Category: Civil Society

Russia struggles with legacy of 1917 – the ‘first color revolution’

     

Red flag-draped rallies in Moscow marked the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution on Tuesday. But despite the demonstrations, the crimes of the past and faded memories have made some… Read more »

Egypt sees first open challenge to Sisi’s authoritarian rule

     

A prominent Egyptian human rights lawyer stepped forward on Monday as a candidate in next year’s presidential election, emerging as the first open challenger to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s authoritarian rule… Read more »

Disinformation vs. democracy: authoritarians outspending U.S.

     

Authoritarian regimes like Russia and China are outspending the United States in the realm of soft power, Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told the National Democratic Institute’s annual Democracy Dinner at… Read more »

Democracies need ‘different narrative’ to counter populists and autocrats’ soft power

     

After the Chinese Communist party’s celebratory 19th congress, which ended last week, some observers proclaimed Xi Jinping a new emperor, notes Harvard University’s Joseph Nye: Mr Xi, for his part,… Read more »

China’s rise means trade trumps rights, says Hong Kong activist

     

Young Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong warned Wednesday that China’s rise means human rights are in increasingly greater danger of being overshadowed globally by business interests, The Associated Press… Read more »

Culture or economics? What is populism and how did it happen?

     

  In the face of populist fantasists and authoritarians, liberal democrats must draw inspiration from Cicero and Jefferson and reaffirm the wonders of democracy, argues Philip Collins, the author of… Read more »

Ideas and prospects for democratic renewal

     

The assumption that autocracy is a feasible alternative to liberal democracy is understandable. When representative democracy fell before, it fell in that direction. It also fits the trend of events… Read more »

Testing Latin America’s democratic resilience

     

Latin America is about to embark on an extended series of critical electoral contests that will tell us a lot about the state of democracy in the region, notes Ted… Read more »

DRC needs citizen-led transition, civil society tells Nikki Haley

     

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, told the Democratic Republic of Congo to hold elections next year, rather than delay them until 2019, if it wanted to… Read more »

Countdown to Annihilation: Myanmar’s Rohingya genocide

     

  It was already evident in October 2015 that the Rohingya were experiencing genocide in Myanmar, according to Alicia de la Cour Venning, Thomas MacManus and Penny Green, researchers at the International State Crime… Read more »