Category: Authoritarianism

The anti-liberal moment: ‘shocking’ paper predicts democracy’s demise

     

To challenge liberalism is to not merely engage in ordinary political argumentation. It is to call into question the entire operating system that defines the world’s democracies. It is, by… Read more »

Tunisia’s ‘Berlusconi’ seeks presidency in Arab world’s only ‘resilient’ democracy

     

Tunisia’s transition to democracy has proved more resilient than some expected. The largely peaceful run-up to the polls has raised hopes the country will achieve its first handover of the… Read more »

Digital Disinformation: Will technology kill or reinvent democracy?

     

Information technology is changing the face of war and peace, creating a new theater of warfare in cyberspace and new threats to democracy through state‑sponsored attacks and disinformation, according to Brad… Read more »

Defending pro-democracy forces is important to national security – and who we are

     

Without the support of the U.S. government, pro-democracy forces around the world will wither as authoritarianism gains ground, argues Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and… Read more »

Hostile Social Manipulation: ‘democratic societies in retreat’

     

As strategic competitors, most notably Russia and China, engage in hostile social manipulation,  such as conducting targeted social media campaigns, conspiracy theories, and sophisticated forgeries, democracies urgently need to undertake… Read more »

‘Democracies Divided’: How to counter political polarization

     

Political polarization is tearing at the seams of democracies around the world—from Brazil, India, and Kenya, to Poland, Turkey, and the United States, Carnegie Endowment scholar Thomas Carothers observes in… Read more »

Hong Kong: China’s accusations of foreign influence echo authoritarian playbook

     

China has a long history of blaming “foreign forces” for challenges it has faced internally, including the Tiananmen Square protests 30 years ago. But the depth and ferocity of China’s… Read more »

The United Kingdom of Absurdistan: Britain’s ‘Enemy of the People’

     

By undermining Parliament in one of the most important political debates of the century, British premier Boris Johnson poses the same dangers to liberal democracy that populist agitators did to… Read more »

Labor movement ‘winning the war of ideas’ for democracy?

     

Organized labor came out in solidarity with Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners this week, as the International Trade Union Confederation called on the European Union to lead the way in ensuring… Read more »