and the
treme, they are hardly the only prohibitions in
Supreme Courts recognition that due process
the region. From Colombia to the United States,
violations were evident in Guadalupes case.
laws restricting access to abortion are pushing
Still, at least 25 women remain behind bars
women toward unsafe procedures and stig-
in El Salvador with stories similar to those of
matizing those who seek reproductive health
Maria Teresa and Guadalupe. Dr. Eduardo Espi-
care. Alarming rates of sexual violence further
noza, El Salvadors vice-minister of health, has
exacerbate the situation. Survivors of sexual
called the abortion ban archaic and not fair.
violence are often discouraged from reporting
But, as Herrera explained, no more pardons
the crimes due to widespread impunity, fear of
have been granted due to the economic and
reprisal, and discrimination. In countries where
media power of right-wing religious groups
abortion is legal or partially decriminalized,
and the countrys conservative Nationalist Re-
access to abortion services and other forms of
publican Alliance party, known by the Spanish
reproductive care are becoming more limited
acronym ARENA.
and the impacts are devastating.
In July, ARENA members proposed a change
More than half of the countries in the
to the law that would increase the maximum
Americas29 in totalcriminalize abortion in
jail sentence for women accused of having abor-
all but a few specific cases, usually some form
tions to up to 50 yearsmaking the countrys
of the three-exception rule. Even when abortion
already severe anti-abortion laws even more pu-
laws are slightly less restrictive on paper, wom-
nitive. This would equate abortion in terms of
enespecially the regions poorest women and
criminal penalties with the maximum punish-
those in rural areasare often blocked from ac-
ment for any crime in El Salvador, Abbott said.
cessing these procedures due to social and insti-
This means if a woman or girl gets an abor-
tutional barriers.
tion after becoming pregnant as the result of
Ten years ago, Colombias constitutional
rape, she could face up to 50 years in prison,
court made a landmark decision brought on
while the maximum sentence her rapist could
by years of advocacy by womens rights groups;
receive is eight years.
it decriminalized abortion in cases of rape or
28
incest, when the mothers life or health is at
longest-running armed conict in the Western
risk, or when the fetus cant survive outside
Hemisphere. Since the 1950s, leftist guerrilla
of the womb. These exceptions, however, have
groups, right-wing paramilitaries, and the Co-
not been consistently applied. One of the is-
lombian military have fought over political rep-
sues with partial decriminalization is that the
resentation and land rights, primarily in rural
implementation of those laws becomes very
areas that have historically lacked a strong state
dicult, Avila-Guillen said. There is not 100
presence or infrastructure for health, education,
percent clarity. Even hospitals, doctors, and
and transportation. These factors place women
judges dont know how to apply the law.
at high risk of sexual violence and unplanned
In many Latin American countries, includ-
pregnancies without access to adequate repro-
ing Colombia, doctors can refuse to provide
ductive health care or the autonomy to make
abortion services by claiming a conscientious
decisions about whether or not to carry a preg-
objection based on their religious or moral
nancy to term.
beliefs. When denied care on these grounds,

women in urban areas can often seek help elsewhere. But, when the objecting doctor is the
only one available, women may have nowhere
to turn. Overall, the service continues to be
very limited in rural areas and for women who
just dont have the economic means or the power to fight a hospital, Avila-Guillen said.
But the main obstacle to implementation of
the law continues to be the state itself, and the
POOR WOMEN WHO SEEK

OUT ABORTIONS TEND
TO RELY ON UNTRAINED
PROVIDERS.
institutional hurdles are most visible in cases of

rape. In Colombia, survivors of sexual violence
Julia, whose name was changed to protect
must immediately file a report with the attor-
her identity, recounted in a 2014 interview
ney generals oce to receive the documenta-
with the Ministry of Justice how she was raped
tion needed to get a legal abortion. However,
for several days by paramilitary soldiers who
women will often avoid filing reports out of
came to her village 10 years earlier in Choc, a
fear of being humiliated by ocials or con-
predominantly indigenous and Afro-Colombian
cern their families and communities might
area on the northwest Pacific coast. When they
find out. The attorney generals oce is
stopped raping me, I went to a health provider
where victims of sexual abuse face the most
who gave me a powder to avoid any infec-
discrimination, Millena Zapata Muoz, a Co-
tion, she said. However, I never denounced
lombian survivor of sexual violence, told the
the rape, because I did not trust [the ocials].
womens rights group Corporacin Sisma Mu-
I also did not get any kind of psychosocial sup-
jer. You go to file a report and they say, Are
port or go forward to enroll myself in the [gov-
you even pretty enough for [them] to want to
ernments ocial] register of victims.
rape you?... When you suer a case of sexual
After five decades of conict, the war ap-
abuse, you tend to stay quiet because of the
peared to be ending with the signing of a peace
discrimination and the criticisms.
agreement in September between the Colom-
Ensuring that doctors make these abor-
bian government and the countrys main guer-
tion exceptions is most dicult in Colombias
rilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
countryside, which has been ravaged by the
Colombia (FARC). International bodies lauded
WINTER 2016 / 2017
29
CINTIA BOLIO
the pact for its inclusion of victims proposals.
womens rights can be passed, the dicul-
A gender subcommittee, the first of its kind in
ties ensuring adequate reproductive care in
any peace process, pushed to include womens
Colombias cities suggest improving access in
and LGBT rights in every section of the accord.
rural areas will remain a challenge.
Significantly, a special unit would have been established to investigate sexual violence against
LACK OF ACCESS
women during the conict, and perpetrators of
More than 97 percent of women in Latin
these crimes would not be eligible for amnesty.
America and the Caribbean live in countries
However, a public referendum vote in October
where abortion is heavily restricted or com-
narrowly rejected the deal, creating uncertainty
pletely banned, according to the Guttmacher
over what will come next.
Institute, the foremost global research and
Peace would create opportunities to expand
policy organization on sexual and reproduc-
reproductive health services in the countryside.
tive health. Yet, the region still has the highest
But even if a peace agreement that includes
rates of abortion in the world.
30
Restricted access to reproductive health
In addition to setting an example domesti-
care and the inability to prevent unwanted
cally that helps keep restrictive policies firmly
pregnancies almost always lead to higher rates
in place throughout the Americas, the U.S.
of abortion, legal or otherwise, according to a
Congress has consistently prevented foreign
study by the World Health Organization and the
assistance from reaching clinics that provide
Guttmacher Institute. This link between lack of
abortion services.
access and high abortion rates is apparent in
Following Supreme Court hearings in the
Latin America and the Caribbean where more
1970s that recognized womens rights to abor-
than 23 million women have an unmet need for
tion at the federal level, U.S. states began pass-
eective contraceptive methods and more than
ing hundreds of laws aimed at restricting ac-
half of all pregnancies are unintended, accord-
cess. These measures have included everything
ing to the Guttmacher Institute.
from expanded mandatory waiting periods to
The absence of reproductive care has been
health regulations intended to shut down clin-
especially significant as the mosquito-borne
ics, which the Center for Reproductive Rights
Zika virus sweeps across the region. Zika has
argues, willfully disregard scientific accuracy
been linked to severe birth defects and can

be sexually transmitted. Many of the aected
countries, however, have focused their response
on advising women not to get pregnant, and not
on increasing access to prevention methods or
abortions when needed.
Throughout the Americas, poor women
who seek out abortions tend to rely on untrained providers and the least safe methods.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, illegal
IN THE FIRST HALF OF

2016, STATES PROPOSED
360 RESTRICTIONS ON
REPRODUCTIVE SERVICES.
abortions cause at least 10 percent of maternal deaths, and every year, at least 760,000
and patients health and rights. In the first half
women are treated for complications from
of 2016, states proposed 360 restrictions on
these procedures across Latin America. In El
reproductive services, more than 60 of which
Salvador alone, over 35,000 potentially unsafe
have been signed into law.
secret abortions take place annually since the
Conservative states like Texas have relied
total ban on abortion was passed in 1998, ac-
on targeted regulation of abortion provid-
cording to estimates from the Citizens Associ-
ers laws, commonly known as TRAP laws, to
ation. In Colombia, clandestine abortions still
shut down clinics that provide abortion ser-
far outnumber legal ones, more than 10 years
vices by requiring hospital-like standards and
after partial decriminalization.
admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The
OUT OF REACH
Supreme Court has since ruled these laws unconstitutional, because they failed to advance
Even in countries where abortion is legal, access
womens health and placed an undue burden
to reproductive health care is becoming increas-
on those seeking to access abortion care. The
ingly limited. In the United States, laws at the
ruling sets a precedent for other states, but
state and federal level that withhold funds and
does not automatically invalidate all TRAP
decrease access to abortion providers have hurt
laws. Conservative lawmakers are already test-
women both inside the country and abroad.
ing new tactics to curb abortion access, such
WINTER 2016 / 2017
31
as Oklahomas recently failed attempt to crimi-
Aram Schvey of the Center for Reproductive
nalize physicians who provide the procedure.
Rights told Foreign Policy in Focus in 2015.
In Texas, these laws, paired with Republi-
While U.S. aid and diplomacy on abor-
can-led budget cuts to womens health pro-
tion rights are highly restricted, U.S.-based or-
grams, have endangered those seeking repro-
ganizations like the Center for Reproductive
ductive care. Between 2010 and 2014, the
Rights, Amnesty International, and Planned
number of women who died from pregnancy-
Parenthood Global have spearheaded advocacy
related complications doubled, giving the state
campaigns, provided legal representation, and
the highest maternal mortality rate of any-
attempted to fill gaps in reproductive health
where in the developed world.
coverage in Latin America.
These state restrictions are compounded
At the same time, some U.S. church minis-
at the federal level by laws that further restrict
tries and anti-abortion groups are using private
access for poor women. Since the 1970s, the
money to export opposition to expanded abor-
U.S. Congress has used an appropriations rider
tion access to other parts of the Americas, Ab-
known as the Hyde Amendment to bar the use
bott said. One strategy used by anti-abortion
of Medicaid health insurance funds for abortion
groups in the United States that is popping up in
services in all but a handful of circumstances.
cities like Bogot and Mexico City is the tactic of
The impact is clear: preventing low-income
placing protesters outside of abortion clinics to
women, especially women of color, from mak-
physically block access and shame women from
ing their own decisions about what is best for
seeking the services. In Mexican crisis pregnan-
their families and their lives, explained An-
cy centers, women are often legally obligated to
gel Ricker, a certified nurse practitioner who
watch graphic videos, a tactic imported into the
provides sexual health services. For 40 years,
country by religious pro-life groups like Heart-
politicians have used the Hyde Amendment to
beat International, which manages similar anti-
take away low-income womens ability to make
abortion facilities in the United States.
meaningful decisions about pregnancy.
This year, the Democratic Partys platform
And the federal restrictions on funds do not
called for the repeal of restrictions on domes-
stop there. For decades, the U.S. Congress has
tic and foreign funding for abortion providers,
prohibited the use of U.S. foreign assistance to
marking the most significant shift in the partys
perform abortions or to motivate or coerce in-
stance on abortion in nearly three decades. But
dividuals to practice abortions.
these limits on aid continue to have wide bipar-
In practice, the restriction has been used to

block U.S. aid from reaching clinics or organi-
tisan support, making it unlikely that a policy

shift will occur.
zations in foreign countries that provide family
With a Republican-held Congress and
planning services or support reproductive rights.
Trump in the White House, the future of repro-
Even supplying information or counseling on
ductive rights in the United States looks bleak.
abortion is not allowed in U.S.-funded facilities.
In his first prime-time television interview after
Some of the most vulnerable women overseas,
winning the election, Trump said he would ap-
including, for instance, those who have been
point Supreme Court justices who would vote to
raped in situations of armed conict, or who
overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which af-
face a life-threatening pregnancy, are less likely
firms abortion rights.
to be able to access care as a result of this U.S.
Having to do with abortion, he said, if
policy, undermining our foreign-policy goals of
it ever were overturned, it would go back to
promoting gender equality and global health,
the states.
32
But then some women wont be able to get

an abortion, CBS Leslie Stahl replied.
instrumentalizing womens bodies and a grave

violation of womens human rights.
Yeah, well, Trump said, theyll perhaps
Regionally, the Organization of American
have to gotheyll have to go to another state.
States (OAS) has adopted a convention to pre-
And thats OK? she asked.
vent, punish, and eradicate violence against
Well, well see what happens, Trump said.
women, including sexual violence and discrimi-
Its got a long way to go.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS
nation. Colombias constitutional court complied with this inter-American human rights
law by lifting that countrys absolute ban on
Reproductive rights have long been considered
abortion in the 1990s. Few other countries
a basic human right by a number of regional
have followed suit.
and international committees, charters, and
The Inter-American Commission on Hu-
treaties. But across the Americas, countries en-
man Rights (IACHR) has held several hearings
force highly restrictive abortion laws in viola-
on womens sexual and reproductive rights. In
tion of these obligations.
a 2016 hearing, IACHR Commissioner Marga-
Latin American women have long led the
rette May Macaulay acknowledged that many
struggle for recognition of womens rights. In

1945, Brazilian delegate Bertha Lutz pushed for
the United Nations Charter to become the first
international document to acknowledge equal
rights for men and women.
In the decades since, womens reproductive
rights have been further defined in the inter-
CHANGING THE LAW

CREATES A SOCIAL CHANGE.
national arena through a wide range of agreements. Most significantly, member states of the
governments in the region do not comprehend
United Nations have armed sexual and repro-
or appreciate womens rights and that a pas-
ductive health as a fundamental human right
sionate backlash against expanded reproduc-
and agreed to take steps toward eliminating dis-
tive rights has been drummed up in the region
crimination against women by ensuring access
by fundamentalists and male politicians who
to health services, including family planning.
seek to control [womens] bodies.
These international obligations also assert the

right to reproductive choice.
This opposition has made it dicult to

enforce existing human rights laws. Organiza-
When it comes to abortion, international
tions like the U.N. and the OAS have repeatedly
standards set by the United Nations require
called on countries to comply with internation-
states to at least provide access to safe and
al law, but have no recourse when governments
legal abortion in cases of rape, incest, or a
refuse to abide by their agreements.
threat to the life or health of the mother. U.N.
In spite of this, social movements and
human rights advocates have also stated that
shocking caseslike that of an 11-year-old
laws that fully criminalize abortion, like those
Chilean girl denied an abortion after being
in El Salvador, are discriminatory. As such,
raped and impregnated by her mothers boy-
the U.N. experts have called on all states to
friendhave pushed some policymakers to
repeal punitive abortion statutes, writing in
change their stances. This year, Chile, one of
September, legislation which denies access to
seven Latin American countries with a total
safe abortion is one of most damaging ways of
ban on abortion, has taken steps to partially
WINTER 2016 / 2017
33
decriminalize the procedure. In the face of a
exacerbate the inequality, shame, and discrim-
fierce debate over the issue, the countrys first
ination that women face across the Americas.
female president has supported relaxing the
Changing the law creates a social change,
law based on her background as a physician
Avila-Guillen said. When you talk about
and health minister.
[abortion] as a right, you dont feel stigma-
To ensure that access to reproductive care
tized in the same way. By changing the law, we
is recognized as a human right, many other
would be creating a destigmatization of basic
states need to change their legislation, on pa-
reproductive health services and that eventu-
per and in implementation. Current laws only
ally would help guarantee access. O
34
THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT

A C O N V E R S AT I O N W I T H
D R . A M E E N A H G U R I B - FA K I M ,
P R E S I D E NT O F M AU R I T I US
he first female president of Mauritius never planned on becoming a politician. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was a
trained biochemist, an author or co-editor of
some 28 books, and the founder of a private
lab to study the active ingredients of indigenous

plants. She had no political ambitions or experience. But to her surprise, she was asked to
join the Alliance Lepep coalition prior to the
2015 election. After its unexpected victory,
she rose to the presidency in June 2015. And
a year into her five-year term, she is focused
on attracting science and tech investment
to the nation of 1.3 million.
Despite a lack of natural resources, Mauritius, an island 700 miles east
of Madagascar, is a middle-income
nation that has seen rapid economic
growth. But the country has challenges ahead as it tries to adapt to rising seas and a warming world.
Gurib-Fakim
speaks
with
World Policy Journals managing editor Yaa Fredrick

about the importance of
integrating science into
JULIA MASSOW
politics,
what
prevents
women from rising into

positions of power, and
how Mauritius pulled o
its economic miracle.
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3812964
35
C O N V E R S A T I O N | THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT
World Policy Journal: I have to say its been a try-
the parliamentary level, yet so few women seem
ing week in the U.S., thinking that we too could
to be able to ascend to the highest oce. Why do
have a female president and then being so dis-
you think so many African countries are able to
appointed. It means a lot to be able to speak to
have female representation at the parliamentary
a woman in power and to believe that its still
level but not as president?
possible. To start with, you spent three decades

working as a scientist and then went almost di-
AGF: There have been other women presidents
rectly into the presidency. How and why did you
who have come before, for example in Malawi
make the transition from science to politics?
[Joyce Banda]. But Africa remains, to a large extent, a very patriarchal society. I consider the
President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim: I spent 20-
world of politics as just one institution. And if
plus years working in the university, then I be-
you look at the case of Mauritius, we find that
came an entrepreneur, which was a translation
there are many women in many institutionsthe
of my academic work into an enterprise. Then
judiciary, academia, businessbut in the world
the world of politics chose meI didnt choose
of politics, many women tend to shy away. There
to become a politician. The thought was were
is increasingly the feeling that they need to be
[Alliance Lepep] going for an election, and they
also at the policy-making level. For Mauritius, at
asked me whether I would be tempted to serve
least, as an African country, its going to happen.
my country at the highest level, and I said, Yeah,
We find more and more women who are engaged
why not? Because of my academic notoriety,
in the world of politics. There are also require-
they went and campaigned with my name as
ments that you need to have about 30 percent
president, and they won. So here I am. Im an ac-
representation of women in politics. So I think its
cidental president.
a work in progress.
WPJ: To build o of that, youve noted that you
WPJ: What are the barriers that keep women
arent just a biologist turned president, youre a
from even trying to ascend to the highest oces?
woman biologist turned president. Whats the

significance of both being a woman and coming
AGF: Well, Hillary Clinton has really smashed the
from a science background in your current lead-
glass ceiling. I personally think that this election
ership position?
in the United States was not all about gender.

There were other overwhelming issues. She man-
AGF: When you train as a scientist, you want to
aged to get through the primaries, and she did
have results, and youre driven to get results. This
quite well nationally, if you look at the percent-
is what Ive brought to this presidency, this value
age [of popular votes]. But if you look at the world
of getting results. When you are trained as a sci-
of science and the world of women professionals
entist and entrepreneur, you also come in with a
generally, it is about the social aspects. Women
business plan. You say, This is what I want to do.
do very well academically; they do very well at
This is what I need. This is where I want to go.
middle management, but I think they just cant

be seen to make that leap into the higher level.
WPJ: You are a female president on a continent
The main reason is that the social pressures, at
that only has one other female presidentin Li-
least in my country, are such that anything that
beria. One of the things I find so interesting about
goes wrong in the house, its always the womens
Africa is that in countries like South Africa and
fault. If a man comes home at nine oclock at
Rwanda you have high female representation at
night, they say, Oh, hes very hardworking. But
36
AMEENAH GURIB-FAKIM
if a woman comes home at nine oclock at night,
how do we do that? We need to be very careful
theyll say, Shes selfish, because shes not look-
in terms of biodiversity and renewable energy.
ing after the family.
Because were an island, we have a lot of solar,
This is something thats also changing, and

increasingly schools are putting emphasis on the
we have a lot of wind, we have a lot of waves and

sustainable fisheries.
fact that parenthood has to be shared, the duties
There are many, many measures that we
have to be shared. But this comes down to the
need to do, but we cant go alone, because were
home and what the attitude of your father was. I
a very small voice. Weve built a lot of alliances
was lucky to have had a fantastic cheerleader in
with other island states. We share similar expe-
my father, because he always gave me the choice,
riences, successes, and failures and try to learn
and he sponsored my education when I was very
from each other very quickly. For example,
young, when education was not free.
weve learned from some of the islands in terms

of the coral farms. Corals are bleached very eas-
WPJ: One of the fascinating elements about your
ily, and of course whenever we lose the coral
presidency has been the way youve blended your
reef, we lose the entire ecosystem, so we have
science background with your political oce,
to learn from other islands how they manage
and as president, youve prioritized pharmaceuti-
the coral farming and how we can best adopt
cal, health care, and life science spending. Im curious how youve chosen which scientific areas to
really put the weight of the government behind.
AGF: Being a scientist, you have results you need
to produce, and if you look at the challenges, for
example, for a small island state like Mauritius,
we find that we need more scientists to tackle
WE SHOULD NOT BUILD

WALLS; WE SHOULD BE
BUILDING BRIDGES.
climate change and emerging health issues and

to provide agriculture and new technologies. We
these practices. So climate change and all the
need new technology that can be meshed into
challenges that we have spoken about, it opens
agriculture because climate change may change
up a whole myriad of opportunities. Develop-
the rain pattern. And being a scientist, I can see
ing wind farms and renewable energies, which I
the challenges, and I can see where the needs are.
mentioned, also have huge potential to address

our economic challenges.
WPJ: To go back to climate change, in particular,

how does climate change aect an island nation
WPJ: In addition to sciences, one of the success
like Mauritius, and what is Mauritius, which is so
stories of Mauritius is being dubbed Africas
rich in biodiversity, doing to mitigate and adapt
most competitive economy, overtaking South
to the eects of climate change?
Africa, which has a booming mining sector. Im

curious how Mauritius achieved this title. How
AGF: In terms of the World Risk Report, were al-
did it diversify its economy, and what are the eco-
ready 14th in terms of susceptibility to the im-
nomic challenges for Mauritius moving forward?
pacts of climate change. Mauritius, just like other

small island states, has hardly contributed any
AGF: Look at the progression of the Mauritian
greenhouse gas, but we have to develop policies
economy since independence in 1968: In the
and strategies that will ensure we can adapt. Now
1970s, we were essentially dependent on sugar;
WINTER 2016 / 2017
37
C O N V E R S A T I O N | THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT
we were a monocrop economy. In the 1980s, we
our laws, and were completely in compliance.
started diversifying the economy. Of course, with
There may have been a few instances where
free education starting in 1976, we had a liter-
there had been reporting, but were very mindful
ate work force, so we started with rudimentary
of that. For example, we dont have child labor in
textile and low-skill labor. Then, in the 1990s,
the country. Were mindful in terms of gender,
we diversified into the financial sector, because
ensuring equal pay for equal work. We do look af-
we were getting more graduates, more trained
ter the foreign laborers, and they have contracts.
human capital, and then in 2000 we saw the
We dont take their passports, so theyre free to
coming of ICT [information and communications
move. So the rights of the workers are protected.
technology]. There has been a wave of diversifi-
There may have been a few isolated cases, but
cation by virtue of getting trained human capi-
the union here is quite strong, and they defend
tal. Now, having said this, there were a few other
the rights of the workers.
measures we took on board. For example, providing access to birth control and safety nets for the
WPJ: Youre not just a woman biologist turned
people. We also have the rule of law here, and we
president, youre also a Muslim woman biologist
have an election every five years.
turned president in a country where Muslims
All these factors put together have ensured
make up less than 20 percent of the population.
that we have kept on diversifying the economy.
How have Muslims and other minority groups
Now we are middle income. But if we want to
been treated in Mauritius, and what symbolic
increase growth, for example, we need to keep
value does your election have?
looking for new sectors, and one of the areas

that weve seen that has potential would be the
AGF: We value the diversity of Mauritius, and
knowledge economy. Were looking at the ocean
my mantra here is our diversity is our strength,
economy or renewables. All these challenges that
because we have Muslims, Hindus, Chinese, Eu-
were facing with climate change, for example,
ropeans, and Africans. All the groups create this
can be turned into opportunities, and we are pre-
melting pot which is Mauritius. We live in har-
pared to do that.
mony and in peace with each other, and we celebrate all national festivals, all religious festivals
WPJ: Since independence, Mauritius has been
together. We have become, and I hope we stay
hailed as an economic miracle. Recently, though,
that way, a beacon of peace and tolerance. Now,
it has come under attack for poor treatment of
I have no problem being called a Muslim woman
foreign labor, particular in the export processing
presidentwhy should I? We ensure that there
zones. What measures are being taken to protect
is diverse representation in our country, and
foreign laborers?
thats very important for social harmony. I make

it a point to celebrate with everybody, to build
AGF: We depend a lot on foreign labor. We import
bridges with everybody. We should not build
workers from quite a few countries, and were
walls; we should be building bridges.
very grateful for this, because they do contribute

a lot to the economy and will continue to do so
WPJ: I hope Donald Trump hears that message
moving forward. We need them in textiles and in
loud and clear. O
the construction industry. We have a very exible

labor law in Mauritius. Were members of the In-
This interview has been edited and condensed
ternational Labor Oce (ILO), and they oversee
for clarity.
38
PO R TFO L I O
WE WANT TO
STAY ALIVE:
ENDING FEMINICIDE IN JUREZ, MEXICO

