Building democratic alternatives to extremism in Algeria
Algerian law requires the next parliament to be made up of 30 percent women — but political parties across the spectrum have struggled to come up with enough female candidates… Read more »
Author Archives: DemDigest
North Korea’s crimes against humanity demand justice
A rare piece of fiction from one of the world’s most repressive regimes reaches English speakers for the first time this week, Reuters reports: The Accusation is thought to be the… Read more »
Advancing democracy at the root of American ‘exceptionalism’
The classic liberal internationalist vision of a global Pax Democratica lies at the root of American “exceptionalism,” according to Tony Smith, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Tufts University, and… Read more »
How central Europe’s high hopes gave way to creeping authoritarianism
The central European states were the vanguards of communism’s collapse in the late 1980s, prompting a sense of inevitability about democracy’s benign coming, reinforced by the diverse figures who stepped… Read more »
Why Russia is ignoring first flirtation with liberalism
Russia’s February Revolution is one of history’s great “What if” moments, says the University of Queensland’s John Quiggin. If this revolution — which actually took place in early March 1917… Read more »
Electoral espionage is ‘political warfare’
Russia “is up to all sorts of no good,” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said today, two days after announcing a plan to visit Moscow. “They are, I’m afraid, engaged… Read more »
Bahraini activist’s family targeted
Bahraini authorities are apparently targeting the family members of a prominent Bahraini activist in retribution for his human rights work, Human Rights Watch said today: Since March 2, 2017, authorities… Read more »
Ukraine democratic transition ‘being driven from bottom-up’
Ukraine is set to launch its case against Russia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, seeking an order to halt Moscow’s support for pro-Russia separatists in… Read more »
Sudan frees human rights activists
Human rights and democracy advocates are expressing relief at the release of Sudanese civil society activists convicted of publishing fake reports or spying: Khalafalla Al-Afif, Midhat Hamdan and Mustafa Adam… Read more »
Facing a two-front war of ideas
America is currently engaged in an epic war of ideas in which the country’s very way of life is at stake. The struggle is reminiscent of earlier clashes against ideologies… Read more »