Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond’s proposed referendum for the independence of Scotland is an existential issue for the United Kingdom. Business Monitor Online recently published a primer on the subject, discussing the following questions: What will be the choices on offer to the Scottish electorate? When will the referendum be held? Who will vote in… [Read more]

Perhaps the most noteworthy development of last week’s UK regional elections was the Scottish National Party (SNP)’s victory in establishing the first-ever single-party majority administration in the Scottish Parliament’s history. The most eye-catching part of the SNP’s policy platform is its commitment to independence, and the desire to hold a referendum on the issue during… [Read more]

A week after a largely-peaceful independence referendum in southern Sudan set the stage for the creation of Africa’s newest state, many questions remain over the future of the country’s critical oil industry. As a result of Western sanctions against the government in Khartoum and a precarious security situation, the country has long been off the… [Read more]

On February 15 the Venezuelan electorate voted in favour of the constitutional amendment that allows the indefinite re-election of all elected government officials. Crucially, the vote enables President Hugo Chávez to run in the 2012 presidential election, and beyond, providing him with a mandate to accelerate his socialist revolution, which he believes will take until… [Read more]