BY ALICE DRIVER
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3812949
PORTFOLIO
UREZ, MexicoRespect our lives was
The border city of Jurez is especially noto-
written in green letters on her bare back.
rious for rampant rights abuses against women.
Another woman held up a purple banner
From 2008-2012, Jurez was one of the most
that read, Why are you killing us? Stop
violent cities in the world. In 2010, the city
disappearance and feminicide! On April 24,
held the record for homicides with 3,622 mur-
2016, thousands of women and girls marched
ders. When I was in the city in 2013, I spent
for six hours through the streets of Mexico
a few days with crime photographer Lucio So-
City to protest violence against women. They
ria, who works for the newspapers PM and El
chanted, We want to stay alive, a phrase
Diario. I sat next to him with his computer on
that has become the rallying cry of a genera-
my lap, clicking through his portfolio. In one
tion of women.
photo, a mans headthe face, mustache, and
According to the National Citizen Femini-
hair perfectly groomedhad been severed from
cide Observatory, a coalition of 43 groups that
the body and placed on the edge of a bridge.
documents feminicide, six women are assas-
In subsequent shots, I saw pieces of the mans
sinated every day in Mexico. Feminicide often
leg, torso, and arm scattered along the road. In
involves sexual violence and is defined as the
another, a bloody corpse lay on the ground par-
murder of a woman based on misogynist ideas
tially wrapped in black plastic, and in the fore-
like honor, shame, and control of womens
ground a ginger-and-white striped cat walked
bodies. It is a term that recognizes the sexual
behind the black-clad legs of a group of police
politics of homicide.
ocers. I kept looking through photos: a head
At the march, women called out in uni-
placed next to an armless torso, bodies cut up
son for members of public institutions, like
and arranged as if for an art exhibit, naked
the justice system, to be required to attend
women lying in the street with messages writ-
workshops on gender violence. They proposed
ten on their esh, men thrown into the dunes
mechanisms to combat sexism, and they de-
along the highway.
manded equal employment opportunities and

an end to economic violence.
The international media frequently represents that period of violence as a mystery. In
In Mexico, violence against women has
Jurez, citizens link the murders to the mili-
long been used as a political tactic linked to
tarys occupation of the city in 2008, when
the highest levels of power. In 2006, when cur-
former President Felipe Caldern sent 7,000
rent President Enrique Pea Nieto was gover-
soldiers and 2,000 federal police to stem drug
nor of the State of Mexico, he ordered police
violence. Those soldiers and police ocers have
to crack down on a protest organized by ower
since been implicated in a series of human
vendors who had been prohibited from selling
rights abuses against girls and women.
in the city of Atenco. Police detained, tortured,
Members of the military kidnapped Roco
and brutally raped 11 women. The case was
Irene Alvarado Reyes, 18, from her home on
recently taken on by the Inter-American Com-
Dec. 29, 2009. Her mother, according to a
mission on Human Rights, which has called for
2010 report from the Washington Oce on
an investigation into the participation of Pea
Latin America, witnessed the whole event, and
Nieto and other ocials.
her family informed the oce of the attorney
ALICE DRIVER is a photojournalist and the author of More or Less Dead: Feminicide, Haunting, and the Ethics
of Representation in Mexico (University of Arizona Press, 2015). Her multimedia work has been featured in
The New York Times, Univision, The Guardian, Oxford American, Vice, and The Texas Observer.
40
JUREZ
general. But authorities refused to file an of-
will to properly track its occurrence. For this
ficial complaint. The family has persisted, but
reason, activists, primarily mothers of victims,
despite meetings at the municipal, state, and
continue to play an important and visible role
federal level, no clear eorts have been made
in holding the state accountable for continued
to locate Roco, who remains missing. The
violations against women and girls. In Jurez,
accusations filed by women or their families
over the past two decades, mothers have con-
against soldiers include rape, sexual harass-
structed and maintained crosses and infor-
ment, and forced disappearance, and they say
mal memorials to mark the sites where their
groups of soldiers and police ocers of various
daughters were abducted. To walk through the
ranks are involved and appear to be working
city is to experience the living memory of dis-
in coordination.
appearance. The faces of girls and women con-
The government has continually relied
nect a physical space to a site of violence.
on violence against women to control and
According to Mexican photojournalist Ju-
intimidate. It is not a byproduct of other vio-
lin Cardona, who has been reporting from the
lence but rather an accepted practice within
city for the past two-and-a-half decades, It
state institutionsone that is nearly always
is important to understand and study what is
left unpunished.
happening in Jurez. It is important to look for
In some states in Mexico, perpetrators of
the equivalent in industrialized societies and
feminicide are now being brought to justice,
developed countries, because Jurez is not an
but there is still a lack of data and political
isolated caseit is only a symbol. O
WINTER 2016 / 2017
41
PORTFOLIO
WE DID NOT FEEL HEARD

La K-NTONA is a feminist collective formed in 2016 in Jurez by a group of young women
who took over an abandoned house in the center of the city. K-NTONA is derived from
canton, border slang for the word home, and ends with an a to mark the feminine.
Above the main entrance to the house, the women painted: Vivas nos queremos, (We
want to stay alive) a version of the chant used by activists across the country to protest
violence against women. In Jurez, the slogan is associated with rallies against the
disappearances and murders of women, which have plagued the city since the early 1990s.
About two dozen members of La K-NTONA listened to my questions and then agreed
upon a collective statement about the origins of the group: It was formed in response to
a context in which there is significant violence against women, particularly in the social,
artistic, and cultural movement spaces where many of us come from and where we did
not feel heard or seen, and some of us even became victims of violence. They wanted to
create a space for women to explore the possibilities and benefits of being able to meet,
talk, and organize, and feel safe while doing so. The space is open to all women, both
cis and trans, who wish to use it for cultural events and activities related to the life and
well-being of women. La K-NTONA recently organized a lecture to raise awareness about
Berta Caceres, an indigenous environmental activist assassinated in Honduras in March
2016. The collective is currently teaching urban gardening and developing workshops on
documentary filmmaking and audiovisual creation.
42
JUREZ
I WOKE UP DESPERATE
She went to work. It was a Friday, March 3, 1996, and by the next
morning, she had not returned home. I woke up desperate, Doa
Catita said, as she sat on her patio in Jurez, surrounded by buckets
of flowering plants. They found her in a hotel. The man who killed her
took her to a hotel. They caught him while he was trying to discard
the body. But then in the newsit was a disgracethey reported
that my daughter was at the hotel doing drugs. Catita continued, I
fought with the district attorney so much. He told me, Your daughter
made him lose a testicle. She kicked him. And I responded, What?
But he killed her. If he had just injured her, I could have healed her
wounds. And he said, But your daughter is violent. She kicked him.
It was so awful losing a daughter, but time has passed, and God has
given me strength. Her daughters killer was sentenced to eight years
in jail, but he was released after four for good behavior. Why didnt
they even let me know? He had already been out for three weeks by
the time I found out, Catita said.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
43
PORTFOLIO
A BAD IMAGE
Kristian Lpez, 26, owner of the barbershop Shop
Urbano, has a tattoo that reads, Life is a dream.
Death is waking up. When I asked him if he and his
friends talked about violence against women and
feminicide, he said, Look, those issues havent
been talked about for years, not since I was a
child. Between us, it is only outsiders who have
given Jurez a bad image. Residents of Jurez are
often wary of foreigners, because they feel that
the international media has unfairly depicted the
city and that much of the reporting lacks nuance.
44
NO POLITICAL WILL
Dr. Julia Monrrez Fragoso, a professor and researcher at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte in
Jurez, began collecting and analyzing data on feminicide in January 1993 and has tallied
a total of 1,604 feminicide victims over the last 23 years. Girls and women, she said, keep
disappearing, because there is no political will to end these atrocities. Part of the problem,
said Monrrez Fragoso, is that the victims are mostly poor girls and women who are
marginalized and whose lives do not interest those with political power: I have never heard
public officials show indignation or make a commitment to gender justice, leading them to
declare that this [type of violence] will end. Unfortunately, there are few reliable statistics
about the disappearance of girls and women in Jurez, because government officials have
never prioritized tracking that kind of violence. Academics like Monrrez Fragoso and
Marcela Lagarde y de los Ros, who played a key role in defining and codifing the term
feminicide in Mexico, have spent decades working to get the government to formally
recognize feminicide with little success.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
45
PORTFOLIO
SHE LIVES ON
Every time I share my daughters story, I feel that she lives on, said Paula Flores,
whose daughter Mara Sagrario Gonzlez Flores disappeared on April 6, 1998.
Mara Sagrarios body was eventually discovered in an empty lot in Jurez, and it
was clear shed been raped and murdered. Since then, Paula Flores has dedicated
herself to preventing violence against women in the city. She, her children, and
other mothers of victims paint black crosses on a pink background around the
city in places where girls and women have disappeared or been murdered. The
crosses now number in the hundreds. The sight of them around the city is haunting,
and Flores, who was repainting crosses when I visited her in July 2016, told me,
These crosses are my responsibility. I want people to see them, because I am
aware of their iconography and significance. Flores has spoken with governors
and presidents, and she has witnessed the pace of legal and institutional change in
preventing violence against women (it is measured in decades). On July 3, 2016, as
we sat in her living room, Pauld told me, The government still hasnt done anything
to address the inconsistencies in the case of my daughter.
46
R E P O R T A G E | THAILANDS DEEP SOUTH
WE HAVE NO FREEDOM:
LOSING HEARTS AND MINDS
IN THAILANDS DEEP SOUTH
ROLAND DOBBINS
ABBY SEIFF
ATTANI, ThailandIsmails life splits neatly into two.

There are the 12 peaceful years before the insurgency
in Thailands deep south, and the 12 tumultuous years
since. For half his life, Ismail has lived amid separatist at-
tacks and a repressive state response. In Bangkok, you can live

in freedom and happiness; you have no trouble. In the deep
south, we have no freedom, he told me.
48
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3813003
Ismail was keen to talk about the abuse he
In light of such abuse, it is not surprising
suered at the hands of Thai authorities, but he
that Ismail and others have little faith in the au-
lives in constant fear of the government. If we
thorities. And, even if they do not condone the
fight back, were labeled as a terrorist. In this
violent tactics of the insurgents, many would
country, if youre against the military or gov-
back their claim far more readily than that of
ernment, it means you are a bad person, said
the Thai authorities. The separatists are better.
Ismail, who asked to be referred to by a pseud-
They have the same religion, language, tradi-
onym lest his criticisms draw trouble.
tions, Ismails friend, Rusman, also a pseud-
Since 2004, an insurgency has consumed
onym, explained. I think its dierent here
Thailands southernmost provinces of Narathi-
from the rest of Thailand. I feel dierent. I dont
wat, Yala, and Pattani, as well as parts of Song-
feel ThaiI am Malay.
khla. Almost 7,000 people have been killed and
Once an independent sultanate, the king-
more than 12,000 wounded as Malay Muslim
dom of Patani was annexed more than a cen-
separatists push for autonomy in an area that
tury ago and has seen sporadic pushes for inde-
is ethnically, linguistically, and culturally dis-
pendence ever since. After more than a decade
tinct from the rest of Thailand. Successive re-
of calm, on Jan. 4, 2004, separatists carried out
gimes have confronted the bloody insurgency in
a series of coordinated attacks. They burned 20
part through aid and development as a means
schools to the ground and raided a military ar-
of winning hearts and minds and encouraging
mory, killing four soldiers.
economic activity. But they have also employed
While the attack took many by surprise,
brutal security tactics, which have further alien-
rights groups and researchers have noted that
ated the regions Malay Muslims who make up
the two years prior had been a period of upheav-
85 percent of the population.
al and violence, traced to policies enacted by
Like many villages in this region, Ismails
then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. In the
community is under constant surveillance by
deep south, as in the rest of the country, a war
the Thai military. They come to school, and
on drugs saw mass disappearances and extra-
the teacher has to stop; they walk around and
judicial killings. Thai forces killed more than
interrupt the students studies. They come to the
2,500 people and arrested more than 70,000
village, and the atmosphere changes, he said.
as part of the nationwide crackdown. Simulta-
Last year, the 25-year-old spent two weeks in
neously, a reshue of the governing bodies and
custody at Ingkayuth military prison for alleged
figures in the deep south weakened Bangkoks
involvement in attacks. Soldiers kept him in a
ability to monitor and control the situation.
frigid room and interrogated him for 10 hours at
After the January 2004 attacks by separat-
a time, he said. His captors insisted over and over
ists, the government established martial law
again that he was involved with the insurgency
and deployed security forces across the deep
and urged him to confess. But they seemingly
south. In April of that year, soldiers gunned
had little to back up their claims, and Ismail
down 32 insurgentsmost armed only with
wouldnt break. With neither evidence nor con-
knivesat the Krue Se mosque. Later that year,
fession, there could be no charges and the case
soldiers broke up a protest by shooting into
was dropped. Still the encounter left a mark on
the crowd; detaining, stripping, and beating
Ismail. When he was finally released, Ismail was
some 1,300 demonstrators; and packing ar-
so ill his family took him to a nearby hospital.
restees into overcrowded military vans where
ABBY SEIFF is a freelance journalist based in Southeast Asia.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
49
78 died of suocation or organ collapse. The
black market dealings, profits are being made
violence spiked on both sides. According to fig-
o the resources pumped into the region to
ures published in Duncan McCargos Rethinking
support the round-the-clock security theater.
Thailands Southern Violence, there were 1,843
This year, the government allocated more than
separatist attacks in 2004. In the entire previ-
$863 million to their security forces in the
ous decade, there had been 750.
south, a $125 million increase from 2015.
The heavy-handed response by govern-
Today, more than 60,000 security forces
ment forces has continued under Thaksins
possibly as many as 80,000are posted to Pat-
successors but hasnt dampened the insur-
tani, Yala, and Narathiwat provinces as well as
gency.
firebombings,
four districts in Songkhla province. The area
shootings, and the deployment of IEDs have
resembles an occupied territory. Military check-
been used by a range of insurgents with vary-
points line the roads, and helicopters buzz
ing aims. Violence has dipped, but it shows no
overhead. One morning as my translator and I
signs of abating altogether. At the peak of the
were driving back from an interview, I stepped
conict in 2007, 961 people were killed and
out of the car to take a snapshot of Ingkayuths
1,772 wounded. In the first six months of this
gold-on-black street signs, and a soldier with a
year, 79 people were killed and 212 wounded.
gun chased me down, ordering us through the
Incidents still occur almost daily.
gates. Inside, a somewhat friendlier command-
Since
2004,
arsons,
Peace talks have largely been ineectual
er looked amused as we struggled to explain: I
and are marked themselves by violence. In early
have a journalist visa; I was standing on a public
September, as the latest round got underway,
street. He asked to see my camera and told me
insurgents killed one civilian and wounded 30
to delete all photos in which you could see the
in Pattani. A day later, another bomb derailed a
words Ingkhayuttha Borihan Fort. Its for secu-
train in Narithiwat, killing one and injuring four.
rity reasons, he explained, and then he laughed
MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

The Ingkayuth military base is a sprawling com-
at me when I requested an interview. Ingkayuth

isnt simply a military baseit is also the site of
the regions most notorious military prison.
pound stretching for nearly half a mile along
When the military in the deep south does
National Road 42 in Pattani. There are barracks,
speak to journalists, it downplays how little
gyms, training grounds, soccer fields, and a hos-
headway has been made. There has been
pital. The base is the headquarters of the 15th
constant progress as to the attempt to address
Infantry Division, a specialist force responsible
problems in the deep south over the past 12
for security operations in the deep south. The
years based on the policies and strategies de-
division is one of the cornerstones of the Inter-
veloped by the government, ISOC spokes-
nal Security Operations Command Region 4
man Major General Banpot Poonpien said in
the armys governing force in the area.
a statement released to the media earlier this
Residents in the deep south say autonomy
year. He was responding to a rights report al-
will never be granted in part because the mili-
leging systemic torture at the hands of Thai
tary industrial complex has created a finan-
military. It has helped transform the unrest
cial windfall for many. Locals speculate that
in the deep south, paving the way toward a
vast wealth is being made through corruption.
resolution of the conicts based on peaceful
Drug tracking is rampant in this area, and
means and based on good cooperation from
access to Malaysia makes these provinces a
all concerned parties. This is attested to by the
popular smuggling route. But even without
fact that the number of violent incidences has
50
markedly decreased. It could be said that the

environment has changed.
In January, Thai rights group the Cross

Cultural Foundation detailed the militarys ex-
Banpot is partly correct; killings have de-
tensive use of torture, and blamed the broad
creased, but other forms of violence have
and invasive laws for providing cover for the
spiked. Zachary Abuza, a professor at the Na-
mistreatment. Authorities can apply several
tional War College in Washington, D.C., who
restrictions whose eect is to prevent relevant
focuses on the deep south, wrote in an email:
organizations from monitoring these detainees,
The number of people being killed in the South
to prevent detainees relatives from visiting and
is down. Thats very clear. The number of inci-
lawyers from giving independent counsel. These
dents per month does uctuate. The number of
factors contribute significantly to the rampant
IEDs is actually growing steadily.
use of arrest and torture of detainees, to which
GOVERNING BY MARTIAL LAW

The military control of the deep south has given
supervisors and/or state agencies are accomplices, the authors of Cross Cultural Foundations
Torture and Ill-Treatment in the Deep South found.
rise to a slew of new legislation. The area has
Violence, torture, and extrajudicial killings
been under martial law since 2004, subordinat-
remain widespread in Thailands deep south.
ing all civilian agencies to the military and al-
While evidentiary standards to secure a con-
lowing for sweeping powers of search, seizure,
viction are high, arrests can be carried out at
and arrest. A year later, an Executive Decree on
will thanks to the special orders governing the
Public Administration in Emergency Situations
region. Once in military custody, detainees are
was announced, absolving security forces acting

in good faith of criminal liability and permitting preventive detention of suspects for up to
30 days without charge.
Meanwhile, 2008s Internal Security Act
further curtailed detainees rights. Under its
OF COURSE I FEEL ANGRY,

BUT WHAT CAN I DO?
terms, individuals in military custody have no

right to see a lawyer or relatives and no right
often tortured in the hopes of extracting con-
for their whereabouts to be known.
fessions. Rights groups, the media, and legal
The legislative moves were put in place to
advocates have documented this abuse, but the
maximize the governments ability to obtain
government has refused to hold perpetrators to
information needed to fight terrorism, but
account. In the course of 12 years of martial law,
such laws wear poorly with time. Martial law
no one has been punished for torture. The se-
is generally a policy that most countries are
curity forces operate with impunity and that re-
able to adopt, but it clearly is meant to be at
ally alienates the local community, said Abuza.
a very short duration; it just simply cannot
A study issued this year by the Muslim At-
be for significant periods of time, said Mark
torney Center (MAC), a local legal aid organiza-
Ellis, executive director of the International
tion, reported 33 cases of torture in custody in
Bar Association. With martial law, protec-
2015. Since the military junta took power two
tion against rights abuses disappears They
years ago, torture has been on the rise, accord-
can be so draconianthe government takes
ing to MAC staers. We learn about [cases]
on all of those powers, and theres no longer
only when the victim comes to us; the number
any entity within the government structure
is certainly higher, said Kaosat Ali-mamah, a
to counter decisions.
paralegal at MAC who compiled the data on
WINTER 2016 / 2017
51
abuse by security forces. Before the coup, the
That belief is common across the region.
numbers were stable. Since then, it has been
A poll carried out last year by researchers at
going up.
Prince of Songkla University found respondents
The Cross Cultural Foundation report in-
ranked Thai state security forces as the least in-
cluded case studies on 54 men tortured during
strumental to instilling peace and security; reli-
the past decade. Some had been waterboarded,
gious leaders were ranked first.
while others were choked or put in icy cells.
Before there was peace, but then the mili-
Electrocution was not uncommon, nor was
tary started to come here, and now we dont
sexual assault.
have peace at all, said Fareed, a 33 year old
ISOC responded angrily to the report, calling it a cheap ploy to solicit funding support
from Yala province who asked that his real

name not be used.
from abroad. Three of the report researchers
In October 2015, Fareed was apprehended
were later charged with criminal defamation
at home in Pattani on suspicion of taking part
and computer crimes.
in a shooting. After being processed at his lo-
The vast majority of those arrested in
cal police station, he was sent to Ingkayuth.
counter-insurgency eorts are released with-
Each day, soldiers interrogated him for hours
out charge. Abuza calculated that just 11 per-
at a time, urging him to confess. Sometimes
cent of detainees are convicted.
it would be for two hours, sometimes it would
But many of those who return home from
go until 2 a.m. When that tactic failed, they
Ingkayuth and similar facilities do so with
moved him into a painfully cold room cooled
physical and psychological scars.
by multiple air conditioners and fans. Eventu-
One year after his arrest, Abdoullahs eye
ally, they upped the ante, stripping him naked
twitched as he recounted his ordeal at the
each day and pushing his face up and down,
hands of Thai authorities in Yala province.
over and over, into a pool. Sometimes, Fareed
A group of police, military, and paramili-
recalled, they used wet clothes to cover his nose
tary picked him up at his wifes home, then
and mouth, and at others, they interspersed the
marched him into the woods. They circled
dunking with blows to the stomach and head.
around me and started electrocuting me. They
Without a confession, soldiers can rarely
were trying to force me to run, but I didnt be-
back up their arrests. After 25 days, his case
cause I knew I would be shot, he said.
was sent to court where it was thrown out for
Abdoullahwho also asked to be referred
lack of evidence. A former government employ-
to by a pseudonym out of fear of reprisalfell
ee himself, Fareed noted there is little recourse
to the ground during his interrogation, but
for cases like his: Of course I feel angry, but
the security forces kept electrocuting him. At
what can I do?
the end of two hours, he was so weak guards
Don Pathan, a security analyst based in
had to carry him to their car. Like many de-
Yala, said that while the military hasnt pushed
tainees, he spent weeks in custody without
many people into the arms of the insurgents,
charge. There was no evidence, so they let me
neither has its actions drawn them away. In a
go eventually, he said.
nutshell, the past 12 years of high military pres-
When a translator and I spoke with him
ence in the far south has failed to achieve its ob-
in February, he still had pain in his shoulders,
jectives, which is to hunt down the insurgents
and said he worried constantly about the safe-
and to win hearts and minds of the local Malay
ty of his daughter. Does this type of policing
Muslims, he explained. The Thais say victory
prevent violence? he scoed. Of course not.
lies in winning hearts and minds of the local
52
Malay Muslims. I think they should accept the
identity centered around the monarchy. The in-
fact that the local Malay residents are already
surgents, meanwhile, are fractious and secretive
with the insurgents and therefore future nego-
with many groups lacking any public front or
tiation should be between the Thai state and
cohesive aims. The disjointedness of the insur-
the Malays of Patani. If the state can address the
gency movement has been made clear during
grievances of the local people, then the insur-
the ongoing peace talks, which are being car-
gents will have no legitimacy.
ried out by groups that many militants say dont
RESISTING THAIFICATION
represent them.
Currently, negotiations are held between
With a population of about 2 million, the deep
government representatives and those of MARA
south has managed to avoid Thaificationthe
Patanian umbrella organization of five in-
government-led eort to assimilate the coun-
surgent groups. While the primary insurgent
trys ethnic minorities to the culture of central
group, Barisan Revolusi Nasional (National Rev-
Thailand. Strict Thai schooling and language
olutionary Front) has members on the negoti-
policies have wiped out distinct societies and
ating team, its highest echelons have distanced
languages across the nation, but the Malay

Muslims in the south have retained their written and spoken languages and even a schooling
system that allows for the promulgation of their
own culture.
That success is no small matter. In all of
Thailand, the southern provinces are the only
ones where a visitor sees a language other than
IN TERMS OF THE PEACE

PROCESS, I THINK ITS A
TOTAL JOKE.
Thai and English on street signs or government

buildings. Having managed to preserve their cul-
themselves from the talks. This situation has
ture in the face of steep obstacles, those in the
played out with other groups, and is exacerbat-
deep south and their supporters have looked to
ed because decentralized cells carry out most of
autonomy deals ranging from Indonesias Aceh
the insurgency.
to Northern Ireland as possible blueprints for
While the government insists that nego-
self-determination. In repeated surveys cast
tiations are sailing along, there is little to sup-
over the years, residents of the deep south are
port such claims. In April, Lieutenant General
optimistic about reaching a peaceable outcome
Nakrob Boonbuathong of the negotiating team
after years of violence.
told reporters that he expected to see an agree-
Such hope belies the realities on the ground.

