On August 31st, 2011, Kyrgyzstan celebrates 20 years of independence, just as the country’s women begin protesting publicly against the traditional practice of “bride-kidnapping.”

A few hours after two Toronto Review contributors arrived home in Norway, their tiny nation’s peace was rocked by horrific violence. Here, they reflect on what it means for their country and dissect the politics of the far-right.

In 2011, the ghost of Robert Schuman returns. His dream of a “federation of Europe” will likely become the subject of fiery debates that could slowly break the taboos associated with European fiscal federalism.

We cycle into Albania with butterflies in our stomachs. It is, after all, Albania – home to a 40-year dictatorship that, until recently, left it as closed off from the world as North Korea is today. It is the wild frontier between East and West.

Laura Fitch, the Review’s Senior Editor for China, as part of an ongoing project, has interviewed and photographed women in a series that examines the lives of a few women building a life in the capital of the world’s next superpower.

My companions were safely in first class. I, on the other hand, had “Waiting List” ticket #482 in my sweaty palm and a clammy nervousness was spreading over me like a fever.

The Development Insider argues that development agencies and their agendas are as malleable as the people they claim to help. It’s all about power.