Author Archives: DemDigest

‘Illiberal’ Poland rejects Putin-style autocracy

     

Polish citizens continue to support Western alliances and to reject authoritarian models of government, but express concerns about the effects of polarization on Poland’s democracy, according to a new poll… Read more »

China losing soft power edge ahead of G20 summit

     

  Until late last month Xi Jinping was looking forward to easy “soft power” victories at this week’s meetings with Angela Merkel in Berlin and the G20 summit in Hamburg… Read more »

EU-Cuba deal betrays Cuban people and Europe’s commitment to freedom

     

The European Parliament voted Wednesday in favor of the first European Union trade and dialogue agreement with Cuba, promising to “expand bilateral trade, promote dialogue and economic cooperation, and provide… Read more »

Egypt’s new NGO law ‘militarizes’ civil society

     

Egypt’s new NGO law has militarized civil society and demonstrates how security leaders have exploited the need to counter a genuine terrorist threat as a justification to suppress political parties,… Read more »

Populism less contagious – ‘more like accidents of circumstance’?

     

Recent symptoms of a dangerous and contagious new populism within leading transatlantic democracies “now both look more like horrible accidents of circumstance – ballot-box mutations that earn pity for the… Read more »

Russia’s ‘unstoppable desire for change’

     

Russia’s future looks bleak without economic and political reform, notes Kenneth Rogoff, professor of economics and public policy at Harvard University and recipient of the 2011 Deutsche Bank Prize in… Read more »

Is Indonesia’s ‘pious democracy’ safe from Islamist extremism?

     

  Indonesia remains a model of moderate Islam, the country’s president said on Monday, countering critics who point to mass rallies by radical Muslims and the jailing of a Christian… Read more »

Labor rights deteriorate, democracy diminished

     

Democratic institutions deteriorate when labor rights diminish, research suggests. Similarly, unions serve as what Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam calls “schools for democracy” and also tend to enhance democratization. In which… Read more »

What does the Kremlin fear? How Russia’s disinformation model works

     

Russia’s attack on the West stems from its growing internal weakness, and the more the West treats Vladimir Putin as a 10-foot ogre, the better it is for him at… Read more »