Category: Authoritarianism

Push back against the tyrants: how to counter authoritarian assault on civil society

     

With rising awareness that simply holding elections does not a democracy make, investments in civil society are central to democracy promotion—helping to provide the education, information, and accountability without which… Read more »

Global downturn in civil and political rights – key implications

     

There is a downturn in civil and political rights in many of the world’s largest and most geopolitically significant countries, especially Russia, China, and Turkey, but also other countries such… Read more »

Activist ban highlights ‘existential threat’ to Egypt’s civil society

     

  An Egyptian activist was prevented from flying to Beirut for a women’s rights conference on Monday after passport control officials told her she was banned from traveling, Reuters reports:… Read more »

Will new Archbishop transform Cuban Church?

     

In the mid-1970s, a recently ordained priest trekked the Cuban countryside, defying the communist government by distributing hand-printed religious pamphlets to townspeople bold enough to open their doors, The New… Read more »

Brexit a win for Putin

     

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia received the geopolitical equivalent of manna from heaven when British voters opted to leave the European Union, speeding his long-term goal of weakening the… Read more »

Brexit the ‘most damaging blow ever inflicted on liberal democratic international order’

     

Make no mistake about it. Britain’s vote to leave the EU is the most damaging blow ever inflicted on the liberal democratic international order created under US auspices after 1945…. Read more »

The populist perils of illiberal paeans

     

Modern democracies operate within a framework of rationalism. Dismantle it and the space is filled by prejudice. Fear counts above reason; anger above evidence. Lies claim equal status with facts,… Read more »

West shows Ukraine fatigue, Putin wages hybrid war

     

  Even a brief analysis of the accusations being made by Russia against NATO shows that Moscow’s characterization of NATO as a hostile and dangerous organization has long been based… Read more »

Reform military assistance to advance democratic values

     

U.S. military assistance could be a major asset in advancing democratic values and institutions, says a prominent analyst. Yet the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program, which provides U.S…. Read more »