Category: Authoritarianism

Misapprehension of liberalism? ‘Viktator’ Orban is following Putin playbook

     

The European parliamentary elections, which will take place later this month, offer Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the chance to build a right-wing populist coalition across Europe, according to Kim Lane… Read more »

Cuba – ‘facing worst economic crisis since the 1990s’ – cracks down on civil society

     

Cuba’s Communist government has told citizens to brace for hard times, although some economists don’t expect a repeat of the meltdown after the fall of the Soviet Union that lasted… Read more »

Americans not turning isolationist, but ……

     

Americans are not retreating into isolationism, but neither are they persuaded by the traditional justifications for efforts to shape the world, notes Johns Hopkins University Professor Hal Brands. For those… Read more »

Hong Kong’s future in the balance: extradition bill eroding autonomy

     

The political storm over a contentious extradition bill is set to escalate with pro-government lawmakers considering an unprecedented move to bypass normal vetting procedures to speed up its passage, the South… Read more »

China steps up infiltration efforts: counter sources of CCP misconduct

     

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday that China has stepped up efforts to infiltrate and gain influence in the self-ruled and democratic island, and asked national security agencies to… Read more »

Implacable Hostility: Russia’s response to Ukraine’s ‘stunning’ election

     

Russia is treating Ukraine and its newly elected president, Volodymyr Zelensky, with the same implacable hostility as it did during Petro Poroshenko’s presidency, according to a leading analyst. The Kremlin… Read more »

What foreign policy approach toward backsliding liberal democracies?

     

Hungary’s illiberal premier Viktor Orban has rewritten Hungary’s constitution and dismantled judicial checks on power, stifled a once vibrant media, forced a top university out of the country, and criminalized the activities of some human rights organizations. Meanwhile, he… Read more »

Populism, polarization threaten Latin America’s democratic renewal

     

It was one of the greatest waves of democratization ever. In 1977 all but three of the 20 countries in Latin America were dictatorships of one kind or another. By… Read more »

Speaking truth to power on China’s claim to Tibet

     

China wants to destroy the core of Tibetan identity and replace Tibetan culture and religion with a state-approved and controlled version, Kelsang Gyaltsen, the former Special Representative of His Holiness… Read more »

Hong Kong crackdown: extradition law would extend Beijing’s ‘coercive reach’

     

A U.S. congressional commission fears that a proposed new extradition law in Hong Kong could extend China’s “coercive reach” into the financial hub and create serious risks for U.S. national… Read more »