Debating the liberal order – 25 years late?
After World War I, and again at the start of the Cold War, Americans had held great debates over whether and how to engage with the world. But that debate… Read more »
Author Archives: DemDigest
Beijing turns to Hollywood to win hearts and minds
When Yang Shuping spoke Sunday of her eternal gratitude to the University of Maryland for teaching her about “free speech” and showing her that her “voice mattered,” she may not… Read more »
Liberians express hope and fear ahead of election
Hope and Fear, 2017 Election: The Voices of Liberians (above) is a video documentary assessing citizens’ fears and hopes as the country move toward the 2017 elections. The film… Read more »
A world without participation? Mapping civil society’s achievements
In April 2017, the Russian Ministry of Justice designated the Kola Ecological Center, a small environmental group in Russia’s Murmansk region, a “foreign agent,” notes Saskia Brechenmacher, an associate fellow in… Read more »
After Rouhani’s election, now for Iran’s more important transition
Now that Iran has gone to the ballot to elect a president, U.S. policymakers should turn their attention to a more important transition in the offing, argues Mehdi Khalaji, a fellow at the… Read more »
Radical transparency the only fix for Brazil’s corruption crisis
Endless corruption scandals have brought Brazilian democracy to its most vulnerable point since the end of dictatorship three decades ago, according to Brian Winter, Editor in Chief of Americas Quarterly. But Brazil’s leaders… Read more »
The Russian regime’s dangerous appeal
It’s easy to see why Vladimir Putin’s regime appeals to a certain kind of conservative. It has no time for trendy secularism and social liberalism, The Economist’s Edward Lucas notes…. Read more »
How Rouhani won in Iran
The significance of the Iranian elections has not been fully appreciated, notes Vali Nasr, Dean and Professor of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and… Read more »
Mideast sectarianism a byproduct of geopolitical rivalry
During his speech in Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump spoke of the need to confront and “isolate” Iran. But the Iran challenge is more intricate and perplexing than the one faced… Read more »
‘Principled realism’ needs better ideas to combat extremist ideology
A “coalition of nations” in the Middle East is needed to stamp out “extremism,” U.S. President Donald Trump told the weekend’s Arab-Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “This is… Read more »