Author Archives: DemDigest

Venezuela’s unprecedented collapse: transition already under way

     

  US sanctions on Venezuela’s national oil company have accelerated the unprecedented collapse of its oil output and set off a domino effect in the global energy market, CNN reports:… Read more »

Winning back trust in Nigeria’s rescheduled elections?

     

  The two major parties contesting Nigerian presidential and parliamentary elections, originally scheduled for last weekend but delayed at the last moment, have said they will continue campaigning despite a… Read more »

The long freedom slump paused?

     

The good news is that democracy is not declining, at least in the aggregate. The bad news is that developing countries have taken a turn for the worse, notes Larry… Read more »

Kleptocracy’s ‘stark implications’ for democracy

     

The two main candidates vying to lead Africa’s most populous nation after elections this weekend offer very different choices for reforming this vital industry, between public or private sector-led development…. Read more »

Towards a ‘Fourth Wave’? Prioritize democracy support to reverse global retreat

     

Democracy is in retreat, facing an “ominous decline” across the world, according to the latest “Freedom in the World” report from Freedom House. It is a global retreat and it is… Read more »

China challenge a ‘moral and intellectual clash of value systems’

     

A new Chinese Communist Party app is helping users catch up with the ruling party’s latest propaganda and ideology with the ease of a swipe on their smartphones, CNN reports:… Read more »

Weaponizing law is ‘draining democracy dry’ – Philippines journalist Maria Ressa

     

Award-winning Philippines journalist Maria Ressa told CNN that her arrest on “cyber libel” charges is an example of how the law is being “weaponized” against critics of the country’s President… Read more »

Ukraine’s democratization a strategic priority to counter Russian influence

     

Supporting Ukraine’s democratization is a strategic priority in efforts to counter Russian influence, observers suggest. Ukraine has contended with enormous challenges since the Maidan, and has made real progress. Ukrainians… Read more »

Reversing Cambodia’s democratic drift

     

Cambodia is drifting towards autocracy with a clear trend. An unprecedented crackdown on independent media, civil society and the country’s major opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), hardly suggest otherwise. Whether Hun… Read more »

Upgrading support for Armenia’s post-revolution reforms

     

Armenia’s “velvet revolution” is one of the “positive breakthroughs” of the last year to confirm w that “democracy has enduring appeal as a means of holding leaders accountable and creating… Read more »