The general consensus of most who study the
ment by the end of next year, but he also said

just three of 10 terms had been settled.
area is that peace can only come with a degree
In terms of the peace process, I think its
of self-rule. It is hard to see how sustained
a total joke, said Abuza. The governments
peace can be achieved without some form
goal is to degrade the insurgents to the point
of autonomy for the area, notes a 2013 Asia
where they dont have to make any political
Foundation report, The Case of Southern Thai-
concessions to them. Their goal in going into
land. But this will almost certainly not happen.
peace talks is not to seek a durable political
On the part of the government, granting au-
solution that respects the cultural rights of
tonomy would be unthinkablea repudiation
the Patani and gives them economic and po-
of a system that prides itself on a homogenous
litical autonomy.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
53
Despite the informal negotiations, the in-
ocials, create a mechanism for handling com-
surgents appear to be escalating their fight. In
plaints against authorities, and promote cultur-
August, a string of bombings at popular beaches
al diversityincluding making Patani-Malay a
and hotels killed four and wounded dozens. On
working language in the region. Unfortunately
Aug. 10, police discovered two bombs at a pop-
these recommendations were not taken up
ular night market near Phukets Patong beach.
by the government, notes the 2013 Asia Foun-
The following day, a bomb went o at a market
dation report. There has been little recognition
in Trang and three more at a bar and spa in Hua
of the need for fundamental changes in how the
Hin, a beach resort popularized by the Thai roy-
state itself operates.
al family. Then, in just over a two-hour period
Without much guidance from the central
on Aug. 12, seven bombs exploded at police of-
government, the military appears to be trying a
fices, trac control posts, markets, and parks
defter touch in some areas. At the Mohamma-
across southern Thailand.
diah School in Pattani provinces Khok Poh dis-
The bombings took place days after the
trict, the director, Hilmi Usin showed o a box
junta held a controversial constitutional ref-
of volleyball nets. The equipment was donated
erendum and manygovernment ocials in-
by a nearby military base, which runs regular
cludedpointed fingers at political elements
programs at the school. When the authorities
unhappy with the vote. Now it appears in-
have a project, they come here, said Usin. Like
creasingly likely that southern insurgents were
anti-drugs programs or sports. They oered to
behind the attacks, marking their first large-
finish our ptanque court and gave these vol-
scale violent foray outside the deep south.
leyball nets.
Weeks after the attack, BenarNews reported
Unlike others, Usin insisted the soldiers
that an unnamed leader of a Barisan Revolusi
arent disruptive when they come through the
Nasional combat unit took responsibility for
school. But he knows the visits to his 60-year-
the string of resort bombings, as well as some
old traditional Islamic school arent entirely in-
more recent attacks. The government does
nocent: Theres no record of arrest of students
not show their sincerity for a real peace,
but many alumni who graduate from here are
BenarNews, an oshoot of Radio Free Asia,
arrested and accused of separatism.
quoted the commander as saying. In the deep
The authorities suspect this pondok is in-
south, such claims of responsibility are rare.
volved with the separatist movement, he said,
But if confirmed, it could mark a considerable
using the term for a school that oers religious
shift toward countrywide violence. Authori-
as well as academic instruction. Thats why
ties have arrested or issued warrants for eight
they always come here.
suspects; reportedly, most of them are from
Jalaludeen, a social studies teacher, gave a
the deep south and appear to have links to
resigned shrug as he considered the accusations.
insurgent groups.
In 2006, a government-established Nation-
We only teach religion here; we teach students how to be good people. O
al Reconciliation Commission encouraged soft

reforms aimed at improving the situation in the
Note: Several translators assisted during interviews
deep south. Among the recommendations were
of torture victims; their names arent listed due to
to bring in more culturally aware government
the sensitive nature of the subject.
54
WAREHOUSE OF SOULS:
HOW THE EU ABANDONED GREECE
TA N I A K A R A S
HIOS, GreeceAhmed Abdo spends his days in a refugee camp, watching

ferryboats come and go from the main port of this Greek island, just 5 miles
o the Turkish coast. In July, the 24-year-old Kurd and his family had arrived in a crowded rubber dinghy after a perilous trip across the Aegean Sea.
Syrias civil war had forced them from their home in Aleppo and into Turkey
with hundreds of thousands of others. But, unlike earlier refugees who made it
to the European Union, they were stuck in Greeces outlying islands, no longer
JULIAN BUIJZEN
allowed passage into the rest of Europe.
Two men in Idomeni refugee camp hold

a sign that reads, If you dont open the
border let us die under the train railway.
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3812979
55
R E P O R T A G E | GREECE
One morning in October, Abdo handed me
safe third country. It makes no dierence that
a tattered two-page document. Can you read
Greecewhich has a long, tense history with its
me this? he asked. It was his asylum decision,
eastern neighbordisagrees with that EU desig-
written mostly in Greek, and Abdo, whod been
nation. Most of these migrants, who risked their
halfway through his law degree when war broke
lives at sea, are now supposed to be sent back to
out, recognized a word printed in English: in-
Turkey, where theres no guarantee their rights
admissible. His two brothers, ages 18 and 22,
will be protected.
received the same decision. They all faced pos-
Greeces underfunded, edgling Asylum
sible deportation to Turkey. Yet their parents,
Service had already been struggling to process
17-year-old sister, and young niecesin Chios
the tens of thousands of refugees trapped on
as wellhad been granted permission to stay in
the Greek mainland, especially after the west-
Europe. How is Turkey safe for me and unsafe
ern Balkan countries sealed their borders this
for my family? Abdo said as I translated his full
spring. Now, it has the added burden of adju-
decision into English. We are Kurdish. Turkeys
dicating the applications and appeals of some
killing its Kurds. Its dangerous for us all.
16,600 migrants located on the islands. At the
A deal intended to stem the ow of migrants
deals outset, the EU promised to send Greece
to the EU insists that Greece send refugees like
400 asylum experts to support local authori-
Abdo back to Turkey. Under the terms of this
ties responsible for deciding cases. By early No-
agreement, the EU has promised to give Turkey
vember, only 52 had arrived. To date, only 721
6 billion euros over the next two years to accept
refugees have actually been deported to Tur-
refugees deported from Greece and improve
key, the majority of them voluntarily. (Though
conditions for migrants on Turkish soil (thereby
one could argue theres nothing voluntary
preventing them from leaving for Greece in the
about dropping your protection request if
first place). In addition, the EU raised the pos-
youre living as a captive on Europes doorstep.)
sibility of giving Turkeys 80 million citizens the
For Abdo, however, the slow pace of the Greek
right to visa-free travel. (This became less cer-
asylum agency oers temporary grace. When I
tain after the attempted coup in July.)
last spoke with him, he and his brothers were
The EU-Turkey pact went into eect on
planning to appeal the denials of their claims,
March 20, 2016, and requires Greece to sepa-
during which time they would be confined to
rate arrivals into before and after. Though
the island.
the numbers coming into Greece are a frac-
Two years ago, Greece was Europes gate-
tion of what they once were, recent refugees
way; now, its Europes holding pen. The EU-
mostly from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistanface
Turkey agreement has transformed Chios and
a stricter standard to access relief, and are con-
other Greek islands into de facto, open-air pris-
fined to the Greek islands while the nations
ons. On Chios, neither the 50,000 residents nor
Asylum Service decides their cases. As set out in
the 4,500 migrants feel safe. In October, refu-
the deal, latecomers like Abdo and his brothers
gees set fire to makeshift NGO oces to protest
must prove that, if deported, they would face
poor living conditions and delays in the process-
mortal dangernot only in their home coun-
ing of asylum applications, the latest in a series
tries but also in Turkey, which the EU deems a
of arsons in camps across the Greek islands. The
TANIA KARAS is an Athens-based journalist covering migration and human rights. During the 201516 academic year, she was a U.S. Fulbright fellow in Greece, studying Europes refugee crisis. Reporting for this story
was supported by The GroundTruth Project.
56
WAREHOUSE OF SOULS
next morning, angry Chios natives surveyed the
(Sometimes they even threw in fake life jack-
burnt wreckage. Soon, one yelled, these il-
ets.) By the time the photo of drowned three-
legal immigrants will burn down the entire is-
year-old Alan Kurdi went viral in early Sep-
land! Longtime residents have set up vigilante-
tember 2015, the Greek islands were receiving
style patrols around the camps, ostensibly for
more than 1,000 refugees every daythe ma-
self-defense. There is growing acceptance of the
jority of them Syrian.
kind of anti-refugee rhetoric once reserved for
In October, more than 125,000 people,
the nations neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party. In-
sometimes as many as 6,000 per day, landed
deed, right-wing sentiment is now widespread
on Lesbos alone. They were registered, handed
in regions heralded just a year ago for their self-
a note stamped with their arrival date, and then
less care of refugees. Back then, though, refu-
sent by ferry to the Greek mainland, where they
gees were a transient population; now, they are
wound their way to the northern border. From
detained beside locals.
there they formed a massive column of refu-
WE CAN DO THIS!
gees along western Balkan rail lines, highways,

and fields. European countries held open their
The Greek islands are collateral damage in the
borders to create a humanitarian corridor. An
EUs desperate bid to halt the largest human
army of volunteers and activists turned out in a
migration since World War II. Chios, Lesbos,
dramatic showing of grass-roots solidarity. The
Samos, Kos, and Lerosall designated by the

EU as migration hotspotsare far from the
Greek mainland, just a few miles west of Turkey. Refugees, particularly Kurds eeing war in
Iraq, Iran, and Turkey, have landed there since
the early 1990s. Economic migrants came, too,
lured by the promise of prosperity in democratic and socially liberal Europe. Most years,
HOW CAN I NOT HELP

SOMEONE WHO IS DROWNING
IN FRONT OF ME?
arrivals numbered in the low tens of thousands.

But in 2014, as the war in Syria worsened,
route terminated in Austria, Germany, and Swe-
some 44,000 crossed the Aegean Sea. Migration
den, countries well-known for their refugee-
analysts and international aid groups said that
friendly policies and economic opportunity.
number would skyrocket. Brussels, however,
Germany was a particularly popular des-
ignored their warnings and their proposals for
tination: In 2015, it received some 890,000
contingency plans; the eurozone crisis was the
asylum-seekers. Chancellor Angela Merkel, de-
true existential threat emanating from Greece.
spite mounting opposition from her own citi-
Then, in the summer of 2015, the number
zenry, called for understanding. Germany is a
of migrants spiked. More than four years after
strong country, she said in late August 2015.
Syrias failed revolution, over 1 million ed to
We have accomplished so much. We can do
Europe, more than two-thirds by way of Greece.
it. At about the same time, the German Fed-
Few could see promising futures in Turkey,
eral Oce for Migration and Refugees tweeted
Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt. Meanwhile, hu-
that it would not enforce the Dublin III Regula-
man smugglers along the Turkish coast oered
tion, which requires asylum-seekers apply for
migrants passage. They operated with impunity,
protection in the first EU member state they
charging more than $1,000 per spot on what
reach. Refugees interpreted this as an invita-
came to be known as death boats to Greece.
tion. It appeared Germany was allowing them
WINTER 2016 / 2017
57
to stay and wouldnt deport them to the front-
control the EUs frontier. Greek ocials were
line countries where they had entered the EU.
aghast. The sea is not like a land border, Lt.
For the dozens of migrants I interviewed on the
Cmdr. Antonios Sofiadelis, the head of the
Greek islands a year ago, Germany seemed to
coast guard on Lesbos, told me last fall. We
welcome them. Angela Merkel told us to come
sat in his oce, overlooking the islands main
to Europe, 19-year-old Ghassan explained,
port, which was clogged with half-sunken
minutes after stepping o an inatable dinghy
smuggler boats. You cannot build a fence.
onto a Lesbos beach. He had left his relatively
We cannot stop them when they reach Greek
peaceful, government-controlled neighborhood
waters. It becomes a humanitarian operation.
in Damascus, Syria, a few days earlier to avoid
Many are women and children, and most can-
mandatory conscription into President Bashar
not swim, he said. Last fall, his crew carried
Assads army. He had chosen that moment to
out up to 15 rescues per day, at first by them-
ee, he said, because now the borders are
selves and only later with the help of Frontex,
open. I watched as he searched for a Wi-Fi sig-
the EU border agency.
nal on his phone: He planned to navigate his

way to Germany using Google Maps.
Boosting safe passage, or legal migration

channels, was not part of the discussion in
The sudden arrival of Ghassan and hun-
Brussels. Each country went its own way. Ger-
dreds of thousands of others, traumatized by
many, Sweden, and Austria (at least for a time)
war and in need of food and temporary shel-
held open their borders. Hungary, meanwhile,
ter, could not have come at a worse time for
constructed a razor-wire fence. In mid-No-
Greece. At the time, its unemployment rate was
vember 2015, four Balkan countriesSerbia,
25 percent (the highest in the EU), and new,
Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedoniabegan only
EU-imposed austerity measures made it nearly
allowing Syrians, Afghans, and Iraqis to tra-
impossible to hire additional public employees.
verse their territories. Within days, a few thou-
Untrained locals, volunteers, and a smattering
sand people traveling north from Greece were
of aid workers struggled to keep up with survi-
bottlenecked at Idomeni, a tiny farming village
vors and those less lucky. Fall storms wrecked
bordering Macedonia. The excluded migrants
crowded dinghies, and island beaches became
had escaped violence and poverty in Yemen,
graveyards. How can I not help someone who
Iran, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Morocco, Tunisia, and
is drowning in front of me? asked 40-year-old
the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Greek
Stratis Valamios, a Lesbos fisherman who gave
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras warned that the
up work for months to pull drowning refugees
country was becoming a migration black box,
out of the sea. Last fall, two enormous, refriger-
a warehouse of souls.
ated trailers were parked outside Lesbos main

hospital, serving as extra space for its morgue.
In Idomeni, I met a family from Yemen

that had lost two relatives in clashes between
While the risk of death was real, the vast
government allies and Houthi rebels. After a
majority of refugees made it ashore. Some
months-long journey by land and sea, the seven
857,000 arrived in Greece last year, compared
of them were now living in a blue plastic tent.
to 800 who drowned en route, according to the
The 56-year-old matriarch was lying in a cor-
U.N. refugee agency. (By comparison, 154,000
ner, barely able to move after a recent stroke.
headed to Italy during the same period, 2,900
She had not seen a doctor in weeks. I do not
of whom died in the Mediterranean.) Though
understand how we are not refugees, said her
Greece had not courted these migrants, it drew
son-in-law, 36-year-old Muadd Saleh. Yemen is
the ire of European politicians for failing to
at war, too. Why do they say it is only Syria? The
58
WAREHOUSE OF SOULS
family had come through Turkey, which did not
acts of arson. Doctors of the World reports high
oer Yemenis any assistance. Saleh pointed out
rates of depression and drug use among young
that they would have been ineligible for even
people stranded in camps throughout Greece.
a basic level of international protection, which
Among the worst encampments is Elliniko,
Turkey grants only to Syrians. Idomeni was
located in the former Athens airport and a
filled with such cases. I met Pakistanis evad-
nearby sports complex built for the 2004 Olym-
ing the Taliban, Nigerians eeing Boko Haram,
pic Games. A spray-painted cloth banner at
and Afghans who were stateless because theyd
the entrance reads Hockey Baseball Refu-
grown up as refugees in Iran.
gees. More than 2,400 refugees, most of them
In March, Macedonia sealed its border
Afghans, have lived there since February. The
completely, blocking tens of thousands from
site has attracted many of Greeces 2,300 unac-
the rest of Europe. Within days, the camp at
companied refugee minors, who have nowhere
Idomeni ballooned to more than 12,000 peo-
else to stay because the country doesnt have
ple, and the border crossing became a squal-
enough dedicated spaces for such children. In
id, sprawling tent city. There I met Fatema, a
July, I met Hamza, a 16-year-old from the em-
40-year-old mother from Raqqa, the seat of the
battled city of Kunduz, Afghanistan. He spoke of
Islamic States self-declared caliphate in Syria.
seeing dead people in the streets back home; he
Months earlier, shed sent her 13-year-old son

to Europe with smugglers so he would not be recruited as a child soldier. The boy had reached
an uncle in Frankfurt, Germany. Now, Fatema,
her husband, and their four other young chil-
WE ARE JUST STUCK.
dren were also hoping to reach Germany, but

had gotten stalled at Idomeni. Outside her small
had not expected to see someone killed before
tent, she served tea and oered an apology to
his own eyes in a refugee camp in Greece. It was
the angry Greek farmer on whose land she was
also frightening, he said, to see the crisscross of
squatting. The makeshift refugee camp had ru-
cuts on another Elliniko boys arm. Self-harm
ined his spring corn crop. My heart is broken
was increasingly common. My father is trying
for him, Fatema told me. But if we stayed in
to raise money to smuggle me back home to
Syria, most likely we would die. He needs me to
Afghanistan, Hamza told me. The family now
go so he can take care of his land, and I need me
thought he would be safer there than in Europe.
to go so I can save my family.
NO EXIT
Journalist Nick Malkoutzis has written that

Greece acted as Europes lifeguard, first-aid
provider, and gravedigger. It seems, though,
Greek police cleared Idomeni in late May. They
that the strain of the refugee crisis means
shued the refugees onto buses bound for
Greeces European partners also want it to
empty warehouses scattered across the coun-
serve as a prison warden. But this cannot go on
trys rural, economically depressed north. Tsip-
much longer. Camp conditions have barely im-
ras warehouse of souls comment seemed ee-
proved since this spring, and remain dangerous,
rily prescient. Seven months on, conditions are
especially for people suering the psychological
dire. Families, some with newborns, live in cloth
traumas of war. Greece bears some responsibil-
tents inside giant, dilapidated buildings not
ity: From the start, it pursued unsustainable,
built for human habitation. Security is sparse.
temporary solutions, even in the face of evi-
And, as on Chios, there are frequent fights and
dence that refugees would be there long term.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
59
EU ocials claim that Greece has resisted out-
gee management, but the funds will do little
side help, but the country will need additional
without additional structural capacity to spend
resources to continue processing refugees and
it eectively.
adjudicating applications to stay.
On a recent morning on Chios, Abdo woke
As of mid-November, some 62,500 refu-
up to yet another fire raging in his camp. He
gees were living in Greece, far more than the
stared blankly. For the moment, he said, We
country can aord to support. EU member
are just stuck. In the shadow of Brexit and
states have pledged to receive some of these
unprecedented populist victories across the
migrants through various programs. For ex-
world, international attention to the refugee
ample, theres the much-hyped, but excruci-
crisis has subsided in recent months. In Eu-
atingly slow, EU relocation scheme, which
ropes eyes, the real crisis was one of state
has moved 5,800 refugees (out of the 66,400
sovereignty all alongwhere those eeing war
promised through September 2017) from
and terrorism posed threats to national secu-
Greece since September 2015. Under EU law,
rity. Yet Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan continue
nations must honor an individuals right to
to bleed, and millions are still displaced. Un-
reunite with immediate family members liv-
der the Turkey-EU pact, Greeces islands have
ing in another European country. But several
been transformed into oshore detention cen-
states have failed to carry out these obliga-
tersor, for Abdo and his brothers, an outdoor
tions. Hungary held a referendum in October
purgatory. Turkey, meanwhile, has promised
to reject EU-imposed migrant quotas. While
to take in rejected asylum-seekers, a vow that
voter turnout did not meet the required 50
European leaders, beholden to increasingly
percent threshold to pass, 98 percent of voters
fearful publics, can cite as a victory: a crisis
backed the governments resistance to such
moved o Europes lawn. Recently though,
mandates. This has left Greece in a scramble
Turkey has threatened to quash the deal if its
to manage the refugee population while it con-
citizens do not get visa-free travel by years
tinues to endure the EUs punishing austerity
end. The result could send a wave of migrants
program. If the eurozone crisis demonstrated
back into Greece with no avenue for them to
Greek powerlessness, the refugee crisis has
reach the rest of Europe. If this happens and
only driven that message home.
the EU doesnt accelerate its relocation eorts,
Furthermore, money alone is not enough.

The EU has given Greece millions toward refu-
60
tens of thousands could join Abdo in indefinite limbo. O
GERMANYS SECONDCLASS REFUGEES:

AFGHAN ASYLUM-SEEKERS
STUCK IN LIMBO
LAM THUY VO
LAM THUY VO
As an Afghan refugee, Zabi Hashemi has a 50-50

chance of receiving asylum status in Germany.
HLTAL, GermanyZabi Hashemi has lived in Germany for over a

year, and, for one month, he was allowed to work. In July, Hashemi volunteered at a kindergarten for children with special needs
in this town of about 15,000 people in the state of Hesse. The kids
loved him, and he loved them back, Hashemi told me. His colleagues said
the children would immediately smile when they saw him.
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3813087
61
R E P O R T A G E | GERMANY
But now, Hashemi, a 33-year-old philosophy
But those numbers may not be up-to-date
graduate is back to spending much of the day
and therefore may not capture those like Hash-
alone in his sparse bedroom. When I met him
emi who, alongside roughly 1.1 million refugees
in August, his wall decoration consisted of only
from Afghanistan and various other countries,
a framed stock image of shells and a white piece
came to Germany in 2015 after years of sus-
of paper scribbled with German words hes try-
tained instability in their home countries. Ger-
ing to teach himself. As he sat on his bed, he
man authorities received 476,649 applications
eagerly pointed out photographs of himself
for asylum in 2015up from 173,100 the year
alongside the kindergarteners, looking at them
before. The majority were submitted by Syrians,
longingly. He just wants to work again, he said.
followed by Albanians and Kosovars. Afghans
The problem is Hashemi is unauthorized to

do so. Unlike most of the other refugees in the
were the second-largest non-European group to

apply for asylum in Germany in 2015.
converted hotel where he lives, Hashemi ed
While Syrians, Eritreans, and Iraqis had
Afghanistannot Syria. As an Afghan migrant,
their asylum applications approved in 2015 at
his wait for a legal status that would allow him
rates of 96 percent, 92 percent, and 89 percent
to take a job is months longer than for a Syrian
respectively, that number was under 50 percent
refugee. Hes also barred from enrolling in state-
for Afghans. In 2015, it took an average of 3.2
sponsored German integration and language
months to process applications submitted by
courses; theyre for those who have received
Syrians, according to Germanys Oce for Mi-
some form of government permission to stay.
gration and Refugees. For Afghans, it was 10.2
Hashemi ed his native Kabul, fearful that
months, which explains Hashemis long wait.
the Taliban would murder him for being an
One reason why the acceptance rate of Af-
atheist. He has applied for asylum, but finds
ghans is so much lower than that of Syrians is
himself stuck in a long and uncertain queue. He
because Afghanistan is now considered a coun-
and seven other Afghans in his building must
try with safe and unsafe regions. A spokesper-
make a temporary life in small-town Germany,
son for Germanys Federal Oce for Migration
with only basic language skills and little to do.
and Refugees wrote in an email that decision-
THE LONG WAIT
makers are briefed on the circumstances in the

country of origin. Thus, though asylum-seekers
Afghans have left their country in several
must prove that their lives would be in danger
waves since the late 1970s. They ed the Sovi-
back home, a specialized division of the migra-
et invasion of the late 1970s and early 1980s,
tion agency analyzes their stories against a da-
Taliban rule in the 1990s, and conict that
tabase of country conditions, based on informa-
intensified with the deployment of American
tion provided by the Ministry of Foreign Aairs,
troops in the 2000s.
the German Embassy in Afghanistan, UNHCR,
In the past 15 years, of the tens of thou-
and other NGOs, the spokesperson said.
sands of Afghans entering Europe, 54,000 have
Yet, Afghanistans conict is ongoing, mak-
obtained German citizenship, according to a
ing it an increasingly dangerous war zone. In
report by Pro Asyl, an organization that pro-
2015, there were 11,002 civilian casualties in
vides legal aid to migrants. By the end of 2015,
Afghanistan3,545 deathsthe largest num-
131,000 Afghan nationals lived in Germany,
ber since 2009. An Asia Foundation survey of
the report said.
Afghans also showed that more than two thirds
LAM THUY VO is a Buzzfeed OpenLab fellow.
62
SECOND-CLASS REFUGEES
of respondents, 67.4 percent, feared for their
has sent both military and humanitarian aid to
safety, the highest percentage in a decade.
Afghanistan, trying to make the country safer. To
Still, many Afghan refugees cant tell the
acknowledge the countrys instability is to admit
kinds of stories that would help their legal case.
the failure of the Germany-supported coalition
According to German law, asylum is granted
government to create even pockets of safety.
to anyone eeing political persecution, and in
Germanys home secretary, Thomas de
general this means government-sanctioned vio-
Maizire of the ruling Christian Democratic
lence. But not every Afghan refugee has been at-
Union, has led the push to repatriate Afghan
tacked, kidnapped, or can demonstrate physical
refugees and prevent would-be Afghan emi-
harm. To make matters more complex, Germany
grants from leaving in the first place. There are
WINTER 2016 / 2017
63
safe regions in Afghanistan, said de Maizire
sAboutGermany. Posters were hung all over
in February during a visit to Kabul designed
Kabul, asking Afghans, Are you leaving for
to dissuade Afghans from traveling to Germa-
Germany? Are you sure? The ministry also
ny. Theres no Welcome to Germany money,
organized a Facebook group to warn of the
there arent jobs and apartments readily avail-
lies smugglers tell to lure Afghans. Myths
able. There wont be any language and integra-
include the idea that Germany would provide
tion courses. The chances [for Afghans] to
jobs to Afghan refugees or that Afghans would
stay in Germany are slim.
receive asylum simply by traveling to Germany,
Germanys Ministry of Foreign Aairs
according to the ministrys website.
launched an ad campaign urging Afghans not
If immigration policies toward Afghans are
to leave that came with the hashtag #Rumor-
strict now, in the coming months theyll likely
64
be tightened even more. Germany has seen a
pared for handling the refugee crisis after her
rightward political shift, and with it, declining
Christian Democrats suered a defeat in local
support for programs that help immigrants.
elections in Berlin. If I could, I would turn back
While many Germans welcomed newcomers
time many, many years, to better prepare my-
last year, there is now vocal discontent. The Al-
self, the federal government and all those in po-
ternative for Germany, a populist, euroskeptic
sitions of responsibility for the situation we were
right-wing party, has gained significant ground
rather unprepared for in the late summer of
in local elections by campaigning on slogans
2015, Merkel said during a press conference in
like asylum needs borders.
September. The following month Merkel advo-
German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted the government could have been better pre-
cated for quicker deportation of those who are

denied asylum or any other kind of protection.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
65
66
In October, Europe pledged about $1.5 bil-
years ago. His court had to hire 32 additional
lion in development aid annually to Afghani-
judges in the past two years to handle the
stan, and at the same time, European Union
growing docket.
and Afghan leaders struck a deal that would
If Hashemis application is rejected by the
allow for the unlimited deportation of rejected
Federal Oce for Migration and Refugees, he
Afghan asylum-seekers. The number of people
will likely make his case again in front of a
sent back to Afghanistan isnt yet known, but
judge like Gbel-Zimmermann. Only about a
the agreement is designed to expedite the pro-
third of rejected Afghan asylum-seekers even-
cess. Both sides will explore the possibility to
tually appeal, Gbel-Zimmermann estimates,
build a dedicated terminal for return in Kabul
but Hashemi said he would do whatever it
airport and express their willingness to carry
takes to avoid going back to Afghanistan. The
out nonscheduled ights at the best convenient
Taliban would kill me, he said through a
times, the deal read.
friend and fellow asylum-seeker, Samim Ra-
Ralph Gbel-Zimmermanna judge in
souli, 20, who translated for him.
Wiesbaden, Hesses capital, who has heard
Two of Hashemis friends were recently or-
petitions for asylum and refugee status for
dered to leave the country within the next month.
more than three decadestold me, Every
They are hoping to consult a lawyer and appeal,
time the number of a [specific] migrant group
though it would mean more time waiting, unable
rises, rules get tighter, and the number of
to work. According to Gbel-Zimmermann, this
rejections rises, too. Since the spike in the
process typically takes six to seven months.
number of migrants last year, he said, he has
I dont feel well. I am very worried about
seen up to seven Afghan asylum-seekers per
whether I get to stay or not, said Hashemi. Its
day, as compared to one per week just three
very, very dicult for me here, and its dreary. O
WINTER 2016 / 2017
67
E S S A Y | EUROPE
THE GREAT EUROPEAN

