After Khamenei: stable transition depends on Iran’s deep state
As Iran gears up for a leadership transition, it is important to see the Islamic Republic for what it is, and not what one may hope it can be, note… Read more »
Category: Civil Society
Burma’s transition: ‘yet to give substance to strategy’
A senior Myanmar government official on Tuesday denied there was ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in the troubled northwestern state of Rakhine, where a military operation aimed at the minority… Read more »
Arab civil society crucial for democracy
Popular protests against corruption and curbs on freedom of expression are indications of the increasingly authoritarian rule of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, observers suggest. A Palestinian author is hiding in an… Read more »
Will Syria strikes trigger political transition?
The American strike on Shayrat air base in Syria is an appropriate response to mass homicide by the regime of Bashar al-Assad, said Ambassador Frederic Hof, a Senior Fellow with… Read more »
Bosnians united against ISIS, divided on partners
Stability and democracy in the Balkans have suffered even as the prospect of EU accession has stabilised relations and driven reform in a turbulent and impoverished region, Reuters reports: Kristof… Read more »
Russia Beyond Putin: Is fundamental change possible?
Is fundamental change in Russia possible? Would it overhaul the system, or modify or improve it without transforming it? And if change were to occur, will it necessarily be change Western… Read more »
Transatlantica: globalization, digitalization, democratization?
Europe and North America have already joined into one community, dubbed “Transatlantica” by German management guru Hermann Simon. We may often disagree, but we will never break up, notes… Read more »
Egypt’s social activism – ‘resilient and evolving’
Democracy and human rights advocates expressed disappointment by the warm embrace offered to Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Washington this week, despite his crackdown on civil society, but many were… Read more »
Backing Belarus, Russia protesters is morally justified — and strategically smart
The European Parliament has expressed concern over the “new wave of repression” in Belarus, which includes raids on raids on civil society organizations and “preventive” arrests of opposition members before the protests…. Read more »
New monitoring tool shows shrinking civic space
While many rights groups have raised concern over the global decline in democracy, we have not had a compete, global picture of the levels of respect for civic space –… Read more »