Author Archives: DemDigest

As corruption festers, democracy weakens – Transparency International’s 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index

     

Failure to curb corruption is contributing to a worldwide crisis of democracy, according to corruption watchdog Transparency International’s 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), released on Tuesday. The CPI claims a direct… Read more »

Russia opens first ‘undesirables’ case: time to recall Lyudmila Alexeyeva

     

A court in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don has ordered house arrest for Anastasia Shevchenko, a coordinator at the Open Russia civil organization, under an “undesirable organizations” law that came… Read more »

Egypt faces ‘worst crackdown on freedoms in modern history’

     

  Eight years ago this week, protests erupted in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, with throngs of Egyptians demanding an end to autocratic rule and chanting the slogan, “Bread, freedom, social justice,”  Jared… Read more »

Kremlin deploys NGOs as ‘tool for Russia’s projection of influence’

     

The Kremlin uses NGOs to achieve its goals both inside and outside Russia, according to a new report. Domestically, pro-Kremlin NGOs help shore up support for the government and suggest… Read more »

Balkans: Putin’s next playground or E.U.’s last moral stand?

     

The Balkans has once again become a playground for great power politics, says analyst Ivan Krastev. European Union policy toward the Balkans is more driven by ideology than in any other… Read more »

Countering digital dangers to democracy

     

In terms of digital dangers to democracy, four challenges loom large, notes Laura Chinchilla, Chair of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan‘s Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age, launched earlier this month at… Read more »

Defending democracy from ‘identitarian onslaught’

     

Europe is facing a threat “greater than any since the 1930s: a challenge to liberal democracy and its values,” according to 30 leading European intellectuals. “In response to the nationalist and… Read more »

How Guaidó united Venezuela’s fractured opposition

     

Despite Venezuela’s economic collapse and dictator Nicolás Maduro’s plummeting popularity, opposition leaders had not been able to present a united front in a long time. Now, they are all backing… Read more »

Ukraine mourns death of Nadia Diuk

     

Nadia Diuk (above, center) was by all accounts an extraordinary woman who leaves fond memories for her loved ones as well as a legacy of admirable work throughout which she displayed… Read more »