Category: Authoritarianism

False Dawn? How (not) to advance Middle East democracy

     

Supporting indigenous democrats would be a more successful approach to promoting democracy in the Middle East than external intervention, especially militarized regime change, says a leading Arab democrat. “Foreign intervention… Read more »

Western values not exclusive to ‘the West’

     

In the heady days of the Cold War, “the West” referred to the so-called free world — a liberal democratic order, notes Ivan Krastev (left), the chairman of the Center… Read more »

South Africa’s Zuma ‘leading ANC onto a path of implosion’

     

Disputed resolutions, deferred decisions and policy uncertainty were the prime bequests of the policy conference of the African National Congress to the troubled organization, notes analyst Susan Booysen: To the question: is… Read more »

‘Faking concern about fake news’: engaging Russia will ’empower Putin’

     

Should the West collaborate with Russia on cybersecurity issues, despite the Kremlin’s information warfare conducted against the liberal democracies? “To forgive and forget when it comes to Putin, regarding cyberattacks,… Read more »

Defending Western civilization – without democracy?

     

In his speech in Poland on Thursday, US president Donald Trump didn’t even mention democracy, note Brian Klaas, a fellow at the London School of Economics, and Marcel Dirsus, a… Read more »

How Putin made corruption great again

     

Russian police arbitrarily detained hundreds of people during peaceful protests on June 12, 2017, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Human Rights Watch said today: Riot police in both cities used… Read more »

Turks marching to fight rise of illiberal populism

     

Tens of thousands of Turks are marching from Ankara to Istanbul in an attempt to fight the rise of illiberal populism and defend democratic values, opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu writes… Read more »

Time to prepare for Iran’s political collapse?

     

In a region littered with failed states, Iran is often mischaracterized as an island of stability, notes Ray Takeyh, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. The history… Read more »

‘Illiberal’ Poland rejects Putin-style autocracy

     

Polish citizens continue to support Western alliances and to reject authoritarian models of government, but express concerns about the effects of polarization on Poland’s democracy, according to a new poll… Read more »

China losing soft power edge ahead of G20 summit

     

  Until late last month Xi Jinping was looking forward to easy “soft power” victories at this week’s meetings with Angela Merkel in Berlin and the G20 summit in Hamburg… Read more »