Category: Authoritarianism

Civic education can contribute to democratic renewal

     

What makes the  populist wave sweeping the Western world so disturbing is the characteristic that unites all populists: their rejection of liberal values, argues Carla Norrlof, Associate Professor of Political Science at… Read more »

‘Sea change’ in Russia, as Nemtsov’s name reverberates?

     

Most protests and demonstrations in Russia now appear to be taking place in small and mid-sized cities, sometimes spreading to larger cities and ultimately to Moscow, notes Russia-watcher Paul Goble…. Read more »

How do democracies address scope & depth of authoritarian wave?

     

Jonathan Manthorpe’s best-selling Claws of the Panda is in many ways a primer on the central challenge of our era, notes Hugh Segal, Principal of Massey College, distinguished fellow at… Read more »

Open society and democratic renewal – mission impossible?

     

The three pillars of freedom, protection and progress form the basis of democratic renewal, according to French President Emmanuel Macron. He proposes the establishment of a European Agency for the Protection of… Read more »

Venezuela’s democratic transition must satisfy ‘fragmented military’

     

Any democratic transition in Venezuela will need to address the needs of the country’s unconventional military, argues Javier Corrales, a professor of political science at Amherst College and a contributor to… Read more »

Africa’s ‘dissatisfied democrats’ – potential bulwarks against authoritarianism

     

What’s going on with democracy in Africa? asks Robert Mattes, a professor in the University of Strathclyde’s School of Government and Public Policy. The research network Afrobarometer [a partner of… Read more »

Russia’s hybrid warfare ‘ecosystem’ a force multiplier for undercutting democracy

     

The chief of Russia’s armed forces endorsed on Saturday the kind of tactics used by his country to intervene abroad, repeating a philosophy of so-called hybrid war that has earned… Read more »

Rise of revisionist powers means rethinking democracy promotion

     

Greater attention to the preconditions for and impact of freedom and democracy, and to the persistence and varieties of nationalism, would contribute to the formulation of a 21st century foreign policy… Read more »

Democracy is no longer the only path to prosperity?

     

Countries rated ‘not free’ are increasingly able to offer their citizens high incomes, Will democratic ideals lose their appeal?  Roberto Stefan Foa and Yascha Mounk ask in the Wall Street… Read more »

Boris Nemtsov’s murder: ‘Crime of the Century’?

     

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the exiled former Russian oligarch who was arrested by Putin’s police in 2003 and languished in prison for ten years, observed of Boris Nemtsov’s murder: “I think Boris… Read more »