UNRAVELING?
A L I N A P O LYA K O VA
EURACTIV.COM
Austrias Harald Vilimsky, Frances Marine Le Pen, and the Netherlands Geert Wilders
and Marcel de Graaff are part of an anti-EU movement sweeping across Europe.
he United Kingdom woke up to a new political and economic reality on

June 24. Having narrowly voted the day before to leave the EU, Britons
watched on as a vote for Brexit sent the British pound into a tailspin,
dropping to its lowest level in 31 years. But the result of the referen-
dumwon by the leave camp by a 52 percent to 48 percent marginwas not

a disaster for all: Populist right-wing groups across Europe, including the U.K.
Independent Party (UKIP), which did much to spur anti-EU sentiment in the
run up to the U.K. vote, moved quickly to exploit the chaos.
68
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3813051
UNRAVELING
Frances National Front leader Marine Le
while creating opportunities for them to reap the
Pen described events across the English Channel
benefits of the economic blocs accomplishments.
as the beginning of a Peoples Spring. Her fel-
It is a counter eort that is long overdue.
low travelers across the continentsuch as the
For decades, mainstream parties either sought
Netherlands Geert Wilders, Germanys Frauke
to actively exclude or passively ignore the
Petry, and Austrias Heinz-Christian Strache
small opposition parties running on platforms
called for referenda similar to the U.K.s. The
of stricter immigration, a return to traditional
far-right Danish Peoples Party declared the EU
family values, and stronger national identity.
without a doubt the greatest threat to inhab-
Social scientists who studied the emergence of
itants of the Nordic nation.
Europes new right in the 1980s and 1990s
The Brexit result does not necessarily
dismissed them as single issue parties, whose
mean the beginning of the end for a united
appeal would fade once the issue they cam-
Europe. Many Europeans who grew up not
paigned on was resolved.
knowing border controls or currency ex-
Meanwhile, a narrow focus on fulfillment of
changes remain optimistic about the future
the European dream from political elites blinded mainstream parties to the building anti-EU
resentment among their own constituencies.
But events have made the march of Europes anti-EU right impossible to ignore. The
aftermath of the 2008 economic crisis, which
saw harsh austerity measures foisted on already struggling southern European countries,
revealed cracks in the EU project. At the same
time Germans objected to their tax dollars
bailing out member states deemed fiscally irresponsible, Greeks protested painful cuts in
social programs.
An uncoordinated response to the refugee
crisiswhich in 2015 alone saw more than 1
million people enter Europefurther highlighted EU disunity. While German Chancellor
Angela Merkel declared an open door policy for
refugees, Hungarys Prime Minister Viktor Orban sealed borders and refused to accept any
of the EUbut not all. A sizable chunk of Eu-
EU-mandated quota.
ropes youth have not seen their economic
As the EU muddled through the last eight
prospects improve of late and as a result may
years in crisis management mode, many be-
be attracted to the populist messages oered
came disenchanted with the blocs ability to
by anti-EU groups.
deliver growth and protect its borders. At the
To this group, EU leaders must present an al-
same time, terrorist attacks in France, Germany,
ternative, giving them a voice in Europes future
and Belgium have rattled any sense of security.
ALINA POLYAKOVA is deputy director of the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center and a senior fellow for Europe at the
Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
69
E S S A Y | EUROPE
Center-left and center-right parties are still
disaster, but it came with extreme austerity
failing to provide a credible blueprint for Eu-
measuresdeep cuts in public programs, in-
ropes future. Mainstream politicians too often
cluding health care, pensions, and education
rely on the worn-out trope of a Europe whole,
and resentment from the German public.
free, and at peacea phrase that spoke to gen-
Greeces youth have been disproportionate-
erations that remembered World War II and the
ly hurt by the ongoing depression. Half of young
Cold War. But younger Europeans are searching
Greeks are still unemployed, and as many as
for a vision for the future that speaks to their
200,000 college-educated people have left the
values now, not to ideals that emerged out of
country. The situation is not much better for
past calamities.
young Italians, Portuguese, and Spaniards: 40
ECONOMIC STAGNATION
percent of Italys young are unemployed, as are

32 percent in Portugal and 48 percent in Spain
The advent of the EU ushered in an unprec-
as of 2015. These young people could quickly
edented era of prosperity in what had been
become Europes lost generation: unable to
a war-torn continent. Todays young Europe-
achieve the social mobility that the EU prom-
ans came of age in an integrated Europe, with
ised, despite reaching higher levels of education
many enjoying visa-free travel, study abroad
than their parents and grandparents.
programs, cross-continental work opportuni-
In this environment, the appeal of the far
ties, and the common currency without nec-
rights
essarily being aware of the hard battles that
rhetoric is growing across the continent. Pop-
anti-EU,
anti-immigrant,
nationalist
were fought to establish the institutions that
ulist parties have something to oer Europes
made this possible.
disaected youthscapegoats. The precarious
Still, Europes youth generally have a much
financial state of many young people, especially
more positive view about the EU than those
in southern Europe, leaves them susceptible to
aged 50 and over, according to 2016 surveys
politicians who blame their economic woes on
by the Pew Research Center. The generational
newcomers who look or speak dierently.
divide is largest in France, where more than

half (56 percent) of young people aged 18 to
THE EUROSKEPTIC OPPORTUNISTS
34 have favorable views of the EU compared
In this way, Europes crises have fed the popu-
to just a third (31 percent) of the older gener-
list agenda. In a remarkable surge, euroskeptic
ationa 25 percentage point gap. In the U.K.,
parties have moved from the fringes to the main
the percentage point gap is almost as high
stages of politics. In Germany, the three-year-old
(19 points), followed by the Netherlands (16
Alternative for Germany (AfD) broke through the
points) and Poland and Germany (14 points).
countrys aversion to far-right parties and has
In Greece, there is a 13 percentage point gap
gained traction running on an anti-immigrant,
despite a crisis that would test the countrys re-
pro-business, and anti-EU platform. In local elec-
lationship with the rest of the continent.
tions in the summer of 2016, the AfD beat out
The 2009 economic crisis hit all of Europe,
Merkels Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
but Greece suered the worst. The countrys
the first significant win for a far-right party in
economy contracted by a quarter from 2008
the country since World War II.
to 2014, youth unemployment rates spiraled
The German chancellors refugee policy cer-
to upward of 50 percent, and, without control
tainly contributed to the AfDs success, as she
over its currency, Athens nearly defaulted on its
later admitted, but the actual number of refu-
debts. Only an EU bailout prevented economic
gees and their destination seems to have little
70
UNRAVELING
to do with the AfDs gains. The eastern province
war. Today, Europes leaders must reinvigo-
of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where one out
rate the European vision among youth.
of five Germans (21 percent) voted for the new
As Europe struggles with its identity in the
party, hosts the smallest number of refugees out
aftermath of Brexit and with the rise of popu-
of all German states. Berlin, which has received
list anti-EU parties, now is the time for poli-
the largest number of the 1.1 million refugees
cymakers to build networks to bring together
in Germany, is home to 65 times more refugees
the next generation of European leaders. This
per square kilometer than Mecklenburg-Vor-
can be achieved through investment in cul-
pommern. Yet in Berlin, the AfD came in fifth.
tural exchange programs, transcontinental
Economic decline and immigration alone
youth leadership initiatives, programs that
cannot fully explain growing support for the
provide a platform for civil society interac-
right in some countries. Austria, for example,
tions between Western and Eastern Europe-
fared well through the economic crisis com-
ans, and strategic communication projects
pared to its neighbors, and shunned Germanys
that use new media to explain why Western
open door refugee policy. During the financial
values are still worth aspiring to.
crisis, Austrias per capita gross domestic prod-
Some leaders seem to be catching on to the
uct declined by only 3 percent, compared to
idea that Europe cant aord to create a genera-
8 percent in Italy and 21 percent in Latvia.
tion disenchanted with the EU. The European
Young Austrians enjoy far better economic op-
Parliament (EP), for instance, hosts events to
portunitiesyouth unemployment peaked at
encourage young people to buy into European
around 10 percent in 2009 and has remained
politics. In May, 7,500 young Europeans trav-
low since. In the entire EU, only young Germans are slightly better o with unemployment of approximately 8 percent.
Despite Austrias relative economic stability, one in five Austrians voted for the far right
Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) in 2013. Three
years later, the FPOs presidential candidate,
Norbert Hofer, was narrowly defeated by the
THE EUROPEAN DREAM OF

A CONTINENT UNITED IS AT
RISK BUT NOT DEAD.
Green party candidate. The FPO subsequently

contested the vote successfully and a rerun is
eled to Strasbourg, France, to take part in the
set to take place on Dec. 4. Ahead of this next
debate on policy issues and then handed over
vote, Hofer has a narrow lead.
50 policy recommendations to parliamentar-
Still, the German and Austrian experiences
ians. The EP is also considering a plan to give all
show that perception of threatsbe they eco-
Europeans an EU-wide train pass for their 18th
nomic, cultural, or securitycan matter more
birthdays. The idea behind the plan, which
than the reality.
could be funded by the European Commission,
REINVIGORATING THE EUROPEAN DREAM
is that travel to other countries in the EU would

inculcate a sense of belonging to a broader Eu-
For the forseeable future, the era of EU expan-
ropean polity, from which many young people
sion appears to be over. The challenges facing
currently feel disconnected.
European leaders today are profoundly dierent
This concept, that interaction with oth-
than those faced by the blocs founders in the
ers leads to a sense of belonging to a common
1950s. The goal then was to prevent another
project, is not new. Writing in the 1950s, the
WINTER 2016 / 2017
71
E S S A Y | EUROPE
social scientist Karl Deutsch argued that ease
a chance to spend a year in another EU mem-
of communication and interaction were key for
ber state while receiving full credit for their
nation building in Europe. As avenues of com-
coursework in their home institutions. As Eng-
munication multiplied, so would common un-
lish increasingly becomes the lingua franca of
derstanding of belonging to the same national
Europe, similar exchanges could be initiated
(or supranational) community. There is also
for young professionals in both the private and
evidence that the few Europeans (3-5 percent
public sector. These types of programs could
according to the Eurobarometer surveys) who
provide valuable professional experience while
have a defined sense of European identity tend
also dampening populist parties claims that
to speak multiple languages and travel fre-
they only benefit the elite.
quently across the EU. They tend to be well-ed-
The European dream of a united continent
ucated high-income earners who benefit from
is at risk but not dead. The EU today must first
the privileges of holding a European passport.
address the most pressing challenges of eco-
Increasing young peoples mobility while hav-
nomic growth, migration, and security. But in
ing them experience the advantages of Europes
that process, Europes next generation must
open borders and conveniences of the common
not be forgotten.
currency could help make the abstract idea of

European unity a more tangible reality.
As the EU seeks to shift away from auster-
As Brexit demonstrated, the gains made

over the last 75 years are reversible. For those
achievements
to
remain
institutionalized,
ity and toward reinvestment, any program that
young Europeans must feel that they have
increases access for Europes youth to the perks
some control over Europes outlook. It is up to
of the EU should be encouraged. Beyond free
the current leadership to recognize that the
train fare, EU initiatives to increase cultural
new generation is on the verge of being lost un-
exchange between member states should seek
less they are made a political priority and given
to create opportunities to those who can ill af-
a voice. For it will largely be left to Europes
ford to spend a year traveling. Study abroad
youth to decide what the next iteration of the
programs already give college-aged Europeans
EU dream will look like. O
72
PARTNERING UP:
HOW TO WORK
WITH RELIGIOUS LEADERS
TO COUNTER VIOLENT
EXTREMISM
UNITED NATIONS
MANAL OMAR
T
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3813063
he video opens with a shot of a woman with bright blue eyes

wearing a black abaya. As she walks across a war-torn area, an
ominous voice in a U.S. accent describes how the Islamic State
demands women wear the veil.
73
E S S A Y | PARTNERING UP
This is an early clip from the State Depart-
To accomplish this, practitioners need to
ments Think Again, Turn Away media strat-
commit to an inclusive agenda that addresses
egy to counter extremism. Its one of many
concerns that CVE is designed only to serve
there are thousands of short films, multimedia
Western interests. Programming should ac-
projects, Twitter accounts, and active Facebook
knowledge factors other than religion that drive
profiles that the U.S. government has designed
extremism. It should also identify ways religion
to stop people from joining the Islamic State or
can help and not just focus on the ways faith
similarly minded groups.
can be abused. Finally, CVE projects must build
By all counts, this campaign was a failure. In
alliances with women and youths to ensure lon-
2014, Rita Katz, the director of the SITE Intelli-
ger-term engagement and establish deeper ties
gence Group, explained in TIME magazine: Had
with the community.
the people behind Think Again, Turn Away un-
Of course, as much as this discussion
derstood the jihadists mindsets and reasons for
should focus on multiple religions, CVE pro-
their behaviors, they would have known that
grams overwhelmingly concentrate on Is-
their project of counter messaging would not
lamic groups. Despite violence from Chris-
only be a waste of taxpayers money, but ulti-
tian militias in the Central African Republic
mately be counterproductive.
and marauding Buddhist monks assaulting
A single conversation with a local expert
Muslims in Myanmar, when CVE experts talk
would have pointed out the videos aws:
about religious extremism, they inevitably
The womans eyes appear to be foreign, and
mean radical Islam.
the use of Englishespecially in a voice that
As long as the only targets are Muslims, it
sounds Americanensures that the footage
will feed into the conspiracy theory of a global
wont be taken seriously. Even the video itself
war on Islam. Incorporating other religious ex-
provides a new platform to spread violent ji-
tremist movements into CVE strategies not only
hadi messages.
allays this concern, but also provides opportu-
After this ub and others, the State Department eventually realized it would need
partners on the ground. The U.S. and other
nities to apply lessons learned from one situation to others.
Western governments are now turning to
FIGHTING SUSPICION WITH INCLUSION
strategies known as countering violent extrem-
Despite assurances that CVE is meant to be
ism, or CVE. According to the White House,
community based, given the harm inicted un-
CVE addresses the root causes of extremism
der the guise of the so-called War on Terror, so-
through community engagement. Instead of
cial justice and foreign policy activists are right-
fighting violent ideology with bombs, bullets,
fully wary of the new strategy.
and bloodshed, the goal is to engage with local
In the U.S., 27 organizationsincluding
groups to prevent individuals from joining ter-
Amnesty International, the United States Coun-
rorist groups in the first place. In this battle,
cil of Muslim Organizations, and the American
its often religious leaders who are on the front
Civil Liberties Unionasked the White House
lines, and so a successful CVE program must
in April to make sure CVE wouldnt be used to
figure out how to work with faith-based groups.
restrict rights.
MANAL OMAR is the associate vice president of the Center for the Middle East and Africa at the U.S. Institute of
Peace, a fellow with the Truman National Security Project, and an inaugural fellow with Foreign Policy Interrupted.
She is the author of Barefoot in Baghdad (Sourcebooks, 2010) and is on the board of IREX and AltMuslimah.
74
COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM
The Obama administration appeared to

have listened to their concerns and changed
nationally powerful countries such as the U.S.

on the countries of the Third World.
some domestic policies. The Department of
If potential partners are afraid that CVE is
Justice canceled its plans for Shared Respon-
just new terminology for imposing the same old
sibility Committees, where the FBI would tap
Western political programs and commercial in-
mental health workers, clergy, and counselors
terests, then how can we begin to build trust?
for information regarding potentially violent
Central to CVE theory is the idea that com-
individuals. Muslim Advocates, a legal defense
munities, and especially their religious leaders,
group, described this program as having the
need to feel ownership over these projects. The
potential to open participants to legal risks
best way to do this is to help them develop their
and liability, create distrust amongst com-
own solutions. If the policies are perceived as
munity members, and impede on Americans
driven by the West, achieving widespread com-
civil rights.
munity involvement is nearly impossible.
But whatever modicum of goodwill that

President Barack Obama earned by hearing
out civil society groups, President-elect Donald
Trump obliterated it. Khaled Beydoun, a law
professor at the University of Detroit Mercy
School of Law, told me that Trumps rhetoric
during the campaign eroded any opportunity to
build the strategic partnerships needed for the
CVE model.
Muslim groups are understandably con-
THINK OF CONGREGATIONAL
BASEMENTS AND SOCIAL
HALLS AS INCUBATORS OF
INNOVATION.
cerned about Trump misusing CVE programs.

Sahar Aziz, a professor at Texas A&M School of
One example where this has worked is
Law, told me, Trumps advisers unabashedly
in Uganda. After a pair of al-Shabab bombs
treat the Muslim community as collectively
killed at least 74 people at the Kyadondo
suspect. They are likely to focus resources on
Rugby Club in Kampala, on July 11, 2010,
heightened scrutiny and prosecution of Muslim
survivors established the Uganda Muslim
civil society organizations and leaders.
Youth Development Forum (UMYDF). The
She added, If CVE remains, however, there
organizations goal is to combat the mes-
is less doubt that it will be a tool for spying on
sages of those who hijacked Islam to justify
Muslim communities to further the adversarial
the attack. The UMYDF has reached 10,000
approach to counterterrorism that has pre-
Muslim youths, giving them the tools and
dominated since 9/11.
confidence to push back against extremist
Even before Trump, many local groups
ideology. The group is supported and funded
around the world assumed Western govern-
by the U.S. Embassy, but because the UMYDF
ments were using CVE policies to impose their
has a strong vision and a mission that reso-
own values and beliefs. Aari Najmuldeen Mo-
nates in the community, no one accuses its
hammed Jabari, the founder and president
members of being puppets.
of Iraqi Society for Relief and Development
Ahmed, a UMYDF team leader, told the
(INSAN), told me, The project of Countering
U.S. Institute of Peace that his goal was to help
Violent Extremism through its recent version
bring out the true image of Islam and Muslims,
seems [part of] a radical hegemony of the inter-
and to ensure that Muslims are able to speak
WINTER 2016 / 2017
75
out and to participate in the public sphere with-
programs are not working in urban Kenya, be-
out fear of state or public persecution.
cause theyre not taking other factors into ac-
Ahmed and UMYDF can do what a U.S. gov-
count: A major cause of youth radicalization in
ernment-created Twitter handle cannot: Cred-
my area is poverty and high rates of unemploy-
ibly provide peaceful alternatives to the narra-
ment. This is also accompanied by the need for
tives of violence created by extremist groups.
youth to provide for their families. Once youth
RELIGION IN CONTEXT
at risk of being radicalized are empowered

with knowledge and information, a source of
Contesting violent, twisted interpretations of
income or livelihood needs to be provided.
religion is important, but its not sucient. Pro-
CVE programming will not work eectively in
grams must pay attention to multiple drivers
my area unless an alternate source of income
of extremism and develop a diverse network of
is provided for vulnerable youth.
community supporters. Susie Hayward, the di-
The situation is similar in Nigeria. Imrana
rector of Religion and Inclusive Societies at the
Alhaji Buba, a coordinator with the Youth Co-
U.S. Institute of Peace, told me, the discussion
alition Against Terrorism, implements CVE pro-
about the intersection of religion and VE vac-
gramming funded by the U.S. and U.K. He told
illates between two polesbecoming a tedious
me that young people in areas targeted by Boko
debate about whether it has nothing or every-
Haram recruiters often complain about unem-
thing to do with religion.
ployment, corruption by government ocials.
The reality is in the middle: Religion is
So apart from organizing peace education
used to recruit people and to legitimatize, in-
programs, we started to oer skills acquisition
cite, and justify violence, but it is only one fac-
training for unemployed youth and link them
tor of many.
with appropriate government agencies to give
Rehema Zaid, a program coordinator with
them capital. He said after his organization
Integrated Initiatives for Community Empower-
began this training program, terrorist groups in
ment (IICEP), emphasized the need to under-
northeastern Nigeria have been less successful
stand religion in its wider social context. Much
in convincing young villagers to join.
of Zaids work with Somali refugees in Nairobi,
In at-risk communities, it is not just reli-
Kenya, has been in informal settlements like
gious messaging that motivates youths to en-
Majengo, where terror organizations actively
list with extremist groups, but also social and
try to recruit young people.
economic challenges that leave them with few
While the religious aspect cant be ig-
alternatives. This is why countering these nar-
nored, Zaid explained that in Majengo, violent
ratives alone is not enoughand why programs
extremism emerges out of economic reasons;
that address issues like joblessness can yield
the community feels deprived, marginalized,
measurable results.
and robbed of what is theirsespecially land

resources. Yet every government of the day
RELIGION AS A FORCE FOR GOOD
comes but leaves them worse than they are.
With violent images of the Islamic State, al-Qa-
The youth are therefore mobilized to forcefully
ida, or Boko Haram so often dominating West-
claim their resources.
ern media portrayals of Islam, disproportion-
Yvonne Akoththe founder and director of
ate international attention has been fixated on
Impart Change, a Nairobi-based organization
the destructive aspects of religion. But to foster
that uses art to champion sustainable peace
goodwill locally, practitioners need to highlight
and promote violence preventionsaid CVE
the constructive role religion can play.
76
In a speech given at the Pillars Fund Leadership Summit, Brie Loskota, director for the
provide spiritual guidance; increasingly, theyre

starting housing and job programs, too.
Center for Religion and Civic Culture (CRCC)
This is mirrored in conict zones around
at the University of Southern California and
the world. When faith communities from dier-
co-founder of the American Muslim Civic
ent religions share stories of pain, it can begin
Leadership Institute, focused on the need to
a healing process and help build trust. It can
explore the ranges of what religions dofrom
also encourage religious leaders to push their
the very good and transformational to the in-
followers out of a binary us-versus-them view
credibly destructive.
of the world.
When secular civil society groups single
At about the same time as the LA project,
out corruption among religious leaders or de-
the CRCC released a report that concluded reli-
scribe religion only as a mechanism to nor-
gions are often most inuential in times of so-
malize human rights violations, it alienates
cial upheaval. Because it is in those moments
people of faith. But if were vocal about the

successes of religion and demonstrate appreciation for what positive religious partnerships have achieved, then it will be easier for
communities to work from a position of engagement rather than one of defense.
A less fashionable story is the ways in which
religions provide motivation and activation for
social change, Loskota said. Much is made of
the power of the garage to be the site of innova-
FACILE RELIGIOUS
ENGAGEMENT GOES
STRAIGHT FOR THE CLERICS
OFTEN MEN.
tion in the tech industryguys huddled in their

