Author Archives: DemDigest

China rising as ‘geoeconomic influencer’: four European case studies

     

In many parts of the world, China’s presence takes place through economic channels; Beijing has also become an exporter of political influence, however. Through some of its most vocal representatives,… Read more »

The ‘Autocracy App’: how social media corrodes democracy

     

In the heady days of the Arab Spring, it was easy to get swept along by such naive good intentions and by the promise of social media as a benevolent… Read more »

Erasing the ‘grey zone’ on the frontlines of freedom

     

The countries of Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine stand at a crossroads, the Atlantic Council notes. Perched between Russia and the West, they have chosen a path of… Read more »

Dissident’s death highlights rise of Saudi ‘mobster state’

     

A bipartisan group of 20 senators have forced an investigation into the fate of Jamal Khashoggi –  a Saudi journalist and U.S. resident who has been missing for more than… Read more »

Human rights in China on a ‘downward trajectory’ under Xi

     

Protection of human rights in China has been on a “downward trajectory, by virtually every measure” since President Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012, a U.S. congressional study concluded Wednesday…. Read more »

Could populism actually be good for democracy?

     

While democracy may be widely admired, it is, in its liberal form, an embattled ideology, according to James Miller, author of Can Democracy Work?  As the social scientist William Galston… Read more »