Category: Authoritarianism

Venezuelan opposition arrests show Maduro moving to consolidate power

     

Two prominent Venezuelan opposition leaders were taken from their homes in raids by intelligence services in the early hours of Tuesday, in what analysts say signals a lurch toward a… Read more »

Naked power grab an existential threat to Venezuelan democracy

     

Venezuela’s socialist government says a national election has given it a popular mandate to dramatically recast the country’s political system even as condemnations of the process have poured in from… Read more »

‘Judicial coup’ mars Pakistan’s democratic transition

     

Pakistan’s Supreme Court disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday from holding public office for life in a corruption inquiry linked to the Panama Papers, which had named three of his children as owners… Read more »

Could Hungary’s ‘dark path to dictatorship’ set precedent?

     

Hungarian citizens are increasingly disturbed by the country’s authoritarian trajectory, while civil society groups fear Viktor Orban’s illiberal turn could establish a precedent for other European states, reports suggest. Goran… Read more »

A realist case for advancing Arab democracy

     

Despite the reportedly path-breaking retreat from even the rhetoric of promoting democracy and human rights, there is a robust realist argument for advancing freedom in the Middle East, according to Elliott… Read more »

Weaponizing kleptocracy: the four circles of ‘Russia’s Crony Capitalism’

     

Russia’s political shift to an authoritarian kleptocracy started with Vladimir Putin’s prosecution and jailing of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, according to Bill Browder, CEO, Hermitage Capital, and author of “Red Notice: A… Read more »

Lessons from Europe’s fight against Russian disinformation

     

In most of Europe, where hoax news stories and Web sites with bogus articles are muddying the digital pipeline of reliable information, political leaders have publicly reaffirmed their faith in… Read more »

A Venezuela formula to punish Maduro, help the people

     

A US subsidiary of Venezuela’s PDVSA that has been used as collateral for a Russian loan has emerged as a stumbling block to Washington’s moves to impose additional sanctions on… Read more »

Advancing or undermining democracy? No moral equivalence

     

Vladimir Putin denies meddling in U.S. politics, but he has charged that the U.S. government interfered “aggressively” in Russia’s 2012 presidential vote, notes Tom Malinowski, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights… Read more »