Putin’s ‘prelude to a purge’?
The arrest on June 24th of Nikita Belykh (above), the liberal-minded governor of the Kirovsk region, was headline news on Russian state television. It even preceded the report on… Read more »
Category: Authoritarianism
Brexit might undermine Europe’s democratic order
In the wake of the UK’s Brexit vote, it is easy to forget that democracy in Europe is a relatively recent development, notes Barnard College professor Sheri Berman. Up through… Read more »
Erdogan’s ‘divisive authoritarianism’ a factor in Istanbul attack?
The attack on Istanbul’s main airport has underlined President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increased weakness, a vulnerability that’s a product of the actions of Turkey’s allies and opponents alike. But it’s partly Erdogan’s… Read more »
Corruption, Extremism, Kleptocracy: the Dangers of Failing Governance
Corruption is a pervasive problem in many societies and has the effect of undermining public confidence in democratic institutions, a Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard today. “All countries, to one… Read more »
Cuba ‘open for business’, closed to dissent
Cuba may be open for business, but it remains closed to dissent, according to a retired career American diplomat. “Despite President Obama’s best intentions, no improvement on the human rights… Read more »
How to save Venezuela
Venezuela‘s opposition’s campaign to gather enough petition signatures to recall President Nicolás Maduro has passed the first stage after enough of the signatures were ratified through the scrutiny process, reports suggest…. Read more »
Making democracy work in Central and Eastern Europe
In Central and Eastern Europe, conservative nationalist governments in Hungary and Poland are causing alarm in western European capitals that democracy itself is under sustained challenge in the post-communist half of Europe,… Read more »
Russia opens first criminal case under ‘foreign agent’ law
Russian authorities have launched their first criminal case against a rights activist for failing to comply with Moscow’s controversial “foreign agent” law, the activist told AFP on Tuesday: Valentina Cherevatenko,… Read more »
Post-Brexit representative democracy ‘an endangered species’?
“The British vote against the European Union represented the revolt of the poor against the rich, the provinces against the metropolis, the losers of globalization against the elite.” I’m… Read more »
Three paths to instability in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean authorities this week imposed restrictions on the import of a range of goods, from bottled water to fertilizers and canned beans, while local businesses complain of not being… Read more »