Report: Egypt among 11 countries most likely to see political violence in 2015.

Egypt is among eleven countries in the Middle East most likely to see political violence In 2015, according to the Leading global risk-analytics firm Verisk Maplecroft.

The firm’s Political Risk Atlas (PRA), issued on Thursday, expects that Egypt and Libya have been highlighted as potentially dangerous countries to watch for future terrorist incidents throughout 2015.



"Despite efforts aimed at curbing terrorism, political violence will continue in Syria, Iraq and Nigeria," the report said.

It expects ‘shaky’ global stability to remain in 2015 due to four main challenges including militant Islamism threats, Russian foreign policy, global corruption and elections in countries like Myanmar and Nigeria.

“Poor governance, extreme levels of corruption and civil unrest are among the key challenges facing business operations in the emerging markets over 2015,” Charlotte Ingham, principal political risk analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, said in a statement.

“Corruption not only undermines overall governance levels, but also serves as a key source of popular dissatisfaction,” she added

Terrorism casualties increased by almost 25 percent between 1 November 2013 and 31 October 2014, the Atlas said blaming this on mass-casualty attacks by terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and Boko Haram which caused higher death toll.

Beside terrorism, the Atlas tagged Russian foreign policy as a main source behind political uncertainty in the future. It expressed concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin would start external conflicts to preserve the popular support in light of deteriorating economic situation in Moscow.

Source: http://www.egyptindependent.com//news/r ... lence-2015

Just catching up on unread posts and this seemed particularly relevant thinking of events this week in Sydney and in Pakistan.
I think the piece is too narrow in predicting political violence in just 11 countries. I fear the threat is much more widespread, and Sydney and Peshawar illustrate the range of possible events, from the loan fanatic to the organised gang, bent on carnage.