How Hong Kong defied Xi Jinping
For Communist party officials, it was an embarrassing rebuke: as many as 2m residents of a major Chinese city marching to demand the resignation of its Beijing-appointed leader. And because… Read more »
Category: Authoritarianism
The Edge of Democracy: corruption a catalyst for slippery slope to populism
One of the most important economic and security topics of our time—kleptocracy and how to mitigate it – can be addressed by using economic transparency, analyst Clay R. Fuller told the… Read more »
Morsi’s ‘mixed legacy’ puts Muslim Brotherhood back in focus
Mohamed Morsi did a poor job as Egypt’s president before being ousted in a bloody military coup by the country’s current dictator, Abdel Fatah al-Sissi. But the gross mistreatment Mr…. Read more »
How to stop China exporting AI-driven digital authoritarianism
A United States senator is pushing to ban countries including China from an influential US government accuracy test of facial recognition technology, potentially opening up a new front in the escalating tech war… Read more »
Democracy’s development, decay, or death knell?
Western populism is impossible to understand as a direct result of domestic problems. Rather, it is a reaction to the global redistribution of power that is still taking shape, argues… Read more »
China blinks: what Beijing’s Hong Kong retreat says about Taiwan’s future
Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers aren’t satisfied with leader Carrie Lam’s public apology for how the government handled a highly unpopular extradition bill. Legislator Claudia Mo said Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s apology… Read more »
Building resilience against disinformation
State-sponsored disinformation campaigns are upping their game, and they won’t be limited to election cycles. Democracies are still playing catch-up — the United States barely so, say Alina Polyakova and Daniel… Read more »
Democratic renewal can counter ‘Ill Winds’ of autocracy and complacency
Larry Diamond has spent 40 years circumnavigating the globe promoting democracy in Nigeria, Venezuela and some 70 other countries. Yet today he is aghast, notes Gary J. Bass, a professor… Read more »
Challenging illiberal democracy’s ‘post truth’ world. Is the tide shifting?
Illiberal regimes have had a good run, but perhaps the tide is shifting. “Protesters poured into [Hong Kong’s] streets for a second Sunday despite the suspension of a controversial bill to expand… Read more »
Why populists are here to stay
National populist parties share a common approach and program, argues Matthew Goodwin, professor of politics at the University of Kent and senior visiting fellow at Chatham House. They seek to… Read more »