Where every day is Kristallnacht
Eighty-one years ago this week, in what is also known as the “Night of Broken Glass,” hundreds of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries in Nazi Germany were damaged or destroyed,… Read more »
Author Archives: DemDigest
States of Change: Eastern Europeans ‘fearful for democracy’
Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, central and eastern Europeans believe that democracy, freedom of speech and the rule of law are under threat, according to a… Read more »
Democracy without competition? The fall & rise of Cambodia’s opposition
Exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Thursday he was ready to go to jail or die for the cause of restoring democracy in Cambodia, vowing to return home on Nov…. Read more »
Kremlin Winter: How strong is Putin in reality?
Barring a few notable exceptions, the consensus among the commentariat over the past few years — at least in the US and Britain — portrays Vladimir Putin as a mastermind… Read more »
Countering Global Kleptocracy: Protests fueling new era of unrest
Ten or even 20 years ago, the protests unfolding in Lebanon would have led news bulletins around the world—what is more compelling than large portions of the population of this… Read more »
1989: ‘Ideological lie’ exposed in democracy’s paradoxical moment
No empire in history has disintegrated as quickly or as bloodlessly as the Soviet one, in the remarkable year that saw the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989…. Read more »
Ethiopia’s ethno-political mosaic showing fractures
Less than a month ago, Abiy Ahmed, prime minister of Ethiopia, won the Nobel Peace Prize. In Ethiopia, though, peace is in short supply, notes analyst David Pilling. In what… Read more »
Transatlantic strategy with ‘nascent’ EU will counter autocrats & democratic backsliding
With the world witnessing an autocratic resurgence, the United States needs a strong and united European partner now more than at any time since the end of the Cold… Read more »
Arab Spring 2.0? Understanding the New Wave of Protests
A new wave of protests and demonstrations has erupted across the Middle East and North Africa over the past 9 months, the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program observes. In… Read more »
When foreign meddling backfires, can democrats advance?
The authoritarian resurgence threatens to bring back the great power competition that caused so much destruction during the first half of the 20th century, argues Mathew J. Burrows, director of… Read more »