Category: Analysis

Largest-ever study of fake news concludes that…..

     

Lies spread faster than the truth, is the grim conclusions of the largest-ever study of fake news. Falsehoods almost always beat out the truth on Twitter, penetrating further, faster, and… Read more »

Return of ideological conflict underpins authoritarian resurgence

     

The forces of democracy and the moral gains of the liberal world order have given way to great-power conflict and the new autocracy, while the Syrian war reveals the unsettling return… Read more »

Cuba – ‘the worst kind of dictatorship’ – denies entry to ex-presidents

     

Former Colombian President Andres Pastrana and ex-Bolivian President Jorge Quiroga said they were denied entry to Cuba on Wednesday, after traveling to the Communist-run island to receive an award from… Read more »

Do Asia’s autocrats outperform democrats?

     

While authoritarian regimes can show brief flashes of brilliance (remember Sputnik), they’ve proven again and again incapable of sustaining the creativity and innovation necessary for long-term economic success, analyst Michael… Read more »

Ukraine is ‘on the brink’ of kleptocracy

     

Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s president, has warned that international donors cannot dictate laws to the country, amid a stand-off over demands for Kiev to set up an independent anti-corruption court that… Read more »

Counter Disinformation Coalition – a democratic defense against active measures

     

The problem of disinformation is “broader than Russia” because other foreign powers are already planning to deploy digital disinformation tools, according to a new report. “The Russians and other purveyors… Read more »

China’s ‘bad emperor’ returns

     

  The weakness of China’s traditional authoritarian political system has for centuries been called the “bad emperor” problem, notes Francis Fukuyama, a senior fellow at Stanford University and director of… Read more »

China’s new totalitarianism: why Xi’s ‘Return to Personalistic Rule’ shocked the West

     

One Sunday last month, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, traveled to a village in the mountains of Sichuan Province. He wore an olive overcoat with a fur collar, which he kept… Read more »