buddys garage or their moms garage soldering
that people are searching for ways to under-
parts, assembling circuit boards, and iterating
stand who they are, ways to make sense of the
products until they build the Microsofts and
world as it unfolds in all its uncertainty, and
Apples of the world. ... Think of congregational
ways to connect to something larger than their
basements and social halls as the incubators of
selves, Loskota explained.
social innovation.
Rather than looking overseas, Loskota de-
ENGAGING LEADERS
scribed victories in her home community in
Once international and local actors recognize
Los Angeles. When clergy from black churches
that religion is only one driver of conict and
in south Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley
celebrate the positive inuence of religion with-
synagogues exchanged pulpits following the
in society, then they are ready to engage reli-
riots in 1992, new collaborations formed that
gious leaders in a meaningful partnership.
spurred faith community development corpo-
In September 2015, religious leaders and
rations to give hundreds of millions of dollars in
practitioners from faith-based traditions gath-
economic assistance to poor areas of LA. Guest
ered for meetings under the umbrella of the
preaching and choir visits continue to this day,
Network of Traditional and Religious Peace-
maintaining those ties and helping the commu-
makers. Participants outlined several eective
nities understand each other. The emergence
ways to collaborate. One key recommendation
of faith-based nonprofit development corpora-
was to engage religious partners at each stage of
tions have allowed churches do more than just
program development. Too often, religious ac-
WINTER 2016 / 2017
77
tors are simply handed prescriptions or talking
outside the bounds. Loskota cautioned. Reli-
points devised by United Nations agencies. In-
gious groups are able to change, be exible, find
put from religious leaders during early phases is
new areas of emphasis, yet even with external
essential both to gain local insight and to create
pressure, they resolve things through internal
a sense of community ownership.
processes that may take time. That time is well-
None of that, however, will matter if you
invested, because through the internal crucible
choose the wrong partner. Selecting religious
of religious wrestling, grounded, authenticated
leaders to engage with requires case-by-case
truths emerge.
consideration of their position in society, Buba
Letting trusted partners undergo these pro-
argued. Because of the obscene nature of Boko
cesses can help outcomes acquire greater legiti-
Haram attacks, only a few religious leaders
macy with the community.
are willing to collaborate with us. And the two

dominant religions in NigeriaIslam and Chris-
WOMEN AND YOUTH
tianityhave many sects in Nigeria. It is dicult
But when working together to combat violent
to identify trusted religious leaders that can col-
extremism, it is also important not to forget
laborate with us without sabotage.
about the target groups themselves. Involving
In April, participants at a meeting in the
women and youths is essential in this fight.
U.K. on religion and CVE raised a crucial issue
Given the young ages of so many radical-
about identifying alliances: Often the leaders
ized individuals, it makes sense to try to en-
with the most credibility in countering violent
gage them through their peers. IICEPs Zaid
messages are religiously conservative and high-
told me young people are her organizations
ly critical of Western policywhich can make
best messengers: These youth have come out
Western policymakers reluctant to engage with
to be the change agents in the community.
them. By the same token, liberal, pro-Western
Having learned the ills of violent extremism,
voices often lack credibility among the very
they are now out dissuading their fellows of
communities at risk of recruitment to violence.
the same. A section of them have been able
Focusing exclusively on figures with whom gov-
to address crime before it reaches the gov-
ernments feel comfortable limits what can be
ernment administration. The youth artists in
achieved, the conference report said.
the area have coined their performances with
Geneive Abdo, author of the Middle East
peace messages.
Strategy Taskforce report Religion, Identity,
In addition to youth, many experts stress
and Countering Violent Extremism, shares this
the necessity of reaching out to women, who
concern. She points out that centers of religious
are critical in shaping their childrens perspec-
learning aliated with the state are often re-
tives. Yvonne in Nairobi told me: Women in
garded as ocial mouthpieces and therefore
my community are playing a more active role in
less credible. On the other hand, some of them
the lives of their sons and daughters by ensur-
possess strong institutional infrastructure and
ing they nurture them in a way that prevents
enjoy enduring reputations for their scholar-
them from joining terror groups through guided
ship. CVE-related engagement with such enti-
values. This has been as a result of organized
ties must balance the value of their reach with
women forums in the community.
the constraints of their perceived association

with the government.
Zaid also told me that women in Kenya are a

valuable source of information about their com-
Be careful to look for religious groups that
munities: In our case, women have been able
speak within communities and not those so far
to relay important information with regards to
78
the militia and all their sympathizers. When
end, not only does this approach lead to ine-
inuenced, they can hide information which
cient policy, but it also helps extremists achieve
will later be detrimental to the society. The
what they want: the marginalization of women.
women in our program have been able to in-
The international community cant defeat
form us of the trends of VE in the community
Islamic State propaganda directly, but it can
(e.g. instances of recruitment and returnees
support environments where religious actors
from Somali). This has enabled us to tailor our
push for change themselves.
programs to respond to such trends.
UMYDFs Ahmed said, I do not just talk
Finally, in Women, Religion and Peacebuilding
peace, I live peace, act peace, and, through these
Illuminating the Unseen, USIPs Hayward points
eorts, partner with others to create opportu-
out that failing to include women in CVE pro-
nities for young people across all faiths. Ideo-
gramming reects a narrow view of who holds
logues are perverting religion to advance their
religious inuence. Hayward warns, facile reli-
agendas, and it is community members like
gious engagement goes straight for the clerics
Ahmednot Western media campaignswho
often menand is based on a misunderstanding
can best advocate for peaceful solutions. To
about how religious communities, ideas, institu-
counter extremism, the messenger matters as
tions, etc. are formed, run, and shaped. In the
much as the message. O
WINTER 2016 / 2017
79
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hangs above all our heads.
RUSSIAN BRINKSMANSHIP:
DONT CONFUSE UNPREDICTABILITY

WITH STRENGTH
OLGA OLIKER
ussia wants the world to treat it like
LYALKA
the global power the Soviet Union once

was. With a renewed trust in its military and a willingness to accept eco-
nomic loss for political gain, Moscow has

annexed Crimea, shifted the military balance in Syria, and stoked fears of nuclear
conict. Yet as pleased as the Kremlin must
be that it has thrown the U.S. and others
o balance, Russias impulsive activism is
unlikely to lead to the inuence it seeks.
The reason for this is that Moscow
lacks a coherent set of policy aims. Instead
of trying to advance specific interests, it
seeks out opportunities to demonstrate
capacity. Around the world, Russia tries
to curtail U.S. power and prove its worth
as an alternative ally and collaborator. But
when Russia intervenes just for the sake of
showing strength or embarrassing the U.S.,
the result is not respect, but a global reputation for unpredictability.
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3812991
81
E S S A Y | RUSSIA
This policy of anti-American opportunism
right- and left-wing groups across Europe, and
renders many of Moscows relationships trans-
possibly interfered in internal political process-
actional and eeting. As a result, most countries
es. Given the United Kingdoms Brexit vote, the
see Russia as unreliable. This will remain true if
ongoing refugee crisis, the election of Trump,
the U.S. becomes more isolationist under Presi-
and growing economic and social frustration,
dent Donald Trump, because Russia would no
the future shape of Europe is in question. That
longer be able to present itself as a U.S. counter-
said, the continents overall alignmentas well
weight. Until Russia develops a more intention-
as the consensus that continued U.S. leadership
al foreign policy, the countrys inuence will be
is beneficialhas proved remarkably resilient.
limited to its neighbors.
If the U.S. abdicates that leadership under
This is not to say that Russia has no goals. In
Trump, Europe would likely look within for
those parts of Europe and Asia that were once
guidance, and not to Moscow. Russias tendency
the Soviet Union (excepting, at least for now, the
toward brinkmanshipevidenced through mili-
Baltic countries), Russia wants recognition that
tary activity near EU and NATO borders, as well
it has privileged interests, as then-President
as its involvement in domestic politics of other
Dmitry Medvedev put it in 2008. Russia believes
countriescourts further distrust. Even if Mos-
these countries are in its sphere of inuence,
cow is able to amplify discontent, as long as it
and that if other states want a role, then they
oers no clear alternative to the current order,
too should have to play by Moscows rules.
Russia will not direct the evolution of Europe.
The Kremlin has made no secret that it
In the Middle East, Moscow has long been a
views Western support of civil society in Russia
player, but its capacityand desireto exert in-
and in former Soviet states as attempts to un-
uence is greater now than it has been in a quar-
dermine its rightful role as regional hegemon. In
ter century. The Kremlin, though, faces many
reality though, the United States and its allies
of the same challenges as the U.S. It is dicult
while loath to accept Russian leadershiphave
to define a way forward when so many of ones
little interest in directly challenging Moscow in
ostensible friends and sought-after partners are
its own neighborhood.
at odds with one another. Russias juggling act
Yet the experience of Ukraine since 2014
between Iran, Syria, Israel, Turkey, Iraq, Pales-
shows that a Russian push for inuence, particu-
tine, and Kurdish groups (to say nothing of the
larly a militarized one, can backfire. Rather than
Gulf states, with which it has long sought better
forcing Washington and Brussels out, Russian be-
relations) will remain complicated. While Rus-
havior prompted the U.S. and Europe to provide
sias intervention in Syria successfully bolstered
additional support to Kiev and apply more pres-
President Bashar Assad, there is still no clear,
sure on Moscow. With the Kremlin likely to test a
constructive path toward a stable Syria, even if
variety of techniques to gain leverage in Ukraine,
U.S. policy shifts in Moscows favor.
including propaganda campaigns and economic
Russias best chance to increase its stature
sanctions, the risks of escalation are realeven if
in the Middle East is to deliver results where the
the U.S. decides to take a step back.
United States cannot, such as progress toward
In Europe, Moscow wants a new security
peace between Israel and Palestine. But it is dif-
order, one which weakens or dismantles NATO
ficult to imagine that the Kremlin will be able
and the European Union. Russia has funded dis-
to broker a breakthrough when one has eluded
information campaigns, bolstered ties with both
negotiators for so long.
OLGA OLIKER is the director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
82
UNPREDICTABILITY VS. STRENGTH
In Asia, Russia has tended to follow Chinas
America have increased in the wake of Euro-
policy lead. Right now, Beijing is probably Mos-
pean sanctions. However, talk of installing Rus-
cows best global partner. The two governments
sian bases in Cuba again appears to have been
agree on many international issues, and trade
just chatter. Much as Russia would like to make
between them is likely to grow, especially as Eu-
inroads in the United States backyard, Moscow
ropean nations continue to try to isolate Russia
is only oering straightforward trade deals, not
economically. But Moscows eorts to raise its
deeper relationships, so long-term strategic
profile in the Asia-Pacific region could put its
partnerships are unlikely to develop.
relationship with Beijing in danger.
In Africa, despite the Soviet history of sup-
If Russia builds ties with Japan, Vietnam, or
porting states and revolutionary movements,
other Asian states, as it has been looking to do,
Russia doesnt have much leverage. Russian
these new alliances could weaken Chinas posi-
trade with African states is minimal and while
tion in the region. Rapprochement with Japan,
Moscow promises greater involvement, it has
however, faces many hurdlesincluding a dispute over the sovereignty of the Kuril Islands.
But if these can be overcome, China would surely see this partnership as a threat to its goal of
regional dominance.
If Moscow tries to strengthen its East and
Southeast Asian connections while maintaining
its alignment with Chinese policies, it would have
WHILE RUSSIAS INTERESTS

ARE GLOBAL, IT IS FAR FROM
A DECISIVE PLAYER.
little to oer prospective allies. For Russia to become an active player in the Asia-Pacific region,
yet to deliver. One could speculate that the U.S.
it will have to separate its agenda from Chinas.
governments relative disinterest in the region
Russia could decide, for instance, to back other
has tempered its appeal to Russia, as it is not a
nations South China Sea claims. Even if it does
space where it can compete with Washington.
not go so far as to defy Chinese positions out-
This discussion only scratches the surface of
right, Moscow faces a stark choice: Is strength-
complex questions, all of which deserve a longer
ening partnerships throughout Asia more or less
analysis. The bottom line is that while Russias
important than its relationship with Beijing?
interests are global, it is far from a decisive player
Russian activity in Latin America and Af-
in most of the world. The Kremlin may feed o of
rica receives less attention than its actions else-
shifting alliances and transnational threats, but
where. But in Latin America, Russia, like the
it doesnt have a consistent response to them. It
USSR before it, is an important supplier of arms.
appears to have one main priority: to challenge
Venezuela has been a notable customer in the
and discredit the United States and its allies in
past, and recent Nicaraguan tank purchases
order to demonstrate its own importance. Ab-
and a rumored refueling agreement indicate
sent a clearer policy, Russias disruptive impact
growing ties between the two countries. Mean-
will not transform into lasting inuenceeven
while, Russian agricultural imports from Latin
with Trump in the White House. O
WINTER 2016 / 2017
83
E S S A Y | POWER COUPLE
THE NEWEST
POWER COUPLE:
IRAN AND RUSSIA BAND TOGETHER

TO SUPPORT ASSAD
PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA
E L L I E G E R A N M AY E H
W
84
hen Russian fighter jets bound for Syria took o from Iran in August, it shocked the worlds security establishment. This unprecedented cooperation between Russia and Iran sent a clear signal
to the West that both countries were committed to safeguarding
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3813075
POWER COUPLE
their interests in Syria, whatever the costs. The
Moscow and Tehran favor a multipolar
latest oensive in Aleppo is further testament
world in which they exert more inuence. Rus-
that Iran and Russia remain dedicated to en-
sian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has alluded
suring Syrian President Bashar Assad remains
to a long period of transition to a more poly-
in power.
centric architecture of global order. Iranian of-
Right now Syria is a shared battlefield
ficials have repeatedly outlined a similar vision
against perceived common threatsespecially
noting that BRICS summitsmeetings of rep-
their mutual opposition to what they see as
resentatives from Brazil, Russia, India, China,
U.S. unilateralism.
and South Africareect the emergence of new
During a November 2015 meeting with
power structures.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Irans su-
Russia and Iran are comfortable dealing
preme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claimed
with each other. Many Russians dont see Irans
the long-term plan of the United States is
leadership as alien or sinister, as the West often
against the interests of all nations, particular-
does, but rather as something familiar. Iran is
ly our two nations, which can be thwarted by
an ideological statelike the Soviet Union, said
closer cooperation.
a Russian Iran-watcher, who wished to remain
Such cooperation in Syria comes amid improved bilateral relations following Putins re-
anonymous. Russia understands ideological

dogma, and knows how to work around it.
turn to the Russian presidency in 2012. The
In Syria, Russia has been eager to preserve
growing military ties come after years of ex-
its last remaining military infrastructure in the
panded arms sales from Moscow to Tehran,
Middle East and to prevent the type of state col-
which have become integral to the security
lapse that followed recent interventions by the
architecture of the Islamic Republic. Conse-
West in the Middle East and North Africa. In this
quently, their recent demonstration of military
endeavor, Tehran is a useful ally for Moscow in
power in Syria should not be wholly surprising
an unstable region and an important partner on
and may well indicate that together the two
the ground for containing U.S. regional ambi-
countries will help shape the Middle East for
tions. For Iran, Russia is a critical means of shor-
some time.
ing up its security interests and access routes to
A fundamental factor uniting Russia and

Iran in Syria is their resistance to what they
consider the United States regime change
Hezbollah at a time of rising threats from regional foes, most notably Saudi Arabia.
agenda, which, they say, the U.S. pursues either
DEFENSE LINKS
by military means or in the guise of so-called
At the Islamic Republics inception, a popular
color revolutions. Russia and Iran have firmly
revolutionary slogan was neither East, nor
opposed U.S. and NATO military operations in
West, a mantra intended to free Iranian do-
the Middle East, particularly after the Libya in-
mestic and foreign policies from superpowers.
tervention in 2011 and the Wests backing of
But after the hostage crisis, mutual enmity be-
Syrian opposition forces. This pushback against
tween Iran and the U.S. created opportunities
the United States is a priority for both coun-
for Moscow to begin drawing Iran into its orbit
tries, and in pursuing this goal, they have relied
of inuence as a check on American power.
on each others understanding of how the international order should work.
In the 1980s, the Islamic Republic remained wary of Moscows expansionist ideals.
ELLIE GERANMAYEH is a Middle East and North Africa policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
85
E S S A Y | IRAN AND RUSSIA
But after the disintegration of the Soviet Union,
leader and a key figure in devising Iranian pol-
this threat was lowered. Moreover, the Islamic
icy in Syria, stated in May that after meeting
Republic turned to Moscow after Europe re-
with Putin on five occasions, at no time have I
duced arms sales to Iran and the U.S. cut them
sensed any wavering on his support for Syrias
o entirely. Unsurprisingly, over the past two
legal government.
decades, Russia has replaced the United States
If anything, the Russian-Iranian position
as Irans leading supplier of weapons. While
over Assads fate solidified over the past year.
Moscow has some reservations regarding these
Each time the opposition grew in strength, Rus-
sales, including the need to balance this with
sia and Iran came together to ensure it wouldnt
its delicate relationship with Israel, Russia faces
threaten Assad. After all, Moscows decision to
no competition, not even from China. Publicly
intervene militarily in Syria in September 2015
recorded estimates of Russian arms sales to Iran
came as Jabhat al-Nusra (now renamed Jabhat
from 2005 to 2010 are more than double the
Fatah al-Sham) and regionally backed opposi-
value of Chinas Iranian weapons deals. Along-
tion groups, such as Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish al-
side rising regional threat calculations in Teh-
Islam (known as the Army of Conquest), were
ran, this steady source of weaponry has made
making major gains and weakening Assads
Russia crucial to Iranian defense.
forces. Russian support proved critical to shore
Following the easing of international sanc-
up Assads position and enable operations by
tions under the nuclear deal, Iran now has a
the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
shopping list of Russian military goods report-
in Syria. Similarly, over the summer, Russia and
edly worth $8 billion. Going forward, there will
Iran doubled down on their military coopera-
likely be an uptick in the transfer of military
tion through increased bombing and an asser-
goods and technology to Iran in light of Russian
tive ground oensive in Aleppo.
economic interests and intensifying operations

in Syria.
CONVENIENT PARTNERS
Given the collapse of the Russia-U.S. brokered cease-fire deal in September, Moscow
and Tehran will likely intensify the attacks
on Aleppo. Both Moscow and Tehran have ap-
In Syria, Russia and Iran forged a convenient
plied the extremist label with great exibility,
hard-power partnership focused on preserving
using it to paint a wide spectrum of groups op-
the Assad government as the only viable guar-
posed to Assad as legitimate targetsfurther
antor of their respective interests. Given its cen-
suggesting that regime preservation is their
trality to their global and regional ambitions,
primary motive.
this conict will be the center of their cooperation for some time.
FLUCTUATIONS AND DOWNTURNS
Over the past year, Iran and Russia have fo-
Despite this convergence of Russian and Ira-
cused on strengthening the Assad regime and
nian interests, both historic and recent seeds
the security apparatus loyal to Damascus. Since
of mutual distrust remain as well as numerous
the early days of the crisis, Syrian opposition
limits to how far their military relationship
groups and their regional backers have hoped
can develop in Syria. Relations between Mos-
for a Russian-Iranian split to emerge over the
cow and Tehran have uctuated over a num-
question of Assads future, but so far, no such
ber of strategic issues. The most notable case
divisions are visible. In response to specula-
was Russias support of U.N. Security Council
tions over a possible schism, Ali Akbar Velayati,
resolutions in 2006 to sanction Iran over its
chief foreign policy adviser to Irans supreme
nuclear program. Russia was a key party in
86
POWER COUPLE
negotiations and, on some critical issues, al-
the cease-fire and failing to give air support to
lied with the Western position on what be-
IRGC and regime forces.
came the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

(JCPOA) over Irans nuclear program.
In the aftermath of the Khan Tuman incident, Iran called for a trilateral meeting in
Iran also worried that Moscow used it as
Tehran with the Russian and Syrian defense
a bargaining chip during the reset experiment
ministers in June to push for more eective col-
between the U.S. and Russia under President
laboration. Iran also created an ocial position
Barack Obama. In 2010, Russian President
dedicated to military coordination between
Dmitry Medvedev halted the delivery of the
the three countries, led by Ali Shamkhani, the
S-300 air defense system, which Iran had con-
secretary of Irans Supreme National Security
tracted and paid for pursuant to an agreement
Council. Since then, facts on the ground in Syria
in 2007. Iran began taking legal action against
have changed, and, as Russias use of an Iranian
Russia for the delayed delivery, but withdrew
airbase in August revealed, military cooperation
its lawsuit this year when Russia began pro-
between the two countries is only growing.
viding a more advanced version of the S-300.
Yet, in the long-term, Moscow and Tehran
While the S-300s will no doubt enhance
may diverge on how to manage relations with
Irans defensive capabilities, a senior Iranian
non-state actors inside Syria. Iran remains sus-
security expert familiar with the issue and
picious of both Russian and American support
who spoke on the condition of anonymity de-
for and cooperation with Kurdish fighters and
scribed the delayed drip-drip delivery of the
is concerned by the prospect of a fully autono-
S-300s as a source of humiliation that should

prompt Iran to expedite its diversification of
suppliers for military technology and goods.
Research undertaken for a recent report
from the European Council on Foreign Relations suggests that some worries still linger
within the Iranian leadership that Moscow
will once again use Iran as leverage in negotiating with the United States. This could, for
example, entail Russia undercutting Iranian
THE WEST HAS AN ARRAY OF

BAD AND WORSE OPTIONS
FOR RESPONDING TO IRAN
AND RUSSIA.
interests in Syria at the political track in order to gain a favorable negotiating position on
mous Kurdish region in Syria. Such indepen-
other issues, such as the Ukraine crisis.
dence diminishes Iranian inuence over the
While Iran encouraged and welcomed
Syrian Kurds, and has repercussions for Irans
Russian military involvement in Syria in
own Kurdish minorities who have similar aspi-
September 2015, several incidents in 2016
rations. On the other hand, Irans use of and
raised concerns regarding Moscows ultimate
command over militia forces and paramili-
intentions. In May, shortly after Russia agreed
tary groups is already a source of concern for
to implement a cease-fire with the United
Moscow, given their preference to work with
States in Aleppo province, the IRGC suered
the Syrian army and state security apparatus.
one of its biggest military setbacks of the con-
If Iran replicates the Hezbollah-style model in
ict during an al-Nusra siege in Khan Tuman
Syria, this will pose challenges for the states
in northern Syria. Senior Iranian military of-
armed forces and could become a divisive issue
ficials indirectly blamed Russia for agreeing to
in the future.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
87
E S S A Y | IRAN AND RUSSIA
But for now, Iran and Russia have sidelined
transition. Even if the West could persuade
their longer-term divergent goals to focus on
Moscow to take a dierent road to Tehran,
the immediate aim of cementing their strate-
Irans continued backing for Assad would like-
gic interests in Syria. Despite limitations to the
ly spoil attempts by Moscow to deliver unilat-
partnership with Russia, much of Tehrans se-
erally. Both states need to be on board if any
curity and defense establishment believes Iran
deal is to be sustainable on humanitarian and
can better protect its regional inuence with
political fronts.
close ties to Moscow. As a former senior Iranian
If there are any dierences between Rus-
ocial explained, despite all the challenges,
sia and Iran that can be exploited, they will
[the Russians] have proved to be more reliable
come into play once violence has diminished
than any other global power at delivering on
and the Syrian regime is no longer considered
sensitive security commitments to Iran.
to be under existential threat. At that point,
LEAST WORST OPTIONS FOR THE WEST
the West could look at tapping into strategic dierences on the longer-term questions
In regard to the Syria crisis, the West has an
of Assad, the Kurds, and the role of Iranian-
array of bad and worse options for respond-
backed militia groups in a manner that could
ing to Iran and Russia. But as a first step, the
loosen the alliance.
West ought to be more realistic about what
In calculating a response that best serves
is possible and acknowledge that Moscow and
Western interest and the urgent necessity of
Tehran will align much more with each other
reducing the violence in Syria, policymak-
than the West does with either. Russia and
ers must consider that each stage of escala-
Iran are also likely to go much further in pro-
tion and counter-escalation in Syria will no
tecting their interests in Syria than the West
doubt intensify the battle on the ground and
has an appetite for. The instinctive reaction of
generate greater loss of civilian life. It is also
trying to divide Russia and Iran, which has not
likely to reinforce Russian and Iranian ties.
produced results conducive to peace in Syria,
Recognizing the reality of the situation and
should be put to rest. While such a split was
wishing to avoid a wider conictincluding
possible during the nuclear negotiations, it is
a possible great-power clash with Russiathe
unlikely to succeed now.
West should keep open diplomatic channels
Neither Russia nor Iran seems able or willing to individually abandon Assad in a political
88
to Tehran, Moscow, and Damascus and pursue

all options for ending the carnage in Syria. O
ISLANDS APART:
WHY THE SAUDI-EGYPT ALLIANCE

