2011 Special Coverage · Global Voices

Since February 12 (#Feb12) Algerians have been demonstrating against corruption, high unemployment and an a rise in basic goods prices, even though the country is the fourth largest exporter of crude oil in Africa and an important producer of natural gas. Protesters have also called for the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has been in power since 1999.
2011 has been an extraordinary year for online citizen media content. Global Voices has been there as revolutions happened, dictatorships fell, and network effects rippled through the cities and neighborhoods of our contributors reporting from around the world.
The 2011 presidential election in the Republic of Cameroon will take place on October 9. It is considered by many as a foregone conclusion, but external observers believe Cameroon is at a key political crossroads, after the constitution was amended and riots were repressed in 2008.
Following the November 2010 presidential election, the West African nation of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) experienced a drawn out governance crisis after the two opposing leaders, Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, both claimed victory. After months of conflict, Ouattara's troops eventually overran the country and stormed the presidential palace and captured Gbagbo with the help of French troops in April 2011.
Inspired by the Tunisian uprising that overthrew longtime president Ben Ali, Egyptian citizens and activists organized mass protests on January 25, 2011, calling for economic reform and an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. They achieved victory on 11 February, 2011, and the reverberations of the country's success have been felt around the world.
In the Amazon rainforest region, deforestation impacts around 30 million people and 350 indigenous and ethnic groups. Yet the Amazon, and other forests like it, are fast-becoming major casualties of civilization as growing human populations increasingly threaten these important biomes.
The West African nation of Gabon is experiencing a popular revolt against the rule of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, son of long-time strongman Omar Bongo who died only months before his son was elected in October 2009. Citing allegations of election fraud, opposition leaders formed a breakaway government on January 26 with André Mba Obame as the self-declared president.
Will the worst conditions of global poverty be alleviated by 2015? The UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight development aimed at improving chances of survival in the world's poorest countries.
Global politics and perceptions were affected by the September 11, 2001, tragedy in many different ways. Ten years later, we look back on a selection of Global Voices Posts that covered some of the direct and indirect consequences of 9/11 including war, anti-terror legislation, anti-Islamism and the death of Osama Bin Laden.
On Friday, March 11, 2011 at 2:46:23 p.m. local time, an 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck Japan, the largest in recorded history. The resulting tsunami that swept the coast has resulted in countless deaths and widespread destruction.
Since February 16, 2011, demonstrators have been protesting one of the world’s most intractable governments: that of Muammar Al Gaddafi. Coming to power in a September 1, 1969 coup d’etat, Gaddafi spent much of the next two decades attempting to spread the Third Universal Theory, his brand of revolution throughout the Middle East and also to Sub-Saharan Africa.
Young Macedonians have been protesting daily throughout the month of June 2011 against the police cover-up of a murder of a man during street celebrations for the election victory of Macedonia's conservative ruling party, the VMRO-DPMNE.
In December 2006, Mexican President Felipe Calderón launched a major military operation against drug cartels. More than 4 years later, Mexico's ‘Drug War’ has claimed more than 35,000 victims. Many Mexicans are now questioning the strategy and taking a stand against the violence and bloodshed.
Since the fall of the Egyptian president, Moroccans have been planning a movement of their own. On February 20 (#Feb20) the “movement for dignity” protested the frustration of some Moroccans with a government they believe has done little to combat corruption. The protesters are demanding constitutional reform, the dissolution of parliament, and the lowering of food prices, among other things.
The 2011 Presidential, National Assembly, Gubernatorial, and State Assembly elections in Africa's most populous country, Nigeria, took place in April 2011, against a backdrop of increasing local ethnic and religious tension. Incumbent Goodluck Jonathan was declared the winner on 19 April, 2011.
The University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras, San Juan has experienced several rounds of protests and strikes since April 2010 by students and professors objecting to educational budget cuts, the elimination of certain merit-based fee waivers, and privatization attempts by the government.
The Republic of South Sudan is Africa’s newest country. A referendum took place in January 2011 which resulted in 99% of South Sudanese voting for independence from the north. South Sudan's formal independence was declared on 9 July, 2011. On 14 July, 2011, the country became a United Nations member state.
The death of Osama Bin Laden was first reported on May 2, 2011. He was killed by United States Special Forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan. He was the founder of the al-Qaeda network, which is believed to have been responsible for the September 11 terrorist attack. Bin Laden topped the USA's most wanted list for over a decade.
The attempted suicide of one man in the city of Sidi Bouzid in southern Tunisia in December 2010 to protest joblessness, sparked a popular uprising in defiance of the government of President Ben Ali. Clashes between protesters and security forces lasted for nearly a month. Ben Ali resigned and fled the country on 14 January, 2011.
In April 2011, inspired by the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions, Uganda’s opposition groups staged protests against high fuel and food prices, calling on Ugandans in urban centers to walk to their work places. The government reacted to the protests that began on April 14 with violence, arresting those opposition leaders who attempted to walk out of their houses.
State secrets exposed by whistle-blower website Wikileaks this year keep causing the world to shudder. A video showing Iraqi civilians killed by U.S forces; a compilation of tens of thousands of documents about the war in Afghanistan; hundreds of thousands of documents about the war in Iraq; and now 251,287 leaked United States embassy cables.