Author Archives: DemDigest

Life after Putin: ‘no doubt that political transition looming’

     

The EU is set to roll over its Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia for a further six months despite signs of the mood towards Moscow softening in some of the bloc’s member states,… Read more »

Iran’s Islamic Republic ‘in a period of flux and tension’

     

The 2016 elections resulted in important gains for moderates in the parliament and the Assembly of Experts, reaffirming developments that have been visible in Iranian politics since 2013, Stanford University… Read more »

When Russia glimpsed freedom – for a moment

     

In the years since the Soviet Union imploded in 1991, Russians experienced the longest period of freedom in their thousand-year history — and then lost it, notes David E. Hoffman,… Read more »

North Korean workers protest

     

….. in Kuwait. North Korea has summoned dozens of workers from the Gulf state for staging a mass strike in protest at their working conditions, reports suggest: According to Radio Free Asia,… Read more »

Africa’s Democratic Hurdles

     

The political upheavals in Burkina Faso and Burundi have recently drawn international attention to the issue of term limits, but African leaders’ assaults on constitutional tenure restrictions have been under… Read more »

Tunisia: From Political Islam to Muslim Democracy?

     

The European Union today approved a 500 million euro ($570 million) loan to help Tunisia address economic challenges and bolster its democratic processes, Reuters reports: Tunisia’s transition to democracy has… Read more »

‘Indispensable partner’? India joins Russia in move against democracy NGOs

     

India placed three U.S. NGOs on a ‘watch list’ as Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the U.S. Congress he wanted closer ties between the two countries. India’s Home Ministry has… Read more »

Poland’s ‘populist form of corporate nationalism’

     

Europe’s illiberal democracies have gained a new member, and the world has taken notice, analyst Henry Foy observes. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the Law and Justice party had been… Read more »

Kazakhstan’s ‘economy first, politics later’ philosophy under strain

     

  Kazakhstan is not a country accustomed to political instability. Nursultan Nazarbayev has enjoyed a quarter century as president of the central Asian nation on the back of rising oil… Read more »

Brexit would bolster Russia’s geopolitical narratives

     

On balance, a British withdrawal from the EU would bolster Russia’s preferred geopolitical narratives and make it more difficult for the West to counter Russian power plays, argues James Nixey,… Read more »