Category: Authoritarianism

Civic Freedom Monitor addresses civil society’s challenges

     

The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) today launched the “Civic Freedom Monitor,” a rebranded version of its long-running NGO Law Monitor – widely recognized as the most comprehensive source… Read more »

Thai junta allows ‘culture of torture’ to flourish

     

Officials in Thailand on Wednesday prevented Amnesty International from publicly presenting a report that accuses the ruling military junta of torture and abuse, the group said. Minutes before the briefing… Read more »

Ever ‘more authoritarian’ Azerbaijan’s referendum ‘lacks legitimacy’

     

Observers are questioning the integrity of the constitutional referendum in Azerbaijan, in which the government reported 91 percent approval of sweeping constitutional changes, including extending the presidential term and increasing… Read more »

U.S. nominates Cuba envoy, regime ramps up repression

     

Cuba’s press, emboldened by President Raúl Castro’s call for reforms in 2010, are finding more space for critical comment, but harassment and intimidation from authorities, a legal limbo caused by… Read more »

Putin’s Master Plan: Russian autocracy ‘will always threaten Ukraine’

     

Vladimir Putin is “a calculating master of geopolitics with a master plan to divide Europe, destroy NATO, re-establish Russian influence in the world, and most of all, marginalize the United… Read more »

Succession planning flurry follows Eurasian autocrat’s death

     

The recent death of Uzbekistan’s seemingly perpetual president has drawn fresh attention to the uncertainties of one-man rule elsewhere in Central Asia and the Caspian Sea region, writes Freedom House… Read more »

Legacies of Totalitarianism – all too evident in CEE

     

Ironically, it was not the end of communism, but the disintegration of post-communism, that has ushered in a time of deeply unsettling global uncertainty, notes Stephen E. Hanson, director of… Read more »

Poland highlights the ‘specter haunting Europe’

     

Tens of thousands of protesters hit the streets of the Polish capital Warsaw Saturday (24 September) to rally against moves by the rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) government that they… Read more »

Addressing the democratization disconnect

     

While proposals to abandon democracy promotion are reckless, at this pivotal period in democracy’s evolution, Western democratic leaders can’t continue to operate business as usual, the University of Maryland’s Brian… Read more »

Putin preparing new phase of ‘guerrilla war’ against the West

     

As President Vladimir Putin further tightens his grip on power after dubious elections that gave his party an absolute majority, Russia is sliding into protracted stagnation. The Economics Ministry has adjusted downward… Read more »