How to save Ethiopia’s democratic revolution
If the democratic uprisings that swept across the states of the former Soviet Union in the early 2000s were “colour revolutions”, then Ethiopia’s counts as a multicoloured one, with flags… Read more »
Category Archives: Africa
Nigeria’s election: human rights on the agenda
On February 16, 2019, Nigeria will hold its first national elections since the nation’s peaceful transfer of political power in 2015. While pre-election assessments suggest positive developments by electoral stakeholders,… Read more »
Restricting basic freedoms ‘the new global norm’?
Nearly six in ten countries are seriously restricting people’s basic rights of association, peaceful assembly and expression, according to data released by the CIVICUS Monitor, which rates and tracks fundamental freedoms… Read more »
Do international observers ‘go easy’ on African elections?
Anecdotal evidence of observers accepting low-quality elections in Africa is easy to find. Yet systematic, empirical evidence has been absent — until now, argues Susan Dodsworth, a research fellow in… Read more »
Aiding autocrats: China’s ‘sharp power’ at work
Chinese telecommunications company ZTE has been helping Venezuela’s autocratic government construct an advanced citizen surveillance program, Slate’s Mia Armstrong reports. A Reuters investigation published Wednesday provides a detailed look into the development… Read more »