‘No magic solutions’: Navigating the democracy-security dilemma
As President Joe Biden and his team seek to put the defense of democracy and protection of human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy, they confront the stubborn… Read more »
Author Archives: DemDigest
Democracy is West ‘s ‘only leverage’ against resurgent China
Democratic ideals are the only leverage that the United States and its Western allies have when it comes to pressuring a powerful China, former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen tells… Read more »
Maia Sandu ending the ‘rule of thieves’ in Moldova
The election of Maia Sandu as President of Moldova in 2020 and the victory for the party she founded at this year’s Moldovan parliamentary election provide a window of opportunity… Read more »
Summit for Democracy offers chance to ‘rethink’ democratic systems
Contemporary authoritarianism is an existential test for democratic societies and the upcoming US-led Summit for Democracy offers an opportunity to ‘rethink’ democratic systems, says the Club of Madrid, the forum of… Read more »
Can US soft power recover?
Global perceptions of US democracy have deteriorated to unprecedented negative levels, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. Meanwhile, the West’s democracies seem more interested in fighting over fish… Read more »
Reports of Arab Spring’s death greatly exaggerated?
The fate of Tunisian activist Moncef Marzouki (above) underlines the sense that the region’s democratic experiment has failed — but he says reports of the Arab Spring’s death are greatly… Read more »
‘Absolute totalitarianism’: China’s Xi aims to cement authority and moral legitimacy
China‘s President Xi Jinping is expected to push through an historical resolution at a key Communist Party gathering next week, cementing his authority and legacy and strengthening his case for… Read more »
How to save Brazil’s dying democracy
Brazil’s democratic decline is rooted in domestic trends that predate Jair Bolsonaro’s rise to power, chief among them the incomplete assertion of civilian control over military leaders, notes Oliver Stuenkel, Associate… Read more »
Discrediting democracy in ‘sharp power’ battle of ideas
Opinions of American democracy have declined overseas even as other forms of US power remain in high regard, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Centre. “A median… Read more »
Time to disarm political weapon of internet shutdowns
The imposition of an internet shutdowns was among the first acts of Sudan’s military as it seized power in last week’s coup, Access Now reports. UN Special Rapporteur Clement Voule… Read more »