Author Archives: DemDigest

‘Beijing’s Mask Diplomacy’ rewriting the narrative

     

The implications of the Covid-19 pandemic are “potentially monumental” for China, but the ruling Communist Party’s leader, Xi Jinping has seized on the crisis as an opportunity in disguise. And… Read more »

Postponing Putin’s Waterloo: How is he hanging on?

     

The key to any possible change in leadership in Russia is in the hands of the ruling elite, as it has been throughout Russia’s long history, notes Dr. Vitali Shkliarov,… Read more »

Preserving liberty in the time of corona: Democratic governance the best antidote

     

The Indian economist Amartya Sen insisted on democracy as a universal value (in a Journal of Democracy reader, left). He also observed that democratic governance is the best antidote to the… Read more »

Democracy must not become pandemic’s ‘silent victim’

     

As governments adopt extraordinary measures to combat Covid-19, it is vital to ensure democracy does not become the silent victim of the pandemic, some 28 global leaders caution in an… Read more »

In strategic competition, China benefits from adopting Kremlin’s disinformation playbook

     

GERMANS NOW SEE THEIR country’s relationship with autocratic China as nearly just as important as its relationship with its traditional democratic ally, the United States – a stark change in mindset… Read more »

Why democracies are better at managing crises

     

Among the countries whose performance during the Covid-19 crisis has been rated most highly, the overwhelming majority are democracies. What these top-ranked democracies have in common is that their leaders… Read more »

Out of the frying pan into the fire: Is COVID a MENA ‘conflict multiplier’?

     

Anti-government protests were a growing feature of life in the Middle East and North Africa before the arrival of Covid-19. The pandemic brought an abrupt halt to months of civil… Read more »

The twilight of the Iranian revolution?

     

Isolated and dysfunctional, Iran’s Islamic Republic had reached a dead end.  “The regime has lost all popular support, and yet it is incapable of change,” a leading dissident tells the… Read more »

Persuade or Perish: ‘Pandemic Propaganda and the Global Democracy Crisis’

     

Whether stated explicitly or implied, the theme that binds much of the pandemic malign influence currently targeting western nations is that democracy, both as a system of government and a set… Read more »