Author Archives: DemDigest

Modernizing Election Technology

     

Appropriate technology is more important than ever before for securing the integrity of elections, the Atlantic Council’s Rachel DeLevie-Orey, a Penn Kemble Fellow with the National Endowment for Democracy, tells… Read more »

Media freedoms under fire in Myanmar

     

With last November’s landslide election victory of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, the outlook for a successful democratic transition in Myanmar seems more positive than ever,… Read more »

Addressing Violent Extremism in the Sahel: The Role of Civil Society

     

The Sahel region has received significant international attention as a new battleground for fighting extremism, made vulnerable by tensions between various communities, weak public institutions, food insecurity, and often unresponsive… Read more »

West must focus on countering Russian disinformation

     

The president of Bulgaria is the latest figure to warn that Russia is trying to divide and weaken Europe, the BBC reports: Rosen Plevneliev warned of Russian influence in his… Read more »

What the West can do to contain Russia’s aggression, disinformation

     

Even before the December 2011 protests — and his own reelection as president in March 2012 — Vladimir Putin had begun signaling the return of a more authoritarian and aggressive… Read more »

‘Moderate Islam’ no antidote to jihadist ideology for countering violent extremism

     

The notion that “moderate Islam” is an antidote to jihadist ideology or a key to countering violent extremism is a misleading diversion, says a prominent analyst. “While at first sight… Read more »

‘Hogra’ protests test Morocco’s Makhzen

     

Grainy video images and the screams of a young fishmonger who was crushed to death in a garbage truck while trying to stop police destroying his stock have shocked Moroccans… Read more »

China’s ‘anxious’ core leader learned lessons from Soviet collapse, Arab Spring

     

Even in a moment of triumph, China’s president, Xi Jinping, exudes anxiety. Since the Communist Party gave Mr. Xi the exalted title of “core leader” last week, it has built… Read more »

Cuba’s reform going in reverse?

     

The slow pace of reform in Cuba is raising questions about President Raúl Castro’s legacy, reports suggest. Frustration has begun to set in, with energy cuts paralyzing production, the economy… Read more »