Category: Civil Society

Vatican ‘capitulates’ to China – a sign of Beijing’s growing sharp power?

     

China and the Vatican will establish formal diplomatic relations sooner or later because Pope Francis has the “wisdom” to resolve problems between the two sides, a state-run Chinese newspaper said… Read more »

Authoritarian Advance: Responding to China’s Growing Political Influence

     

Two new studies suggest that Europe’s embrace of China, even as it warns against Russian meddling, might benefit from a certain degree of wariness. When it comes to Beijing, they argue,… Read more »

Tunisian unrest symptomatic of healthy democratic evolution

     

Some view Tunisia’s recent demonstrations and the government’s response as a dire warning that the end of the country’s experiment with democracy is near, notes Safwan Masri, the author of… Read more »

Sarajevo’s War Childhood Museum is ’30 Under 30′ innovator

     

  Forbes has revealed its third annual “30 Under 30 Europe” list, featuring 600 young innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders across Europe under the age of 30 in 20 different categories…. Read more »

After Iran’s protests: What comes next?

     

The recent protests in Iran are unlikely to change who is in power. But they will spark a change of the system, led by the system, according to Dina Esfandiary, a… Read more »

Russian sharp power fuels Balkans’ democratic regression

     

  Growing Russian influence in the Balkans is undermining democratic institutions and retarding regional states’ prospects of accession to the European Union, observers suggest. The EU is launching a diplomatic… Read more »

Democratic citizenship as a way of life

     

  Over at The New York Times, David Brooks holds up John Stuart Mill, the second in a Heroes of Democracy series, for demonstrating that “democratic citizenship is a way of… Read more »

With democracy on the defensive, time for U.S. to ‘re-enter the fight’

     

With democracy on the defensive, America is missing in action, argues Brookings analyst William Galston. The latest Freedom House survey of global freedom (see below) notes “the accelerating withdrawal of… Read more »