Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

With the death of former US First Lady Nancy Reagan on March 6, 2016, age 94, it is a good opportunity to reflect on the legacy of her husband, former President Ronald Reagan. For these two Hollywood actors, who had a half-a century love affair, forged one of the most powerful and successful political partnerships in American history. There are some potent leadership lessons we can learn. But first, let’s focus on Nancy Reagan. As First Lady, Nancy did not enjoy the popularity that her affable witty husband had. She was accused of interfering with White House staff, being extravagant in her White House and personal tastes, happily received expensive freebies, and regularly consulted astrologers. In the 1991 best-seller Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorised Biography, author Kitty Kelley wrote a scathing account, claiming Nancy was mean-spirited to her father and stepchildren, formidable and intimidating to staff, thoroughly ungrateful, and dependant on astrology. Most shocking of a...

‘ Russia … it is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma …’ — Sir Winston CHURCHILL (1 October 1939). Russia takes Crimea; Russia destabilises Ukraine; Russia now is attacking in Syria; a Russian plane crashes in Sinai. Is this the start of a new assertive Russia? Is a new cold war brewing? In any case, is the Russian bear back? One thing is for sure: Russia is too big and too important to ignore. Ever since the Russian Federation gained its independence from the defunct Soviet Union in 1991, nothing has been straightforward in its pathway to the 21st Century: ducking and weaving between capitalism and state control, democratic freedoms and familiar autocracy. Under President Vladimir Putin, the long-cherished Russian goal of strength and stability has found a hero. He has been on the scene since 2000 and could still remain in power until 2024. From a western point-of-view, Russia can be hard to understand and also menacing. Allegedly 19th century cannons lo...