How fragile states breed violent extremism
Each fragile state is fragile in its own way, but they all face significant governance and economic challenges. In fragile states, governments lack legitimacy in the eyes of citizens, and… Read more »
Author Archives: DemDigest
‘The New Arab Order’: potential for democratic inclusion foreclosed?
In 2011, millions of citizens across the Arab world took to the streets, prompting popular uprisings from Tunis to Cairo which promised to topple autocracies and usher in democratic reforms, notes Marc Lynch,… Read more »
Double blow to Sudan democracy advocates
Sudanese activists are mourning the loss of Dr Amin Maki Madani (left), a prominent advocate for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, who died earlier this week. His… Read more »
Hunt for informers in Russia’s ‘Domestic Security Wars’
A long list of foreign nonprofit groups has been declared “undesirable” and a threat to Russia’s national security, including a London-based outpost of Ms. Natalia Gryaznevich’s organization, Open Russia, The… Read more »
How Western ‘enablers’ import corruption and strengthen authoritarianism
Certain elements within the legal, financial, and influence communities, seeking new markets, clients, and profits among an emerging global class of super wealthy actors with fortunes of dubious provenance, have… Read more »
Human rights gone wrong?
In her book Evidence for Hope: Making Human Rights Work in the 21st Century (Princeton University Press, 2017), Kathryn Sikkink reminds us that one of the successes of the human rights movement… Read more »
Anchoring democratic values? Taking stock of shifting world order
During World War II and beyond, the United States was always the anchor of democratic values and an international world order that secured peace and prosperity. What happens when the… Read more »
Sweden on brink of populist precipice?
Sweden, the last Scandinavian country to withstand the tide of populism that’s swept across Europe, is on the brink, analyst Anders E Borg writes for Bloomberg: Other Nordic countries like… Read more »
Why Technology Favors Tyranny
The emergence of liberal democracies is associated with ideals of liberty and equality that may seem self-evident and irreversible. But these ideals are far more fragile than we believe. Their… Read more »
Get ready for the ‘World Cup of information warfare’
After three years in the trenches of Facebook’s war against disinformation, Alex Stamos brings bad news from the front: US elections are at risk of becoming the “World Cup of… Read more »