Beware illusions about post-Castro Cuba
Under a hegemonic party system, the emerging regime in Cuba will not rely on its revolutionary past or one man’s charisma, but on the institutionalization of a dominant political party,… Read more »
Author Archives: DemDigest
Civil society pushes transparency for Malaysian ‘kleptocracy’
A leading Malaysian civil society group which promotes transparency and free and fair election has won a prestigious international human rights prize. The award coincides with a financial scandal… Read more »
Muzzling Timor’s media
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the South East Asia Journalist Unions (SEAJU) join international organizations the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Freedom House in calling on the… Read more »
Lawmakers call for Nemtsov killers to face justice
Over the past decade and a half, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has been an economic dynamo and a basket case, an imperfect democracy and a tightening tyranny, notes Foreign Affairs. The case of Boris Nemtsov provides… Read more »
How EU can confront the ‘Copenhagen dilemma’
The European Union is founded on a set of common principles of democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental rights. But whereas candidate Member States are vetted for their… Read more »
Teflon Putin: corrupt but secure?
The biggest surprise about the Russian reaction to the Panama Papers leaks came in the form of a poster that depicted Russian President Vladimir Putin as the drug-addled protagonist played by Johnny Depp in… Read more »
Ukraine: reasons for pessimism – and cautious optimism
Time is up for Ukraine’s President to convince society, politicians, and Western partners that he’s prepared to fight corruption. Every day of delay proves the opposite. By not interfering, Poroshenko… Read more »
Understanding Reform in Myanmar – a new configuration of power?
The National League for Democracy’s vigorous support of the Nationwide Ceasefire Accord and national political dialogue along with efforts to strengthen the parliament and other existing institutions can help to… Read more »
No sign of reform, transparency in Castros’ Cuba
Critics of President Obama’s diplomatic outreach to Cuba are claiming vindication this week as the island nation’s Communist Party hard-liners — cheered on by an 89-year-old Fidel Castro — moved… Read more »
Civil society in post-Soviet space: legitimacy, linkage and learning
“Partly free” countries in the post-Soviet space must fight even harder now to protect growing civil societies, argues Orysia Lutsevych, the manager of the Ukraine Forum in London-based think tank… Read more »