Category: Analysis

Putin’s regime: ‘a Titanic looking for an iceberg’

     

The growing awareness that Russia, growing ever more hostile, should be treated as a threat rather than a mere annoyance is pushing Western capitals toward a unified front in challenging… Read more »

Macron calls for democratic renewal: ‘not authoritarian democracy but the authority of democracy’

     

French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that “there seems to be a European civil war” between liberal democracy and rising authoritarianism, the BBC reports. The rapid changes in the today’s… Read more »

Has democracy lost its global appeal?

     

…. is the question addressed by a broad pool of experts and generalists in the May/June 2018 issue of Foreign Affairs, in which democracy is the lead package. Among those who strongly agreed… Read more »

Cuba’s dissidents hope transition generates change ‘from within’

     

Cuba’s national assembly meets today to elect the next president of the country, Foreign Policy reports. Current vice president Miguel Diaz-Canel is widely expected to be chosen. Still, current president… Read more »

Is democracy dying?

     

“Some say that global democracy is experiencing its worst setback since the 1930s and that it will continue to retreat unless rich countries find ways to reduce inequality and manage… Read more »

New ‘battle of ideas’? China-US rivalry enters realms of ideology

     

  The US and other Western democracies “are getting increasingly uneasy about China’s political development and the nature of Chinese influence abroad. Ideology once again defines the terms of the US-China relationship,” analyst… Read more »

‘Harbored Ambitions’: BRI aims expand China’s political influence, military presence

     

    A massive Chinese infrastructure program that Beijing says is aimed at promoting global trade and economic growth is actually intended to expand the country’s political influence and military… Read more »

Courts undermine Iraq’s rule of law: Daesh ideology still a threat

     

The Daesh terror group’s ideology is still a threat in Iraq even though the fight against terrorism has ended in military terms, the country’s prime minister said Saturday: “Our land… Read more »

The Once and Future Putincon?

     

With the reelection of Russian president Vladimir Putin a foregone conclusion, chess champion Garry Kasparov, chair of the Human Rights Foundation, was inspired to convene Putincon, a day-long conference to… Read more »

Is there a Path to Democracy in the Arab World?

     

The Coalition for Accountability and Integrity (above) is an exemplar of Palestinian civil society, notes Council on Foreign Relations analyst Elliott Abrams. The group, which monitors corruption in Gaza and… Read more »