Counter resurgent Russia by fostering principled engagement?
In his Nobel Peace Prize lecture in 1975, Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov listed the names of over 120 political prisoners he knew of at the time. Now the Russian human… Read more »
Category: Authoritarianism
Democracies failing to counter China’s push to dominate cyberspace and AI
China is chasing dominance in emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in both the private and military sectors, as a central part of its effort to be the leading global cyber… Read more »
Serbia’s ‘Orbanization’: Vucic heads towards competitive authoritarianism
Serbians are finally rising up against President Aleksandar Vucic’s regime, note analysts Boban Stojanović and Fernando Casal Bértoa. For the last five months, massive protests against his reign, and especially… Read more »
Weaponizing advice? Western experts legitimizing autocrats
Experts play valuable and highly visible roles advising leaders in wealthy liberal democracies and international institutions. But far less is known about what they do—and to what effect—for authoritarian regimes… Read more »
Pro-democracy veteran explains why ‘democracy will arrive in China’
For almost 40 years, Martin Lee has been promoting democracy in Hong Kong, The South China Morning Post reports. He helped draft Hong Kong’s Basic Law: the city’s mini-constitution that… Read more »
‘The Demon in Democracy’? Resisting the illiberal temptation
Nearly fifty years after the Soviet empire’s collapse, the few remaining states adhering to the Stalinist model hold little allure, notes Gabriel Schoenfeld, the author of, among other books, Necessary… Read more »
Kremlin advancing political agenda by crushing dissent
The Russian government has created a series of often ill-defined laws that threatened fines or even jail time for broad categories of banned content. The authorities have thrown the book… Read more »
25 years after Rwanda genocide, mass atrocities multiply
This month marked the 25th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. According to UN estimates, some 800,000 people were shot, hacked, and bludgeoned to death by extremist members of the… Read more »
‘Information ops kill chain’ can stop disinformation drowning democracy
Is disinformation drowning democracy? Former privacy tsars and technology experts have warned the major political parties they must dramatically strengthen their cybersecurity to protect the growing mountains of private… Read more »
Signs of redemption in Arab Spring’s ‘second phase’?
What is the connection between Algeria, Egypt and Sudan, and do the rising protests worry the region’s autocratic leaders, France24 asks (above). In Algeria and Sudan, the protesters hold strong… Read more »