Venezuela has more oil than Saudi Arabia and more poverty than Colombia. Once one of Latin America’s richest countries, it’s now plagued with shortages of everything from toilet paper to antibiotics and food, The… Read more »
The competition of democracy versus dictatorship is to a degree a contest of narratives, argues Richard Fontaine, President of the Center for a New American Security. “Beijing and others peddle a… Read more »
What role do the interplay of new and old media play in getting authoritarian demagogues elected? How do new media platforms supercharge the spread of conspiracy theories and false ideas?… Read more »
Bolivia’s Evo Morales, a former leader of a coca-growers’ union, has won three elections fairly and by large margins. He hopes to win a fourth in October. But his attempts… Read more »
Armenia is a case study of rising resistance to autocratic rule, says the 2019 World Report from Human Rights Watch. Authoritarianism has been met with a resurgence of “individual… Read more »
The Iran-Saudi rivalry, which, since 2011, has dominated the Middle East and pervaded its wars, can be interpreted in geopolitical and sectarian terms, notes Katerina Dalacoura, associate professor of international… Read more »
African democracy is in for a bumpy 2019, with the continent’s political trajectory moving in the wrong direction, according to analysts Nic Cheeseman and Jeffrey Smith. In Tanzania, President John Magufuli has clamped down on… Read more »
The West is now rudderless. To be rudderless puts you at the mercy of elements. The elemental forces of politics today are tribalism, populism, authoritarianism and the sewage pipes of… Read more »
Many liberal democracies are encountering serious problems while authoritarianism appears to be enjoying a global surge of self-confidence. As a result, not only are doubts about the value and wisdom of democracy… Read more »
Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, is often accused of promoting a form of ‘illiberal democracy’, where governance is rooted in the popular support of a majority of the country’s citizens,… Read more »
