Backsliding or renewal? Democracies must unite to survive
The United States should adopt a new foreign policy focused on defending and expanding the ranks of democracies around the world, argues Michael H Fuchs, a senior fellow at the… Read more »
Author Archives: DemDigest
China’s sharp power targets satirist of totalitarianism
China’s sharp power is targeting a satirist of totalitarianism, The New York Times reports. A Hong Kong venue operated by a nonprofit with ties to the local government withdrew an invitation… Read more »
Internationalist, not isolationist: Americans want U.S. engagement
Some 43% of respondents (54% of Democrats, 36% of Republicans and 36% of Independents) believe the decline of democracy around the world may threaten U.S. vital interests over the next 10 years, according… Read more »
Civil courage deprives authoritarians of vital weapon
Liberal democracies are facing an authoritarian resurgence and various forms of sharp power projections on the part of Russia and China. These countries are becoming more authoritarian and prohibiting independent… Read more »
Venezuela loses ‘beacon of democratic integrity’
A restless defender of democratic values, Teodoro Petkoff never stopped criticizing Hugo Chávez’s autocratic tendencies and never gave up on his country, notes Dorothy Kronick, an assistant professor of political… Read more »
Democracy and peace linked – but in complex relationship
An analysis of all international and civil wars since 1900, along with the belligerents’ wealth and degree of democratization, shows a strong correlation between democracy and peace, with a few… Read more »
Activist ‘discovers price of dissent’ in Pakistan
Pakistani human rights activist Gulalai Ismail had just landed in Islamabad airport when she was detained by federal agents. After nine hours, authorities released the renowned activist on bail but… Read more »
Promoting pluralism against illiberal democracies
Hungary’s ruling party pledged Wednesday to respect democracy and the rule of law as center-right parties across Europe weighed whether to eject it and the Hungarian prime minister from the… Read more »
An Arab anomaly? A danger to Tunisia’s democracy
Nidaa Tounes yesterday described a ministerial reshuffle in Tunisia as “a coup against the constitution and democracy in the country,” Middle East Monitor reports: Secretary-General of Nidaa Tounes Slim Riahi… Read more »
Is more democracy always better democracy?
…….asks Harvard University scholar Yascha Mounk. Some political scientists contend that “[s]eemingly minor variations in the institutional setup of democracies” determine the different ways in which states behave, while “supposedly… Read more »