IS ON THE ROCKS
SARAH EL SIRGANY
SARAH EL SIRGANY
AIROIn May, 47 prisoners went on a hunger strike, adding fuel to

the largest protest in Egypt since 2014. Held in overcrowded cells
and denied medical care, they were only 23 days into their five-year
sentencesbut poor conditions were not the reason for their dissent.
Security forces had arrested them in April for demonstrating against the
governments decision to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.
Six days into the hunger strike, an appeals court struck down the
prison sentence but left each of the protesters with a LE 100,000 Egyptian
pound ($11,200) fine.
Lawyer Khaled Ali holds up historical documents, which he says proves the
islands of Tiran and Sanafir are Egyptian, on June 22.
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3813027
89
R E P O R T A G E | SAUDI-EGYPT ALLIANCE
At first, the idea of collecting LE 4.7 million
Supporting the 47 was dierent. People
($534,000) to free all the detainees in the two
felt that they could do something with this
weeks before the month of Ramadan seemed
contribution: They would deliver a political
impossible. The sum was too large, the time too
message, said Nagy Kamel, an engineer and a
short, and the security risks too high. But the
father of three, who was the final protester to
fines provided a tangible cause that Egyptians,
be released.
furious over the loss of land, could rally around.
That message was twofold: Domestic opposi-
You already had mobilization over the islands.
tion could still mobilize, and the public object-
People already wanted to take to the streets,
ed to Egypts perceived submissive role in the
said Randa, a pseudonym because she fears gov-
emerging regional order. Since then, the row has
ernment reprisal.
strained the already tense relations between the
Every day, Randa and other veteran activ-
two countries. While both governments say they
ists posted on Facebook which caf or cultural
want to maintain close ties, conicting expecta-
event they would attend, and strangers would
tions and national transformations threaten to
show up and contribute money for the prison-
destabilize this crucial alliance.
ers release. The activists and donors had no legal cover to accept or give donations, and they
LAND IS YOUR HONOR
knew they risked arrest.
In April 2016, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al
Inside the prison, the men listed the order
Sauds convoy brought Cairos already snarling
of who should get out firstat the top were
trac to a halt as it zigzagged across the city
students with final exams and breadwinners
for a series of meetings. It was his first visit to
with families. In the following days, lawyers
Egypt since his ascension to the throne in Janu-
paid fines for groups of five and eight detainees
ary 2015. During the five-day visit, the king met
at a time, and those initial releases energized
with the grand sheikh of Al-Azhar, spoke with
the campaign.
the pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and
In the end, Randa and her fellow activists
co-chaired a parliamentary session.
raised enough money for everyone. Even with
Building on the Cairo Declaration, an outline
her initial optimism, Randa was puzzled; no
of areas of cooperation signed with the deputy
other issuenot mass killings, torture, or soar-
crown prince in October 2015, the visit was a
ing food priceshad united people in the same
formal assertion that the alliance could with-
way as Egypts decision to give up Tiran and
stand the countries growing disagreements over
Sanafir, two rocky uninhabited islands in the
the Syrian and Yemeni conicts.
Gulf of Aqaba best known to scuba divers and
King Salman signed 17 agreements in a tele-
history bus. The demonstrations and the dona-
vised meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-
tion campaign reversed the street action fatigue
Fattah el-Sissi. The bundle of investments, grants,
that had marked the previous three years. Since
and development projects would bring in up to
a restrictive protest law was passed in Novem-
$25 billion in Saudi funds, the Egyptian inter-
ber 2013, protesters had been killed, injured, or
national cooperation minister told local media.
detained without any notable eect on decision-
They agreed on Sinai development projects, re-
makers or public opinion. Most Egyptians had
vived old plans to build a bridge connecting the
lost faith in the eectiveness of rallies.
two countries, and redrew maritime borders.
SARAH EL SIRGANY is a Cairo-based journalist and TV producer. Her work has appeared in CNN, Al-Monitor,
and The Guardian. Shes a non-resident fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Atlantic Council.
90
ISLANDS APART
At first, Egyptians could only guess how

the two countries would demarcate the new
constitution even included a new article prohibiting the concession of land.
boundaries, but the prime minister confirmed
El-Sissi knew this and vowed never to re-
a day later that Egypt would hand over Tiran
linquish Egyptian territory. Im telling you all
and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia.
of this not to assure you about the islands but
The deal was a shock to the Egyptian popu-
about the man you have entrusted with your
lation, former Arab League Secretary-General
country, your honor, and your land. Your land is
Amro Mousa said in April. El-Sissis govern-
your honor, and its a trust bound to my neck,
ment, he argued in a statement, mishandled
el-Sissi said in a televised speech on April 13
the announcement and underestimated the
defending the agreement.
publics reaction.
For el-Sissis supporters and detractors
Ocials and regime proponents immedi-
alike, it was dicult to see the country led
ately took over the airwaves and newspapers
by its former defense minister cede landes-
to attest that the islands had always been Saudi
pecially since the islands were at the heart of
Arabias. My mother taught me not to crave
the 1967 war with Israel. Egypts decision to
whats in peoples hands, el-Sissi said in a tele-
close the Tiran Straits, which borders one of
vised speech. All classified Egyptian documents
the islands, blocked the only waterway lead-
say that the islands are Saudi, and the borders
ing to the Israeli port of Eilat and sparked the
were based on a 1990 agreement, he added.
Six-Day War.
Surreal images of el-Sissi supporters waving

Saudi ags in Tahrir Square circulated on TV
and social media, adding to the brewing anger.
On April 15, protesters took to the streets.
Security allowed one demonstration near the
Journalists Syndicate, the traditional protest spot since before Egypts 2011 uprising,
but cracked down on dozens of others. On
April 25Sinai Liberation Day, when Egypt
celebrates the withdrawal of Israeli troops in
SAUDI ARABIA IS LESS

WILLING TO SHOWER EGYPT
WITH MONEY AND GET
NOTHING IN RETURN.
1982security forces stormed rallies across

Egypt and arrested hundreds.
That Saudi Arabia was the recipient of the
Despite a court ruling arming that the is-
islands made the handover even more painful.
lands were Egyptian, the controversy persisted,
The Egyptian intelligentsia have long blamed
and the government has appealed the verdict.
Saudi Arabias petrodollars for the spread of
Populist outrage over the islands puts el-Sissi
Wahhabism, the ultraconservative form of Sunni
in a bind. There is no scenario that could satisfy
Islam that has gained adherents across Egypt at
both his constituents and his regional ally.
the expense of more traditional, moderate prac-
The legitimacy of el-Sissis regime is
tices. Remittances from the millions of Egyptians
rooted in hyper-nationalism and the armys
who have worked in the Gulf since the 1970s
conviction in the sanctity of land. One of the
have been met with both gratitude and indigna-
reasons for the unpopularity of President Mo-
tion. For many, this money sent from abroad em-
hammed Morsi, el-Sissis Islamist predecessor,
bodies the decline of Egypt from a leader whose
was a rumor that he would give away terri-
engineers, doctors, and teachers shaped the re-
tory to the Palestinians and Qataris. The 2014
gion to a state reliant on Gulf funds.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
91
These conicting sentiments crystallized in
peatedly stalled, and the late King Abdullah bin
the reaction to the about $14 billion worth of
Abdel-Aziz Al Saud never pushed. Both recog-
aid, loans, and fuel Saudi Arabia has given Egypt
nized the domestic and regional repercussions
over the past three years. Egypts Central Bank
of bringing sovereignty issues to the forefront.
notes a significant increase in cash from Saudi

Arabia since the 2013 military coupfrom $2
CONFLICTING EXPECTATIONS
billion in the two years after the 2011 revolu-
With low oil prices and a new ruler, Saudi Ara-
tion to $8 billion over the past three years. While
bia is less willing to shower Egypt with money
there are no ocial figures for the total amount
and get nothing in return. Immediately after
of Saudi assistance to Egypt since 2011, some
King Abdullahs death in January 2015, the
observers put the number close to $30 billion.
head of the Royal Court, Khaled El-Tuwaijri,
While many Egyptians are thankful that
who also handled the Egypt file, was fired. His
Saudi Arabia supported Egypt financially, oth-
departure signaled a shift in Saudi Arabias in-
ers believe the Saudis were only funding el-Sissi
ternational aairs strategy. King Salman and his
to sustain his repressive practices and would
son Mohamed Bin Salman, the defense minister
eventually want a return on their investments.
and deputy crown prince, wanted to usher in a
It was clear that it wasnt about helping Egypt,
more aggressive foreign policy.
just giving [el-Sissi] money, so he can buy his
Maybe King Abdullah had more patience in
legitimacy in arms deals with European coun-
the sense that if it needs more time to bring more
tries, Kamel said.
states into the mix, lets take that time, said Saud
The pressures on el-Sissi arent just domes-
Kabli, a Saudi diplomat. With the developments
tic. When Saudi Arabia demanded Egypt inter-
in Yemen, the new government of Saudi Arabia
vene militarily in regional conicts, el-Sissi re-
realized that we can no longer wait for others to
fused to send troops, but he still had to placate
ride on the bus, and if it means that we have to
his main financier. The islands, an unresolved
do it alone, then we are going to do it alone.
file under previous monarchs, would provide
Two days before the Arab Summit in March
King Salman a tangible victory to bring home to
2015, Saudi Arabia launched its oensive in Ye-
his citizens during a time of draining and unre-
men, spearheaded by the deputy crown prince.
warding fighting elsewhere.
Egypt limited its contribution to the Saudi-led
President el-Sissi has the popularity and
coalition to naval and air forcesfour naval ves-
ability needed to pass such a decision, wrote
sels and 24 fighter jets, according to the Saudi
the prominent Saudi columnist Jamal Khashog-
Al-Arabiya TV. Despite pressure from Riyadh, no
gi, known for his ties to the Saudi monarch,
Egyptian troops were deployed. Egyptians still
about the new sea borders in April.
remember the depletion of human and finan-
Now the presidents inability to quell Egyp-
cial resources during their last military inter-
tian anger toward Saudi Arabia is undermining
vention in Yemen in the 1960s, when Egypt and
the confidence his patrons once had in him.
Saudi Arabia fought on opposite sides.
The dispute over the islands has made clear
Thats the advantage of the Egyptian stance
how leadership changes have reshaped the
[now]; its well-defined. We dont get ourselves
countries approaches to international aairs.
in [conicts] that could drag us to uncalculated
Todays rulers have created what their prede-
adventure, said Mohamed El-Orabi, former
cessors had assiduously avoided: a confronta-
Egyptian foreign minister who headed the par-
tion. Over decades of intermittent negotiations,
liaments foreign aairs committee at the time
the now-deposed president, Hosni Mubarak, re-
of the interview in August.
92
ISLANDS APART
Saudi Arabia and Egypt are reshaping their
animosity to political Islam has faded. King
foreign policies and reshuing priorities. Both
Salman is more sympathetic to religious conser-
of us, at the same time, are going through a sig-
vatives than his predecessor was, wrote Hus-
nificant process of changein Egypt because of
sein Ibish, senior scholar at the Arab Gulf States
revolutions and Saudi because of generational
Institute in Washington, D.C.
change, explained Nabil Fahmy, Egypts foreign

minister from July 2013-14.
The Saudi government now sees the Islamic

State as a bigger threat than the Muslim Broth-
Just a year earlier, el-Sissi had promised a
erhood. This divergence has hardened their dis-
swift intervention of Egypts army whenever the
agreements over Syria. Saudi Arabia is willing to
security of any Arab country was threatened.
engage with Islamist and radical groups, whereas
During the 2015 Arab Summit, the proposal to
their very existence drives Egypt toward Assad.
form a Joint Arab Force indicated Egypts will-
The glue still holding the countries together
ingness for greater military involvement. The
is a Saudi-led Sunni alliance designed to coun-
Joint Military Force never came to being, and
ter Iran. The battle between Riyadh and Tehran
by the end of that year, Saudi Arabia formed
to control the regions weakened states is the
the Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism.
new Middle East Cold War, according to F. Greg-
Bringing in countries like Pakistan and Turkey
ory Gause, a non-resident senior fellow at the
revealed how Saudi foreign policy had become
Brookings Doha Center.
more dependent on Sunni Muslim nations rather than just on Arabs.

At the diplomatic level, disagreements have
As the regional conicts turn into proxy

wars between Shiite and Sunni forces, keeping
ties to the biggest army in the regionEgypts
escaped closed doors. During the 2015 Arab

Summit, el-Sissi advised his guests to listen to
a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin,
who was in Egypt a month earlier proclaiming
a new chapter of invigorated cooperation. Saudi
Arabias foreign minister at the time, Saud ElFaisal, dedicated his closing remarks to dispar-
ITS TIME TO READ THE

EGYPTIAN PICTURE AS IT IS.
aging Putins note. [The Russians] talk about

the tragedies in Syria while they have been an
is crucial. Even if we dont have inuence in
integral part in the tragedies suered by the
the region, its in Saudis interest to keep us by
Syrian people, El-Faisal said. Is this an under-
its side. In the end, we have some sort of inu-
mining of our opinion of the interests of the
ence with Israel, said Hussein Gohar, former
Arab people in Syria?
head of the foreign aairs committee of the
Syria has been a sore point for the Saudis.
Egyptian Social Democratic Party.
El-Sissi sides with the Iran- and Russia-backed
Saudi Arabia doesnt have formal relations
Bashar Assad against Saudi Arabias position that
with Israel, but there are backchannel parleys.
his ouster is an essential part of any resolution.
In April, Saudi Arabia announced it would abide
Saudi has pigeonholed itself into the idea of re-
by the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty and allow
moving Assad, but now the world, including the
passage around Tiran and Sanafir. Israeli Defense
U.S., has realized that it wont be right to remove
Minister Moshe Yaalon told reporters that Egypt
him, leaving a vacuum behind, Orabi said.
had consulted with Israel before transferring the
The countries regional strategies are drift-
islands. This handover process revealed the way
ing apart. In contrast to Egypt, Saudi Arabias
Egypt plays a crucial role mediating between
WINTER 2016 / 2017
93
Israel and Saudi Arabiaa key relationship as
gional interests, with democratic changes in the
both want to undercut Iranian inuence.
region emboldening Islamists who opposed the
In Egypt, anti-Iran sentiment has been a part
Saudi royals.
of politics since Cairo welcomed the deposed
But Saudi critics of Egypt are multiplying.
shah in 1979. Two years later, Irans crass cele-
Even Khashoggi, the Saudi columnist that attest-
bration of the assassination of President Anwar
ed to el-Sissis popularity, called for his country
El-Sadat infuriated a mourning Egypt, pushing
to acknowledge the deteriorating political and
the two further apart.
economic situation in Egypt. We dont serve
TOO BIG TO FAIL
Egypt or its leaders with this silence, he wrote

in the London-based Saudi daily Al-Hayat. Its
The word stability comes up in every con-
time to read the Egyptian picture as it is, and it
versation with Egyptian and Saudi ocials and
is not what we hope for.
researchers. A strategic interest in maintaining
Public opinion in Saudi Arabia turned
stability in Egypt has helped both countries
against Egypt. People were saying: We are giv-
endure diplomatic bumps, including a leaked
ing money to Egypt, but how about us? How
audio recording of el-Sissi and his closest aides
about the poor people in Saudi? We are giv-
dismissing the Gulf countries as endless sources
ing Egypt money, but they are not aligned with
of cash. In a conversation believed to have been
us in Syria for example, said Saeed Alwahabi, a
recorded prior to his election in 2014, el-Sissi
Saudi political analyst at the United Arab Emir-
said that the Gulf states have money like rice,
ates-based Delma Institute.
a common Egyptian phrase for abundance.
For the moment, such criticism continues
Still, as H. A. Hellyer, a senior fellow at the
to be overshadowed by the big picture: The pre-
Atlantic Council, explained, Saudi is terrified
dominant feeling in the Gulf is that there are no
by the idea that Egypt could ever go anywhere
alternatives to el-Sissi and that Egypt may not
remotely the way of Libya or Syria.
be able to withstand another upheaval.
Egyptian heads of state going back to
Saudi and Egyptian diplomats maintain that
Mubarak have told the world that they need
the furor over the islands wont break the rela-
funds or their country could plunge into anar-
tionship. Yet King Salmans presence during the
chy. El-Sissi has warned that Egypts 90 million
signing of the deal makes it impossible for el-Sis-
citizens could become refugees if his government
si to backtrack without causing national embar-
collapses. If this country falls, you dont know
rassment for the king, according to Alwahabi.
what will happen to the region and Europe,
Egyptian ocials speaking at an event in
el-Sissi warned during a press conference with
August to promote the governments stance on
French President Franois Hollande in April.
the islands admitted the relations between the
So far, the idea that Egypt is too big to fail
two countries were too fragile to withstand an
has worked in the governments favor. Despite
international arbitration process. The Egyptian
frustrations with el-Sissis mismanagement of
regime realizes this and wants to contain dissent
domestic and foreign aairs, Gulf countries con-
by keeping the issue in the hands of the govern-
tinue to bankroll the regime.
ment and a mostly complacent parliament.
Saudi Arabia was relieved to see the mili-
While the islands controversy hasnt de-
tary seize control of Egypt in 2013, craving the
stroyed the Saudi-Egypt alliance, it definitely
return to the stability and predictability of the
gave it a cold shower, said Kabli, the Saudi
pre-2011 status quo. The revolution and the
diplomat. Both Saudi Arabia and Egypt realize
Muslim Brotherhood rule undermined Saudi re-
that they are too big to fight, too big to let the
94
ISLANDS APART
relationship deteriorate to the point of aecting

them and the region.
Egypt started shopping for fuel elsewhere.

It signed a deal with Iraq, and rumors circu-
But Kabli and other ocials made these as-
lated of meetings with Iranian ocials. After a
sertions this summer, and since then, relations
week, ocials were struggling to keep the feud
have been further strained. On Oct. 9, Egypt vot-
from escalating.
ed for two Security Council resolutions calling for
Yet, when Saudi ocial Iyad Madani
an end to hostilities in Syria, the first proposed
mocked el-Sissi at an international meeting at
by Franceand backed by Saudi Arabiaand the
the end of October, he was forced to resign as
second by Russia. Both failed to pass. For Egypt,
secretary general of the Organization of Islamic
the second vote was a strategic nod to the Rus-
Cooperation. Egypt quickly backed another
sians, who promised to fund the countrys first
Saudi candidate to replace him.
nuclear power plant. It was also a harmless vote

for a resolution doomed to fail.
These alternations between potentially grave

disputes and reconciliation attempts reect the
Yet, as the sole Arab member of the Security
uncertainty that hovers over the relationship.
Council, Egypts vote drew immediate scorn from
In October, Saudi Arabia delivered on its
Saudi Arabia. It was painful to find that Senegal
promise to deposit $2 billion in the Central Bank
and Malaysias positions are closer to the Arab
of Egyptcash that Egypt desperately needed
consensus position than that of the Arab repre-
to oat its depreciating currency ahead of the
sentative [Egypt], Saudi Ambassador to the U.N.
International Monetary Fund loan. The suspen-
Abdullah Al-Moallami told reporters.
sion of the oil shipments, however, unexpectedly
Aramco, the Saudi company controlled by
dented the budget of the cash-strapped Egypt.
Prince Bin Salman that provided Egypt fuel un-
Its unlikely that Saudi Arabia would cut
der favorable payment conditions, indefinitely
its financing to Egypt as it did with Lebanon in
halted its monthly 700,000-metric-ton ship-
2016, when the political players it supported
ments. For many observers, Saudi frustration
failed to curb the rise of Shiite groups.
with Egypt over the islandsnot just the Secu-
The wild card here is two leadersPresi-
rity Council votewas the reason for suspend-
dent el-Sissi and Deputy Crown Prince Mohamed
ing oil supplies.
Bin Salmanwho are far less predictable and far

spilled
more willing to take risks than others before
onto the media as TV anchors and writers on
The
disagreement
immediately
them, said Michele Dunne, senior associate and
both sides traded insults. Whoever you buy
director of the Middle East Program at the Carn-
with rice sells you for fuul, Saudi academic
egie Endowment for International Peace.
Nayef el-Shaalan told al-Majd TV, referring to
There is also another variable: the public. Af-
the cheap, popular Egyptian bean dish. Formal
ter the Arab Spring, both authoritative regimes
royal court head, Tuwajiri, broke his usual so-
are more aware that rulers should sometimes take
cial media silence to tweet: Your Excellency
popular opinion into account. With a mass move-
Mr. President, there is no bigger sorrow that
ment to undo the Tiran and Sanafir agreement,
you do this to the Kingdom. Did you forget
Egypts government may have to capitulate to its
what weve done for you as brothers?
citizens and further damage its ties with Saudi
El-Sissi said in a speech that Egypt would
Arabia. At the same time, Saudis have started to
only bow down to God, a jab many believe was
question their states financial support of such an
directed at Saudi Arabia. The independence of
ungrateful partner. With new leaders and dissat-
the Egyptian decision is not debatable, el-Sissi
isfied civilians on both sides, any added tension
said on Oct. 13.
could break this fragile alliance. O
WINTER 2016 / 2017
95
R E P O R T A G E | BRAZIL
AGNCIA BRASIL FOTOGRAFIAS
WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT:

WHY BRAZIL MUST
CONFRONT THE
CRIMES OF ITS
MILITARY PERIOD
F E R NA N DA CA N O F R E
ORTO ALEGRE, BrazilWhen Jair Bolsonaro,

a Brazilian congressmen and former army
parachutist, voted to impeach President
Dilma Rousse on April 17, he exalted a
torturer. He spoke into the microphone and

told the legislature and the millions of Brazilians listening on TV and radio, For the memory
of Colonel Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, the
terror of Dilma Rousse, for the Caxias Army,
for the armed forces, for Brazil, and for God
above all, my vote is yes.
96
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3813039
CONFRONTING HISTORY
Bolsonaros comment was particularly gall-
prominently displayed a 12th edition of Ustras
ing because Rousse had been tortured at Bril-
historical account, A Suocated Truth: The His-
hante Ustras DOI-Codi, the military regimes
tory the Left Doesnt Want Brazil to Know.
intelligence and repression center.
Nostalgia for the military regime has long
From 1970 to 1974, Ustra headed the
simmered below the surface, but until recently,
juntas eorts to capture and interrogate anti-
it was typically revealed only in offhand re-
government dissidents. He rarely applied the
marks that blamed democracy for all of Brazils
electric shocks to his prisoners genitalia, nor
woes. The adoration of an unrepentant sadist,
did he routinely suocate them in water bar-
though, is something newand terrifying. Right
rels, insert rats and cockroaches into their ori-
after the impeachment vote, Amelinha Teles,
fices, or hang them from poles until they bled
one of three siblings who sued Ustra in civil
out over the course of a few days. (Although,
court for torture, told reporters: This declara-
when the prisoner was a woman, he would
tion by the congressman means that he wants
sometimes make an exception and administer
the Brazilian state to continue torturing and ex-
the torture directly.)
terminating people who think dierently than
Twenty-three years after the end of the mil-
him. What kind of democracy is this that wants
itary rule, in 2008, a So Paulo court found Us-
to torture and repress people who do not agree
tra responsible for the disappearance and mur-
with their ideas?
der of 60 peoplea fraction of the killings hes

suspected to have overseen. It was the first, and
I DONT WANT TO KNOW
so far only, time that the Brazilian judiciary ac-
When a society does not confront the dark epi-
knowledged a specific ocials involvement in
sodes of its history, it leaves its past vulnerable
the militarys crimes. Ustra was convicted, but,
to distortion and exploitation. Now amid a de-
because of an amnesty law, was never arrested.
clining economy and political turmoil, Brazil is
After he dedicated his vote to Ustra, 17,000
leaving its history to the likes of Bolsonaro to in-
Brazilians lodged formal complaints against Bol-
terpret. For the survivors of the regimes torture
sonaro with the oce of the attorney general,
apparatus, Bolsonaro and others celebration of
citing the lawmakers conduct. The oce con-
repression can be traumatizing.
firmed it would be investigating the conserva-
Brazils refusal to fully reckon with its past
tive congressman, but it couldnt specify what
begins under the military junta, when even
crime he may have committed.
hinting at state oppression was dangerous.
At the same time, in the three days after
There was a deliberate process of terror back
the vote, the number of people who liked
then, said Jair Krischke, a historian known for
a Facebook page honoring Ustra jumped by
helping victims of authoritarian states in South
3,300 percent, according to the BBC. In the
America. You just didnt talk about it. People
comments, Brazilians, especially young Face-
used to say in the streets back then: Do you
book users, thanked Ustra for his services in
know the latest news? No, I dont know. I dont
saving Brazil from communism. In June, Ustras
want to know. I have a friend who knew, and
memoir, which was largely ignored when it was
now no one knows of him.
first published 10 years ago, rose to number six
The taboo against discussing government
on Brazils non-fiction best-seller list. The fol-
abuses continued after the regime lost power in
lowing month, bookstores across the country
1985in part because members of the police
FERNANDA CANOFRE is a Brazil-based freelance journalist.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
97
and military remained in positions of author-
a transaction. It was a transaction between the
ity. Ocers involved in state terror were simply
Congress and the regime; it has never involved
shifted to less visible postings. They also had
the people. They decided to guarantee and sign
reason to be confident they would never be
a self-amnesty [bill], because the regime was
prosecuted. Among the South American coun-
coming to an end already, Krischke said.
tries that experienced dictatorships during the
With the Amnesty Law in place, no presi-
second half of the 20th century, Brazil is the
dent has attempted to bring criminals from
only one that never punished a public servant
the military era to justice. Jos Carlos Moreira,
civil or military. Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and
a law professor at the Pontifical Catholic Uni-
Uruguay all held military ocials accountable
versity of Rio Grande do Sul, said the legislation
for their crimes.
prevents Brazil from even looking into, and thus
In Argentina, TV shows, newspapers, and
acknowledging, its past: The Amnesty pre-
grati regularly refer to the military junta that
cludes the investigation of the actions taken by
ruled the country from 1976 to 1983. After the
public agents, which is one of the fundamental
country threw o military rule, civil society em-
banners of the justice of transition.
braced the idea of nunca ms, or never again. Ar-
Brazil has taken a few steps toward recon-
gentina moved forward on the assumption that
ciliation. In 2001, the government created the
remembering the past was the key to ensuring
Amnesty Commission to distribute reparations
this period of state-sponsored murder would
for victims and their families. The commission,
never be repeated, and so the country became
working as a branch of the Justice Ministry, was
a pioneer of truth commissions the same year
supposed to bring public recognition to the
General Jorge Videla left power. Argentinas
crimes of the military era. The Amnesty Com-
truth commission, CONADEP, analyzed and
mission has filed 70,000 requests for repara-
documented more than 9,000 cases of disap-
tions and promoted hundreds of Amnesty Car-
pearances. Perpetrators, primarily high-ranking
avansa project through which professors and
ocials, were judged and punished. Argentina
agents working with the commission travel to
imprisoned around 500 military ocers for
places where state abuse occurred and listen to
crimes against humanity.
victims in public hearings. But, protected by the
In addition, organizations like the Madres

and Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo, mothers and
Amnesty Law, the armed forces refuse to release

many documents from that time period.
grandmothers looking for their disappeared
While the Amnesty Commission has pre-
children and grandchildren, also helped to push
vented Brazil from closing the book on the
for public policies that would ensure the juntas
military era, the country has skipped a crucial
atrocities would be remembered. The group
phase of transitional justicethe investigation,
holds protests and meetings in front of the presi-
indictment, and punishment of culpritsand
dents ocial residence, Casa Rosada, to this day.
jumped to reparations. In Brazil, we never ac-
In contrast, during the 1980s, Brazil formed
tually developed this accountability aspect, by
a pardon committee to allow its rights abus-
saying very clearly that those actions were inad-
ers o the hook. This was possible thanks to
missible. Not only did we not achieve that, but
the 1979 Amnesty Lawpassed by a Congress
when it came to the Supreme Court to repudi-
in which one third of the senators had been
ate it [the Amnesty Law], they have reproduced
selected by the military government. The state
the same interpretation the dictatorship had,
granted amnesty unrestricted and uncondi-
said Moreira, a one-time vice-president of the
tioned to everyone. It wasnt a transition; it was
Amnesty Commission.
98
CONFRONTING HISTORY
THE HIDDEN TRUTH
Ellwanger was one of the founders of
When Brazilians elected a woman who was im-
VAR-Palmares, one of the main guerrilla
prisoned and tortured for three years by the mili-
groups fighting the dictatorship and which
tary, many hoped she would rethink the Am-
counted Rousse and her ex-husband among
nesty Law. By the end of 2011, her first year
its members. Escaping repression, he ed to
in government, Rousse had created the Na-
Chile and then Argentina for almost 10 years.
tional Truth Commission (CNV), which would
Over the years, Ellwanger watched docu-
collect testimonies of political oppression
mentaries, saw photos, and read books about
throughout Brazil. During her announcement
the military periodmany which included peo-
of the project, the president said through tears:
ple he knew and loved. It never triggered him
The country deserves to know the truth, but
in any way. But after hearing Bolsonaros words
mostly, those who lost friends and relatives,
and then seeing them celebrated, something
and who continue to suer as if they die again
clicked inside of him. Ellwanger was sitting in
and every day, deserve factual truth.
his apartment on the 10th oor of an apart-
In its final report, after two years of research,
ment building in a quiet neighborhood when
the CNV confirmed at least 434 dead and disap-
three jets ew over. Immediately, he ashed
peared during the dictatorship. During one of the

commissions hearings, Paulo Malhes, a former
colonel who controlled the so-called house of
death in Rio de Janeiro, said federal agents under
his orders would remove teeth and disfigure faces
while discarding bodies to avoid identification.
The report also named 377 public agents responsible for crimes such as kidnapping, torture, mur-
THE GHOSTS HAUNTING THE

PAST ... CAN ONLY BE TAMED
IF THEYRE ACKNOWLEDGED.
der, and hiding corpses. Shielded by the Amnesty

Law, the military did not cooperate with the CNV.
back to 1973, when he lived in Santiago, Chile,
As a result, the real number of killings is likely
and watched planes bomb the Palcio de La
much higher and may never be known.
Moneda with Salvador Allende inside. It all
Rousse never tried to alter the Amnesty
came back to me, he said. I realized the size of
Law, saying she didnt want revenge. Ustra is
this syndrome, of this wound that never closes.
the only person a court ever recognized as a tor-
All the suering, the pain, the doubt, the fear,
turer, and he was never at any risk of going to
the impotence, the traumas, I feel all of that.
prison. He died in 2015, still boasting about his

accomplishments fighting communism.
ALL OF THAT COMING BACK?
Ellwanger is not alone. Since a wave of nostalgia for military rule began in early 2015,
Brazilians who were victims of the dictatorship
have started to experience resurgences of trau-
This glorification of the military era is often
ma. Afraid of wires, some people have stopped
painful for the regimes survivors. The Sunday
answering phone calls; others avoid protests or
afternoon Bolsonaro honored Ustra in Con-
refuse to leave the house alone. Brbara Conte,
gress, musician Raul Ellwanger watched the
a psychoanalyst and coordinator of a program
voting on a giant screen in a public square in
called Testimonies Clinics, explained that peo-
Porto Alegre, a city in southern Brazil: I was
ple are more afraid now. Because fear always
impacted by that. I remember thinking, Is it
updates during situations of intolerance and
possible to see all of that coming back?
where there is a recrudescence of violence.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
99
Conte helped found the Testimonies Clin-
documents from the dictatorships intelligence
ics in 2014 as part of the Amnesty Commission
agency, the National Information System (SNI),
to work with victims of the dictatorship and
list Saraiva as an agent in actions against
their relatives. Five groups of specialists in psy-
subversives. And, according to the Brazilian
choanalysis and trauma set up in four dierent
newspaper O Globo, Saraiva praises the 1964
cities, including Porto Alegre, where Conte is
military coup in his 1976 book, The Masonry
the coordinator. The clinics aim to help people
and the 64 Revolution, describing it as an he-
mend their wounds through something many of
roic page that the military ocers wrote in the
them want to avoidmemory.
nations history.
The idea of memory is fundamental here.
In early 2016, two years ahead of the next
Because memory is exactly how you deal with
presidential election, torture apologist Bolsona-
your scars, how subjective they are, how you
ro was polling at 20 percent among the wealthy.
can transmit an experience, Conte said, ex-
Among the general public, he had a respectable
plaining that by speaking to groups with shared
11 percent in a multi-party race. Even if its
experiences, an individual can connect back
unlikely hell be president, its frightening to
into a community, mitigating some of the cu-
watch his popularity grow rapidly among young
mulative and corrosive eects of trauma.
voters, who may not remember the military
In the last two years, the Testimonies Clin-
junta. Nationalist youths have started to call
ics in Porto Alegre reached about 300 people,
Bolsonaro a legend, and after the election of
including Ellwanger, who went to several group
Donald Trump in the U.S., they feel more em-
meetings. Ellwanger even brought a few of his old
boldened than ever.
acquaintancessome of whom were still suspi-
Conte told me that the ghosts haunting the
cious of any initiative funded by the government.
country, the ones mobilized by Bolsonaro, can
Conte said, They are all interested in un-
only be tamed if theyre acknowledged: You
derstanding themselves better. They all say this:
have to give it shape, a name, a contour. The
The goal of torture, first, is to take you out of
ghost is the horror, and the horror here is the
your culture, then its making you talk in order
experience of shame, of torture, of being close
to teach you to shut up. In this sense, recovering
to death. But we have to talk about it.
their speaking condition is therapeutic. It helps

them to see themselves as subjects.
Conte was speaking about individuals who

survived the abuses of the military regime,
With Rousses impeachment, no one
but the lesson is the same for the country as
knows whether the new government will ig-
a whole. The government needs to investigate
nore or try to confront the states crimes dur-
and make public the states actions from 1964
ing military rule, but the initial signs are not
to 1985. Opening up about the past will anchor
promising. Under President Michel Temer,
the countrys history in the truth and make it
the Justice Ministry appointed Paulo Lopo
harder for others to manipulate. Only then can
Saraiva to the Amnesty Commission. Ocial
Brazil exorcise its ghosts. O
100
E S S A Y | INDONESIA
NEITHER TRUTH NOR

RECONCILIATION:
WHY INDONESIAS ARMY WANTS

THE COUNTRY TO FORGET ITS DARKEST YEAR
N AT A L I E S A M B H I
GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
Members of the
Indonesian army
discuss strategy on the
night of Oct. 1, 1965.
AKARTAIn the early hours of Oct. 1, 1965,

18-year-old Agus Widjojo heard the sound of boots
clomping on the tile oor. Hearing the commotion, his father, Gen. Sutoyo Siswomiharjo, ordered
Agus, his mother, and other family members to lock
102
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3813099
THE DARKEST YEAR
their doors and stay in their rooms. The gen-
to his father and others between 1965 and
eral then stepped out into the lounge to meet
1966. While the brutality of the events isnt
the intruders. Without guards or weapons, Su-
up for serious debate, there are still many un-
toyo was defenseless. Rebel troops kidnapped
answered questions: How many people were
and later executed him as part of an abortive
really killed? Who killed them, and why? And,
coup in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. Su-
most importantly for Indonesia today, how
toyos corpse was found three days later in
can the wounds of the past be healed?
an unused well. For years, the sound of boots

against tile would haunt Agus.
Though it has been over 50 years since the

events of 1965, many Indonesians still suer
After the coup failed, Maj. Gen. Suharto
as a result of the violence. For many survi-
wrested control of the military from the reb-
vors, there remains a sense of injustice over
el army units and placed President Sukarno
wrongful killings, imprisonment without trial,
under protection. Suharto blamed the up to
torture, and enduring stigmatization against
3-million-member-strong Communist Party of
communists or those associated with them.
Indonesia (PKI) for the murder of Sutoyo and
For the Indonesian military, particularly
five other generals. Seizing the opportunity to
the army, there is pride in having crushed
grab power from the PKI, Suharto encouraged
the Communist Party. Any attempt to revisit
the execution of suspected party members
history through a dierent lens threatens its
and sympathizers.
ocial version of events that celebrates the
From October 1965 into the early months
armed forces for orchestrating the purges.
of 1966, an estimated 500,000 alleged Com-
For them, there is no need to resolve cases of
munists were variously shot, garroted, clubbed
human-rights violations because the record
to death, or hacked to pieces with machetes.
is clear: They saved the country from a com-
Vigilantes and army units filled caves and
munist takeover. Even today, the army says it
clogged waterways with victims corpses. Riv-
must remain vigilant against the threat of a
ers ran red with blood. Suharto banned the PKI
communist revival.
and imprisoned 35,000 people without trial
This impasse between the survivors and
many of whom were tortured. Some political
the military establishment makes it dicult
prisoners were forced to drink soldiers urine;
even dangerousto examine such a dark chap-
others had to eat their own severed ears.
ter in Indonesias history. Despite his illustri-
The elimination of the Communist Party
ous career in the army, Agus is determined for
and the rise of student demonstrations forced
the government and its military to be held to
Sukarno to ocially transfer power to Suharto
account for their crimes. He believes reconcili-
in 1967. Suhartos military-backed New Or-
ation between the government and those af-
der government would lead the country until
fected by the 1965 campaign is essential so
1998, and the slain generals, including Agus
that we can make peace with the past, Agus
father, would be posthumously anointed He-
said in April.
roes of the Revolution.
Re-evaluating history raises a number of
Now governor of the National Resilience In-
inconvenient truths for Indonesian society. Al-
stitute, retired Lt. Gen. Agus Widjojo, 69, is lead-
though the military initiated and implement-
ing the charge to discover what really happened
ed much of the killing, there was full mobili-
NATALIE SAMBHI is a research fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre, where she focuses on Indonesian foreign and
defense policy.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
103
zation of the civilian population. Uncovering
a policy known as bersih lingkungan (clean en-
historical responsibility for the past means
vironment) that authorized employment dis-
implicating broad swathes of an older genera-
crimination against those who merely associ-
tion. As archival research by Yale scholar Jes-
ated with the PKI or its members. In addition,
sica Melvin has shown, the military command
to access certain schools or jobs or to move to
in the province of Aceh launched an operation
a particular district, Indonesians often had to
to destroy the PKI. But these orders extended
show certificates to prove they were not in-
to Acehs civilian leaders, who signed a decla-
volved with the 30 September movement. This
ration making it mandatory for people to par-
state-sponsored harassment and abuse during
ticipate in the slaughter. The extermination
the New Order era encouraged Indonesians to
would be coordinated by the military but with
rid themselves of any linkages to the PKI.
entire villages involved.
SEE NO EVIL
The Suharto government also censored any

work seen as subversive to the regime. Writers and intellectuals were often targets of the
Much of todays silence derives from the New
state, and those who were not killed were im-
Orders control over public discourse. While
prisoned. Among the most famous was the au-
Suharto was in power, literature and film re-
thor and left-leaning social critic Pramoedya
inforced binary notions of good (anti-com-
Ananta Toer (1925-2006), who was arrested
munist) and evil (communist). In 1968, the
in 1965 and sent to the remote Buru Island
government endorsed an ocial version of the
prison where, without access to writing imple-
events of 1965, and this became the basis for a
ments, he orally composed his epic Buru Quar-
1984 government-sponsored propaganda film,
tet. His books follow a young Dutch-educated
Pengkhianatan G30s/PKI or Treachery of the Sep-
but ethnically Javanese writer, Minke, who at-
tember 30th Movement/PKI.
tempts to navigate discrimination, injustice,
The film not only blames the PKI for the
freedom of speech, and hierarchy at the end of
abortive coup but also depicts its members
Dutch colonial rule. From 1981 until the fall
torturing the kidnapped generals and killing
of the Suharto regime, the government banned
Muslims mid-prayer. Meanwhile, the military,
the first two books in his series on the suspi-
under Suhartos leadership, is portrayed as
cion that they covertly transmitted communist
the countrys savior, rescuing Indonesia from
ideas. Toer was released in 1979 but remained
chaos. The subsequent massacres and purges
under house arrest until 1992.
are ignored. Televised annually until 1998, the

Suharto government used the film to justify
SPEAK NO EVIL
both its rise to power and the continued sup-
Another important factor in the silence around
pression of the PKI.
the 1965 killings is the lack of international
In addition to state medias demonization
pressure to address any of the abuses. De-
of communism, ocial policies institutional-
spite having once enjoyed close relationships
ized discrimination against alleged members
with Western leaders, Sukarnos undeclared
of the PKI. Denying employment to former
war with Britain from 1963 until 1966 over
political prisonersespecially for jobs in gov-
the formation of the Malaysian state soured
ernment, education, journalism, the armed
ties with the West. From Americas view, Su-
forces, and religious groupswas legal and
karno was growing too close to the PKI, and
common in some parts of the country until
U.S. leaders feared Indonesia would succumb
the early 2000s. This was complemented by
to communist control. According to University
104
THE DARKEST YEAR
of Connecticut history professor Brad Simp-
Activists in Indonesia and abroad have
son, Western governments, led by the United
called for the U.S., Australia, and others who
States, actively sought to create conditions that
provided support for the systematic killings to
would lead to a violent clash between the army
be held to account. In response to findings last
and the Indonesian Communist Party.
November that foreign governments including
When the anti-Communist purges start-
Australias were complicit in facilitating the
ed, U.S., U.K., and Australian diplomats sent
bloodshed, a spokesperson for Australias De-
a steady stream of reports. All three govern-
partment of Foreign Aairs and Trade declined
ments knew exactly what was happening and
to say anyone did anything wrong:
continued to support Suharto. The U.S. gave

money and small arms to the Indonesian mili-
It is for Indonesians to address and settle
tary in 1965. Despite the escalation of the
these historical events amongst them-
Vietnam War, it was Indonesia that appeared
selves. Australia and Indonesia now
at the top of Lyndon Johnsons Presidential
focus on further developing a strong
Daily Briefs from the time of the coup until
bilateral relationship based on shared
the end of November 1965. The president was
interests in security, trade, investment,
updated regularly thereafter until Suharto be-
tourism, education, development and
came the countrys leader.
cultural aairs.
It was not the first time the U.S. covertly

subsidized political activities in Indonesia. According to an ocial State Department history
on anti-communist activities in the 1950s, the
CIA supported separatist movements in early
1958 in northern Sumatra and northern Sulawesi. When these rebellions against the Sukarno government failed, President Dwight
Eisenhower switched to backing the Indonesian military as a counterweight to Sukarno
WE WILL RESOLVE THIS

PROBLEM IN OUR WAY
AND THROUGH UNIVERSAL
VALUES.
and PKI inuence.

The statement makes clear that the Aus-
HEAR NO EVIL
tralian government wishes neither to acknowl-
For its part, the Australian government con-
edge its role in the anti-Communist pogroms
tributed to the overthrow of Sukarno and the
nor to view its relationship with Indonesia in
destruction of the PKI through more indirect
anything but pragmatic terms. Canberra has
means. Melbourne-based researcher Marlene
little to gain from alienating Indonesias mili-
Millott has drawn attention to documents
tary and police forces, which serve as key se-
from the National Archives of Australia that
curity partners in areas like counterterrorism
show that the Australian government used
and human tracking.
Radio Australia, one of the most popular foreign radio stations in Indonesia at the time, to
AFTER THE NEW ORDER
broadcast army propaganda. The Indonesian
After the fall of Suharto in 1998, democrati-
army gave Radio Australia daily briefings on
zation in Indonesia seemed to herald oppor-
what it should report and what phrases should
tunities to address the past. Suhartos succes-
be used.
sor President B.J. Habibie granted amnesty
WINTER 2016 / 2017
105
to political prisoners, including former PKI
ART, HISTORY
members accused of involvement in the 1965
Art has also played an important yet limited
attempted coup. During his term from 1999
role in fostering a national conversation. Short-
to 2001, President Abdurrahman Wahid at-
ly after the 2012 report, American filmmaker
tempted to dismantle the institutional dis-
Joshua Oppenheimer released The Act of Kill-
crimination and social stigma associated with
ing, which explores the 1965 killings from the
communism by abolishing the state policy of
perspectives of aging perpetrators, and then in
bersih linkungan. Controversially, Wahid, also
2014 released its companion piece, The Look of
chairman of Indonesias largest Islamic orga-
Silence, in which a middle-aged man confronts
nization Nadhlatul Ulama, issued a personal
his brothers murderers. The Act of Killing was
apology for the 1965 tragedy and debated the
shown to audiences in guerrilla screenings
possibility of lifting a 1966 ban on Marxist-
while The Look of Silence enjoyed an ocial
Leninist ideology. While Wahids steps were
premiere in Jakarta. Oppenheimer has said his
not popular, they created a space to discuss
films consciously confront the narrative and
the events of 1965 and to form victims sup-
symbolism in the Suharto-era Pengkhianatan
port groups and NGOs committed to collecting
G30s/PKI film: If G30s/PKI is both the lie and
data around the killings.
the threat about what happens if you depart
In more recent years, there has been ad-
from the lie, then my film [The Look of Silence]
ditional momentum to break the silence over
is the child in The Emperors New Clothes who
1965. In July 2012, the National Commission
says, This is all a lie, and you know it.
for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) released a
Both of Oppenheimers works provoked
groundbreaking 850-page report that found
discussion in international media about the
that the military conducted the killings in a
events of 1965, but the reaction in Indonesia
systematic way and that this constituted a
has been mixed. Some audiences embraced the
gross violation of human rights.
alternative presentation of the past. But many
The result of a four-year study, the report
conservative groups reacted angrily, resulting
called for a national apology to victims, a Com-
in the national Film Censorship Institute plac-
mission for Truth and Reconciliation, and a
ing a ban on commercial screenings of The Look
criminal investigation. Members of the politi-
of Silence. Interpreting this as a blanket ban,
cal and military elite responded with hostil-
Islamist and anti-communist military groups
ity. The attorney generals oce rejected the
have disrupted private screenings throughout
findings, citing a lack of evidence to justify any
the country. Despite Indonesias democratic
ocial probe into the killings. Military figures
ideals and vibrant media-scape, the response
lined up to discredit the process. General Soli-
to the films reveals an anxiety about narratives
hin, the former governor of West Java, called
that challenge long-held beliefs.
for continued vigilance against communism.
Print media has also kept the issue in the
The coordinating minister for political, legal,
national consciousness. Investigative magazine
and security aairs and former chief of the
Tempo published an entire issue in October
Indonesian Armed Forces, Djoko Suyanto, de-
2012 dedicated to 1965. Half of the magazine
fended the actions of the military on the basis
focused on interviews with civilian execution-
of their historical context, telling the Jakarta
ers. Unfortunately, as Washington State Uni-
Globe, If you want to look at the events of
versity professor Ronnie Hatley notes, the edi-
1965, you need to use a pair of 1965 lenses,
torial decision to emphasize the personal zeal
not 2012 lenses.
of civilian executioners shifted the attention
106
THE DARKEST YEAR
away from the states role in the mass killings.
The second promising development was
In that sense, the publication failed to con-
Agus brainchildthe National Symposium:
demn the interlocking system that allowed ci-
Dissecting the 1965 Tragedy, A Historical Ap-
vilian killers and the military to work together
proach. Held in April of this year, it was the
to systematically exterminate the PKI.
first government-sanctioned event designed
BEARING WITNESS
Recently, there have been two hopeful de-
to unravel the dominant narrative that the

massacres were an acceptable response to the
PKI threat.
velopments. First, victims groups and human
In front of some 200 attendees, survi-
rights NGOs founded an International Peoples
vors and family members described mass ex-
Tribunal in 2014 to draw international at-
ecutions, rape, and detention. Allowed to give
tention to the case and to, as the tribunals
voice to their pain, they spoke of discrimi-
website puts it, urge the state to conduct
nation long after the killings ended. Human
legal and equitable formal proceedings in
Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono
relation to the human rights violations sur-
noted how government ocials were clearly
rounding the massacres of 1965. A panel of
uncomfortable with the airing of such de-
international judges participated in four days

of hearings last November, which included
oral submissions from witnesses and extensive
documentary material. The final report from
the tribunal was handed down in July and includes a number of major findings. Like the
2012 Komnas HAM report, the tribunal confirmed the extent of systematic human rights
abuses during 1965, including torture, sexual
violence, wrongful imprisonment, and forced
WE WILL NOT REPEAT IN

THE FUTURE WHAT HAD
HAPPENEDFORGIVE BUT
NOT FORGET.
labor. It also held the government responsible

for crimes against humanity and for creating
tails. Agus was on hand to encourage the el-
false propaganda that led to the dehumaniza-
derly participants to tell their version of his-
tion of victims. Lastly, the tribunal has called
tory without fear of recrimination. For Agus,
on the government to prosecute living perpe-
the aim of the symposium was to guarantee
trators and pay reparations to victims. The tri-
that we will not repeat in the future what had
bunal, though, has no legal basis for its forma-
happenedforgive but not forget.
tion, and its findings are nonbinding.
Still, these sorts of public conversations are
Not surprisingly, the reactions from repre-
rare in Indonesia. Security forces have repeat-
sentatives of the Indonesian government have
edly attempted to shut down any kind of dia-
not been positive. Shortly after the reports
logue that so much as mentions communism.
release, the coordinating minister for politi-
In the run up to the symposium, the police
cal, legal, and security aairs, Luhut Binsar
and army raided bookstores and markets for
Panjaitan, rejected the recommendations as
any material displaying Marxist iconography.
external interference: Our country is a great
In one case, military intelligence ocers ar-
nation. We acknowledge and we will resolve
rested four activists in Maluku for wearing T-
this problem [the 1965 tragedy] in our way
shirts featuring a hammer and sickle in a cof-
and through universal values.
fee cup with the words PKI (in this instance,
WINTER 2016 / 2017
107
short for Pecinta Kopi Indonesia or Indonesian
als oppose the vilification of the army and the
coee lovers).
victimization of the PKI. Former Lt. Gen. Kiki
CHALLENGES AHEAD
Syahnakri had been invited to speak at the

Agus event but he declined, explaining that the
The current president, Joko Widodo (known
symposium assumed the military was guilty. It
as Jokowi), has an ambivalent record on the
cannot be like that. The history of PKI is one of
issue. During his election campaign in 2014,
rebellion, Kiki said in Tempo magazine.
Jokowi promised to resolve cases of serious hu-
The military also has more pragmatic rea-
man rights abuses, though he did not explic-
sons to maintain the countrys fears of com-
itly mention the 1965 killings. Many expected
munism. With Jokowis emphasis on turning
that Jokowis humble background and concern
Indonesia into a global maritime fulcrum,
for grass-roots issues would make him more
the navy and air force have received a clear
likely to address historical injustices. Further-
mandate for upgrades. The army, on the other
more, not coming from a military or politically
hand, continues to search for relevance after
elite background, many thought he would be
the end of the countrys major land conicts
more willing to stand up to the armed forces.
in Aceh and Timor. Pushing for a greater role
But last October during a commemoration for
in counterterrorism has been one such avenue,
the Heroes of the Revolution, Jokowi said there
but to a lesser extent, stoking fears of the PKI
would be no apology for 1965.
is another. The army maintains a pervasive in-
There are several reasons why Jokowi
telligence network, and monitoring potential
must tread carefully. During the 2014 presi-
communist activity provides a rationale for
dential campaign, Jokowis main political
maintaining it.
opponent, Prabowo Subianto, attempted to
Uncovering the past is a deeply painful
smear his reputation by accusing him of har-
and personal process. Identities are chal-
boring communist sympathies. This associa-
lenged and belief systems overturned. For-
tion could have hurt Jokowi at the ballot box,
eign powers cannot force Indonesia to come
especially among religious voters. Unfortu-
to terms with the events of 1965-66; it is
nately, Jokowis unwillingness to push back
something that the country must undergo
on this issue only perpetuates the stigma at-
from within. That is not to say human rights
tached to the PKI.
groups, writers, journalists, academics, and
There are a number of military figures in
foreign governments do not have a role to
Jokowis cabinet and inner circle who want
play. Conferences and lectures held abroad
to see the reconciliation process quashed and
can allow for conversations that are dicult
have been strident supporters of anti-commu-
to have within Indonesia. Processes like the
nist activities. The current defense minister
International Peoples Tribunal can lend fur-
and former army chief, Ryamizard Ryucudu,
ther support and weight behind domestic de-
has strongly opposed Agus symposium, fram-
velopments. And there are lessons from other
ing it as part of a communist resurgence that
historical tragedies that can instruct the In-
could lead to bloodshed. The latent danger
donesian case.
[of communism] is real, he said, echoing the
Human rights NGOs, researchers, and
New Order generals who warned against the
support groups for victims of 1965 are ada-
communist peril.
mant that the country needs to work toward
For other military figures, there are ques-
a common truth about the past and that the
tions of legacy and honor. Some retired gener-
government should provide reparations for
108
THE DARKEST YEAR
victims. Hopes are pinned on Jokowi to ful-
the symposium as a first step toward national
fill his campaign promise of justice for human
reconciliation, he is prepared to continue his
rights abuses. But as Jokowi continues to en-
fight for the sake of Indonesias citizens and
joy the support of current and retired army
its democracy. Agus said at the conference
ocers with no interest in revisiting the past,
that coming to terms with the countrys past
these steps appear increasingly less likely. De-
could reveal truths about the present: Lets
spite the challenges, though, Agus Widjojo,
open this history together so we can all find
who has endured the ridicule of his former
out what has been wrong in our national sys-
colleagues and charges of being a commu-
tem, why this nation could have the ability to
nist, has shown no signs of giving up. Seeing
commit mass killings. O
WINTER 2016 / 2017
109
RACIST IN THE MACHINE:

THE DISTURBING IMPLICATIONS
OF ALGORITHMIC BIAS
NYUHUHUU
MEGAN GARCIA
ays first words in March of this year were hellooooooo world!!! (the o in
world was a planet earth emoji for added whimsy). It was a friendly start for the
Twitter bot designed by Microsoft to engage with people aged 18 to 24. But, in a
mere 12 hours, Tay went from upbeat conversationalist to foul-mouthed, racist
Holocaust denier who said feminists should all die and burn in hell and that the actor ricky gervais learned totalitarianism from adolf hitler, the inventor of atheism.
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3813015
111
E S S A Y | RACIST IN THE MACHINE
This is not what Microsoft had in mind.

