‘Great Surge’ marks end of the Third World
The assertion that democracy is better than autocracy at facilitating the move into prosperity butts up against the theory that authoritarianism is more conducive to rapid economic growth (as… Read more »
Category: Africa
Autocrats’ bag of tricks for staying in power
Excluding hereditary monarchies, there are close to 40 countries around the world in which the national leader has been in power for 10 or more years, writes Freedom House analyst… Read more »
Burkina Faso and the Sahel: Turning Points in Elections and Security
Sub-Saharan Africa was long seen as relatively immune to the call of Islamist militancy because of its unorthodox religious practices — rooted in Sufism, a more mystical mode of Islam… Read more »
Rule of Law in Areas of Limited Statehood
The Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus regions are increasingly characterized by Areas of Limited Statehood (ALS): ALS are territories where governments lack the ability or will to implement… Read more »
DRC shutters two private news channels
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have ordered the closure of two privately-owned news channels. The decision was condemned by media rights groups and officials should allow the… Read more »
Algeria’s transition to …. uncertainty
The political turmoil that has engulfed since the head of the Intelligence and Security Department (DRS), General Mohamed Mediene, was dismissed in September, has no precedent in the recent history… Read more »
Africa: Partnerships for Meaningful Elections
More than 15 African countries held national elections in 2015–including Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Tanzania–and a similar number is set to do so in 2016, notably the… Read more »
How Ethiopia silences independent voices
After a tense year marked by widely-criticized elections in which Ethiopia’s ruling party won 100 percent of parliamentary seats, 2015 concluded with yet more repression in the East African nation,… Read more »
‘Politics of fear’ threatens rights, prompts civil society ‘choke-out’
The politics of fear led to a global roll-back of human rights and a great civil society choke-out during 2015, according to the 659-page World Report 2016 from Human… Read more »
Uganda: when democracy doesn’t count?
Uganda, one of the West’s most important African military allies, will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on February 18, notes analyst Helen Epstein: Despite strong opposition, this election may be… Read more »