Category: Analysis

Latin America braced for ‘Bolsonaro effect.’ How did the unthinkable happen?

     

Following the crushing victory of right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro in Sunday’s runoff presidential election, Brazil’s Latin American neighbors are bracing for a regional “Bolsonaro effect,” AFP reports: The knock-on effect… Read more »

Kleptocratic solidarity: Russia aids Venezuela’s ‘mafia state’

     

Russia has sent a senior delegation to Venezuela to consult high-ranking government officials on a plan to stem the brutal economic collapse in a key Kremlin ally, Bloomberg reports: Venezuela… Read more »

In ‘an authoritarian era’, how to advance democracy?

     

There’s a rising angst in foreign policy circles over the status of democracy around the world, CNBC reports. “This is an authoritarian era, all things being equal. Democracy is in… Read more »

Putin’s Russia: emergence of democratic alternative an unlikely scenario?

     

Authoritarian rule is not imposed on Russians from above but is solicited from below by the people themselves, claims Sergey Karaganov, a former Putin advisor and one of Russia’s leading… Read more »

How to save constitutional democracy

     

Democracies can collapse or erode beyond repair, but they can also suffer substantial yet “non-fatal” deterioration in the quality of democratic institutions, and then experience a rebound, according to Tom… Read more »

The big factor at the heart of Middle East protests

     

In the spring, major protests swept through Jordan over economic grievances and subsidy reforms. In July, protesters took to the streets in the south of Iraq, demanding that the government address persistent unemployment, underdevelopment and corruption, say… Read more »

A force multiplier for advancing democracy, cybersecurity in the digital age

     

McAfee, a more than 30-year old company traditionally known for is anti-virus software, just became the latest cybersecurity firm to release research into the spread of false information that could influence elections,… Read more »

New social contracts needed for Arab renewal

     

  Since the 2011 uprisings, the relationship between Arab leaders and citizens has been shifting, say Carnegie analysts Intissar Fakir and Sarah Yerkes. While the initial euphoria and hope of… Read more »

How to save liberal democracy from populism

     

  Across the world, liberal democracy is rumored to be under threat from the rise of autocratic regimes and populist politics [or simply facing a mid-life crisis?]. But if this… Read more »