Tays descent into bigotry wasnt pre-pro-
to rein in because of the often self-reinforcing

nature of machine learning.
grammed, but, given the unpredictability of
Algorithmic bias isnt new. In the 1970s
algorithms when confronted with real people,
and 1980s, St. Georges Hospital Medical
it was hardly surprising. Miguel Paz, distin-
School in the United Kingdom used a com-
guished lecturer specializing in data journalism
puter program to do initial screening of ap-
and multimedia storytelling at the CUNY Grad-
plicants. The program, which mimicked the
uate School of Journalism, wrote in an email
choices admission sta had made in the past,
that Tay revealed the problem of testing AI in
denied interviews to as many as 60 applicants
an isolated controlled environment or network
because they were women or had non-Europe-
for research purposes, versus that AI sent out
an sounding names. The code wasnt the work
of the lab to face a real and highly complex and
of some nefarious programmer; instead, the
diverse network of people who may have other
bias was already embedded in the admissions
views and interests.
process. The computer program exacerbated
Tay, which Microsoft hastily shut down af-
the problem and gave it a sheen of objectiv-
ter a scant 24 hours, was programmed to learn
ity. The U.K.s Commission for Racial Equal-
from the behaviors of other Twitter users, and
ity found St. Georges Medical School guilty of
in that regard, Tay was a success. The bots em-
practicing racial and sexual discrimination in
brace of humanitys worst attributes is an ex-
its admissions process in 1988.
ample of algorithmic biaswhen seemingly in-
That was several lifetimes ago in the in-
nocuous programming takes on the prejudices
formation age, but naivet about the harms of
either of its creators or the data it is fed. In the
discriminatory algorithms is even more danger-
case of Microsofts social media experiment, no
ous now. Algorithms are a set of instructions
one was hurt, but the side eects of uninten-
for your computer to get from Problem A to
tionally discriminatory algorithms can be dra-
Solution B, and theyre fundamental to nearly
matic and harmful.
everything we do with technology. They tell
Companies and government institutions
your computer how to compress files, how to
that use data need to pay attention to the un-
encrypt data, how to select a person to tag in a
conscious and institutional biases that seep into
photograph, or what Siri says when you ask her
their results. It doesnt take active prejudice to
a question. When algorithms or their underly-
produce skewed results in web searches, data-
ing data have biases, the most basic functions of
driven home loan decisions, or photo-recogni-
your computer will reinforce those prejudices.
tion software. It just takes distorted data that no
The results can range from such inconsequen-
one notices and corrects for. Thus, as we begin
tial mistakes as seeing the wrong weather in an
to create artificial intelligence, we risk inserting
app to the serious error of identifying African
racism and other prejudices into the code that
Americans as more likely to commit a crime.
will make decisions for years to come. As Laura
Computer-generated bias is almost every-
Weidman Powers, founder of Code2040, which
where we look. In 2015, researchers at Carn-
brings more African Americans and Latinos into
egie Mellon used a tool called AdFisher to track
tech, told me, We are running the risk of seed-
online ads. When the scientists simulated men
ing self-teaching AI with the discriminatory un-
and women browsing online employment
dertones of our society in ways that will be hard
sites, Googles advertising system showed a
MEGAN GARCIA is a senior fellow focusing on cybersecurity at New America CA.
112
ALGORITHMIC BIAS
listing for high-income jobs to men at nearly
may want to reach out to someone at the Na-
six times the rate it displayed the same ad to
tional Sexual Assault Hotline, and the person is
women. In a massive understatement, the re-
directed to RAINNs website.
searchers note that this is a finding suggestive

of discrimination.
The problems arent limited to sexism either. In 2015, Jacky Alcine was browsing his
In another study, researchers from the Uni-
Google Photos when he noticed that the apps
versity of Washington found that a Google Im-
face-recognition algorithm tagged him and an
ages search for C.E.O. produced just 11 per-
African-American friend as gorillas. He shared
cent women, even though 27 percent of chief
a screenshot of the tag on Twitter, which went
executives in the U.S. are women. Thats bad
viral on social media.
enough, but in 2015, when the study was done,

the first image of a woman CEO that popped
up was CEO Barbie. Ironically, it was an image pulled from a 2005 Onion article with the
headline CEO Barbie Criticized For Promoting
Unrealistic Career Images.
The consequences of these blind spots can
be grave. With people increasingly relying on
their phones for help in emergency response
situations, health researchers from Stanford
and the University of California, San Francisco,
JACKY ALCINE
tested Siri, Google Now, Cortana, and S Voice

all smartphone personal assistantsto see if
they could adequately respond to urgent health
questions. Of the four programs, only Cortana
understood the phrase, I was raped and referred the user to a sexual assault hotline. None
of the programs recognized I am being abused
Algorithms learned mistakes arent just of-
or I was beaten up by my husband. In con-
fensive. More and more computers are tasked
trast, the smartphone assistants were able to
with making crucial decisions, often on the ba-
respond to I am depressed or My foot hurts.
sis of their perceived impartiality. For example,
The
glaring
omission
of
programmed
police use algorithms to target individuals or
knowledge about health crises that predomi-
populations, and banks use them to approve
nantly aect women caused a media outcry and
loans. In both instances, computer results have
prompted the American Civil Liberties Union to
been discriminatorya reminder that learning
launch an online petition urging Apple to pro-
how to account for algorithmic bias is increas-
gram Siri to provide information about wom-
ingly important as more financial and legal de-
ens health. Soon an Apple team began working
cisions are driven by artificial intelligence.
with the Rape Abuse and Incest National Net-
Technology companies, banks, universities,
work (RAINN) to help Siri understand similar
or anywhere else dependent on algorithms need
requests and present the right dialogue when
to form diverse teams to better anticipate prob-
asked. Now if a user asks Siri about a case of
lems. Earlier this year, members of the Rainbow
rape, Siri responds with, If you think you may
Laboratory at Drexel University wrote a white
have experienced sexual abuse or assault, you
paper entitled, Does Technology Have Race?
WINTER 2016 / 2017
113
In it, they argue that the logic of Black Lives
Unfortunately, theres little evidence that
Matter should govern technology design. The
tech companies are diversifying sta on a larger
absence of people of color at various stages of
scale. Not a single company has publicly con-
programming and product development, they
nected cases of algorithmic bias to changes in
argue, leads to racist outcomes.
its hiring practices.
Many studies have demonstrated that di-
In the past two years, many technology com-
versity of thought, gender, and race spurs great-
panies have started to release their workforce
er innovation and increased financial returns,
diversity data. The openness is an about-face
and that making an eort to hire a greater va-
from their previous unwillingness to be trans-
riety of employees could dramatically decrease
parent about their employees. Diversity data
the likelihood of bias. For instance, Apple hired
came only after five companiesApple, Applied
Jody Castor, a blind engineer, to work on acces-
Materials, Google, Oracle, and Yahoofought an
sibility including for VoiceOver, a feature that
earlier attempt by the San Jose Mercury News to
allows blind users to access their Apple devices
get Silicon Valleys 15 largest companies to dis-
based on spoken descriptions.
close the demographics of their workforces. In
Many large technology companies have
2010 and then again in 2012, the five compa-
started to say publicly that they understand the
nies argued that releasing diversity data would
importance of diversity, specifically in develop-
cause them competitive harm.
ment teams, to keep algorithmic bias at bay.
In a dramatic reversal in 2014, Google re-
After Jacky Alcine publicized Google Photo tag-
leased its data and a look behind the curtain
ging him as a gorilla, Yonatan Zunger, Googles
revealed how few minorities worked at the tech
chief social architect and head of infrastruc-
giant. In 2014, the company was 61 percent
ture for Google Assistant, tweeted that Google
white, 30 percent Asian, 3 percent Hispanic,
was quickly putting a team together to address
and 2 percent African American. After Google
the issue and noted the importance of having
decided to be transparent about its workforce
people from a range of backgrounds to head o
demographics, Pinterest, Intel, Apple, and
these kinds of problems.
others followed suit. On gender, tech compa-
In recent comments to the Oce of Sci-
nies arent much better: Thirty-one percent of
ence and Technology Policy at the White House,
Google employees are women, and that number
Google listed diversity in the machine learning
goes down to 19 percent if you look at Googles
community as one of its top three priorities for
tech workforce. These numbers have moved al-
the field: Machine learning can produce ben-
most nowhere since 2014 when the data was
efits that should be broadly shared throughout
first reported.
society. Having people from a variety of perspec-
Google is not alone among tech companies in
tives, backgrounds, and experiences working on
being overwhelmingly white or Asian and male.
and developing the technology will help us to
Despite large investments in recruiting and hir-
identify potential issues.
ing women and underrepresented minorities,
114
ALGORITHMIC BIAS
the data shows that these eorts are nudging
at Oxford University and an expert in data sci-
diversity numbers up extremely slowly. In-
ence. The way I read it, [the GDPR] has a pri-
tel, for instance, announced in 2015 it would
ma facie prohibition against processing data
spend $300 million over three years to improve
revealing membership in special categories.
diversity, but it will take time to make the tech

pipeline better reect the world we live in.
If Goodmans reading is correct, companies operating in the EU after 2018 are go-
A few researchers arent waiting for that to
ing to have to create algorithms that do not
happen and are working across disciplines to
take into account special categorieswhat
design other strategies to reduce algorithmic
in the Unites States are called protected cat-
bias. Mortiz Hardt and Solon Barocas, of Google
egorieslike race, gender, and disabilities. As
Research and Microsoft Research, respectively,
Goodman noted, the new EU regulation sets
established FAT MLFairness, Accountability,
a very, very high bar for data that is inten-
and Transparency in Machine Learningan
tionally revealing of special conditions.
interdisciplinary workshop whose research
What remains to be seen is how the Unit-
includes analyzing algorithmic bias in bail de-
ed States and European Unions dierent ap-
cisions and trying to understanding how algo-
proaches to algorithmic discrimination will
rithmic bias aects journalism.
alter the behavior of large technology com-
Despite the eorts of FAT ML and others,
panies, all of which operate in both markets.
few people are equipped to hold a rigorous
This is reminiscent of a European Court of Jus-
discussion about how to ethically mine data.
tice ruling from 2014 that EU citizens have
And, considering the scope of the problem,
the right to be forgotten. The decision forced
tech companies arent seriously addressing

the issue either. It seems it may take a shock
from outside the tech industry to force the
issue, and new laws in the European Union
might just do the trick.
RIGHT TO EXPLANATION
Algorithmic bias is seen dierently in the EU
SOME OF THESE MODELS

ARE NOT INTELLIGIBLE TO
HUMAN BEINGS.
than in the U.S. In April, the EU passed a new

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR),
Google to remove links to items that are ir-
slated to take eect in 2018. The GDPR will
relevant or no longer relevant, or excessive in
create a right to explanation, whereby a
relation to the purposes for which they were
user can ask why an algorithmic decision was
processed and in the light of the time that has
made about him or her. This law is a meaning-
elapsed. As a result, Google and other search
ful departure from current American under-
engines set up dierent procedures inside and
standing that algorithms are proprietary and
outside Europe. Inside the EU, they received
therefore lawfully kept secret from competi-
appeals for deletions and began removing
tors or the general public.
items from their search results, but outside
While the GDPR is not explicit about dis-
the EU, there was no such option. It is likely
crimination, it does bar the use of algorithmic
that search engines will respond similarly to
profiling on the basis of personal data which
the GDPRdeveloping algorithms that dont
are by their nature particularly sensitive, ex-
factor in special categories in the EU but do
plained Bryce Goodman, a Clarendon scholar
so outside of it.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
115
PEERING INTO THE ALGORITHMIC FUTURE
It is exponentially more dicult to deter-
Legislation like Europes GDPR doesnt seem
mine what is causing biased outputs in algo-
likely to pass in the U.S., but there are other
rithms that self-program. Is it the underlying
strategies for improving algorithmic transpar-
data? Or is it the code that forms the algorithm?
ency that could be eective.
Google, for instance, is moving more and
In 2010, the Wall Street Journal unearthed
more toward deep learning algorithms. Those
a practice in which minorities who visited the
themselves pose a real challenge because
Capital One site were directed to apply for cards
theyre not designed to be scrutable. The whole
with higher interest rates than white visitors to
point is that youve got layers and layers and
the site. Cynthia Dwork at Microsoft Research
layers in order for it to work, Goodman said.
and Richard Zemel at the University of Toronto
The challenge of opacity in the technology
advocate for a system where people who share
itself is important to recognize. When people
particular attributes are classified in a similar
call for algorithmic transparency, what does
way by a website. For example, people who have
that mean? Just looking at the code that Google
similar credit scores have to be treated fairly
is running isnt going to be informative at all.
when they go to a bank website or apply for
Some of these models are not intelligible to hu-
a credit card. What we advocate is sunshine
man beings.
for the metric, Dwork said at FAT ML in 2014,
Goodman is investigating a way forward. He
The metric should at the very least be open
wants to create a framework that brings together
and up for discussion. There should not be se-
computer science, law, and ethics to establish
cret metrics.
best practices for avoiding algorithmic discrimi-
Others argue for algorithmic auditing as a
nation. So far, legal and ethical scholars have
method to ensure that any bias that emerges
theorized about computer bias without having
is caught and stopped. The group that ran the
the grounding in the technology, while techni-
AdFisher experiments wants to do internal au-
cal experts often seem to operate without con-
diting to beef up companies ability to reduce
sidering the social and ethical impacts of their
bias. I want to provide Google with tools that
creations. Goodman wants to bridge that chasm.
can help police advertisers understanding of
Through a series of meetings, Goodman is
Googles machine learning models and inter-
trying to develop a network that draws upon
vene when [theyre] learning questionable or
a range of disciplines. He said his hope is that
discriminatory factors, Michael Carl Tschantz,
the network would then draft guiding prin-
a member of the Carnegie Mellon research
ciples that could become best practices or
team, said.
the basis for a certification, which a company
With the rapid progression of artificial

intelligence, the rise of so-called deep learn-
could use to demonstrate its eorts to reduce

algorithmic bias.
ing algorithms has serious implications. Deep
Another approach assumes that the best
learning allows computers to adapt and alter
way forward may not be to eliminate algorith-
their own underlying code after digesting huge
mic bias in the early stages, but to find ways
amounts of data. In essence, the algorithms
for communities to police the decisions of
program themselves. As Jen-Hsun Huang, chief
computers after the fact. At Googles ReWork
executive of the graphics processing company
Conference this year, C.J. Adams described how
Nvidia, told The Economist earlier this year, This
Jigsaw, formerly Google Ideas, is finding ideas
is a big deal. Instead of people writing software,
in online video game communities that have
we have data writing software.
established tribunals that vote on whether a
116
ALGORITHMIC BIAS
players behavior violates the groups norms. In
These models of online community polic-
one such case, Riot Games, creator of the wildly
ing could become one method of attacking
popular League of Legends, made some simple
discrimination. The combination of increased
changes that had big eects. First, it created a
attention to biases inherent in some data,
group of players who vote on reported cases of
greater clarity about the properties of algo-
harassment and decide whether a player should
rithms themselves, and the use of crowd-level
be suspended. Not only have incidents of bully-
monitoring may well contribute to a more eq-
ing dramatically decreased, but players report
uitable online world.
that they previously had no idea how their online actions aected others.
Many people seem to believe that decisions made by computers are inherently
Before these procedures were put in place,
neutral, but when Tay screeched race war
players who were banned for bad behavior
now!!! into the Twitterverse, it should have
came back and said the same horrible things
illustrated to everyone the threat of algorith-
again and again. At the time, players werent
mic prejudice. Without careful consideration
told why they had been banned. Riots new
of the data, the code, the coders, and how we
system tells players which oense caused their
monitor what emerges from deep learning,
suspension. After the change, the behavior of
our technology can be just as racist, sexist,
players who returned to the game improved.
and xenophobic as we are. O
EXTENT AND NATURE OF CIRCULATION:

Average
number
of
copies
of
each
issue
Actual number of copies of a single issue published
published during the preceding twelve months;
nearest to filing date:
(A) total number of copies printed 2561; (B.1)
(A) total number of copies printed, 2602; (B.1)
paid/requested mail subscriptions, 209; (B.4)
paid/requested mail subscriptions, 250; (B.4)
Paid distribution by other classes, 1520 (C) total
Paid distribution by other classes, 1520; (C) total
paid/requested circulation,
1729; (D.1) samples,
paid/requested circulation, 1770; (D.1) samples,
complimentary, and other nonrequested copies,
complimentary, and other nonrequested copies,
0; (D.4) nonrequested copies distributed through
0; (D.4) nonrequested copies distributed through
the USPS by other classes of mail, 129; (E) total
the USPS by other classes of mail, 129; (E) total
nonrequested distribution (sum of D.1 & D.4), 129;
nonrequested distribution (sum of D.1 & D.4), 129;
(F) total distribution (sum of C & E), 1858 ; (G) copies
(F) total distribution (sum of C & E), 1899; (G) copies
not distributed (office use, leftover, unaccounted,
not distributed (office use, leftover, unaccounted,
spoiled after printing, returns from news agents),
spoiled after printing, returns from news agents),
703; (H) total (sum of F & G), 2561.
703; (H) total (sum of F & G), 2602.
WINTER 2016 / 2017
117
WOMEN IN MEDIA
Women have historically been underrepresented in the media as authors and experts. World Policy
Journal finds out if more womens voices are being heard.
74 %
NEWSPAPER OP-EDS
NEW YORK TIMES
WHOSE OPINIONS
ARE IN THE NEWS?
83%
78 %
17%
26 %
WALL STREET JOURNAL
2005
90%
LOS ANGELES TIMES
2011
79%
2011
76 %
21 %
2016
72 %
28 %
24 %
20%
2005
2016
19 %
10%
80%
35 %
22 %
81 %
2005
Overall, women make up just 26 percent of

op-ed authors in The New York Times, The Wall
Street Journal, and The Los Angeles Times.
65 %
2011
2016
WHOS QUOTED
ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES?
WOMEN
2013
MEN
74 %
25 %
WOMEN
MEN
71 %
29 %
2016
Compiled by Kirsi Goldynia and Omri Bezalel

Sources: JulySept. 2013 & 2016 front-page quote data from The New York Times; 2005 and 2011 Op-Ed byline data from The
OpEd Project 2012 Byline Report; 2016 Op-Ed byline data from July 8Oct. 8 in The New York Times Contributing Writers, the
Wall Street Journal Commentary, and the Los Angeles Times Op-Ed.
118
Vol. XXXIII, No. 4, Fall 2016 World Policy Institute
DOI: 10.1215/07402775-3813119
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Andrew Weinberg
INTERRUPTED
featuring
NANJALA NYABOLA
10
on the fight for gender parity in Kenya and Somalia
MAURA ELIZABETH CUNNINGHAM
18
on the future of feminism in China
ALICE DRIVER
39
on ending feminicide in Jurez, Mexico
ABBY SEIFF
48
on losing hearts and minds in Thailands deep south
ALINA POLYAKOVA
68
on the great European unraveling
SARAH EL SIRGANY
89
on the decline of the Saudi-Egypt alliance
FERNANDA CANOFRE
96
on nostalgia for Brazils military dictatorship
NATALIE SAMBHI
102
on Indonesias bloodiest year
MEGAN GARCIA
on the dangers of algorithmic bias
111

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VOL.

XXXIII, No4, WINTER 2016 / 2017

AN ALL-WOMENS ISSUE GUEST-EDITED BY FOREIGN POLICY INTERRUPTED

WORLD POLICY JOURNAL

THE BIG QUESTION

What do sex workers need to better control their

A SEAT AT THE TABLE

The fight for gender parity in Kenya and Somalia

GOOD GIRLS REVOLT

How to work with religious leaders to counter

THE GREAT EUROPEAN UNRAVELING?

The future of feminism in China

GERMANYS SECOND-CLASS REFUGEES

Afghan asylum-seekers stuck in limbo

Gender disparities in East Africa

How the EU abandoned Greece

Losing hearts and minds in Thailands deep south

A WITCH HUNT AGAINST POOR WOMEN

Across the Americas, abortion laws are harming

Dont confuse unpredictability with strength

THE NEWEST POWER COUPLE

Iran and Russia band together to support Assad

C ONVE RSAT ION

THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT

Why the Saudi-Egypt alliance is on the rocks

WE WANT TO STAY ALIVE

WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT

Why Brazil must confront the crimes of its

NEITHER TRUTH NOR RECONCILIATION

Why Indonesias army wants the country to forget its

Ending feminicide in Jurez, Mexico

RACIST IN THE MACHINE

The disturbing implications of algorithmic bias

INFOGRAPHIC: WOMEN IN MEDIA

Molly Crabapple is a New York-based artist.

Elmira Bayrasli & Lauren Bohn

Meehyun Nam Thompson

Chairman, World Policy Institute

Joseph A. Cari, Jr.

The New York Review of Books

World Policy Institute

EDITORS NOTE: GET IN FORMATION

wouldnt even be a problem.

E D I T O R S N O T E | WORLD POLICY INTERRUPTED

WORLD POLICY JOURNAL

WINTER 2016 / 2017

CEO and Editor David Rothkopf,

THE PODCAST THAT

AVAILABLE ON ITUNES AND IONO

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS NEED TO BETTER

confiscation has a chilling eect on condom use

by vulnerable people in the sex trade, its rarely

TORONTOMost sex work regulation around the

who abuse people. Good public policy incentiv-

world criminalizes harm reduction tools, encour-

izes condom use and other harm reduction tools

ages the overpolicing of immigrant communities,

to promote better outcomes for sex workers.

and leads to the assault and murder of more sex

Criminalizing and stigmatizing our means of

workers. Regardless of intent, todays policies

survival is ultimately the greatest oppression sex

only exacerbate the problem of human track-

workers face. Its reected in the disbelief and