Hybrid Putinism: ‘a mafia state with a totalitarian society’?
The question of what constitutes democracy did not have time to be hashed out in the Russian public sphere before that sphere began disappearing a decade and a half ago,… Read more »
Category: Civil Society
Autocrats using ‘toxic election’ to pour scorn on democracy
Russia, China and Iran are among several authoritarian regimes seeking to use the U.S. election as an opportunity to project soft power, to undermine the attractiveness of liberal democracy, and… Read more »
What the West can do to contain Russia’s aggression, disinformation
Even before the December 2011 protests — and his own reelection as president in March 2012 — Vladimir Putin had begun signaling the return of a more authoritarian and aggressive… Read more »
China’s ‘anxious’ core leader learned lessons from Soviet collapse, Arab Spring
Even in a moment of triumph, China’s president, Xi Jinping, exudes anxiety. Since the Communist Party gave Mr. Xi the exalted title of “core leader” last week, it has built… Read more »
Cuba’s reform going in reverse?
The slow pace of reform in Cuba is raising questions about President Raúl Castro’s legacy, reports suggest. Frustration has begun to set in, with energy cuts paralyzing production, the economy… Read more »
Support Egypt’s democrats at ‘arms-length,’ says report
In the tumultuous two years since President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt came to power, one ally has kept the Arab world’s most populous country from economic ruin: Saudi Arabia… Read more »
Dialog can’t avert ‘final blow to Venezuela’s democracy’
Venezuela has freed three opposition activists jailed for more than a month in a first gesture by President Nicolas Maduro’s government after talks began with his foes, Reuters reports: The… Read more »
Pakistan’s ‘democratic opportunity’?
Clashes erupted Monday between the riot police and thousands of supporters of the opposition politician Imran Khan in northwestern Pakistan, ahead of his plan to hold a protest in the… Read more »
Ukraine stunned as political elite’s vast wealth made public
An anti-corruption reform requiring senior Ukrainian officials to declare their wealth online has exposed a vast difference between the fortunes of politicians and those they represent, Reuters reports: Some… Read more »
Mosul highlights ‘post-conflict bipolar disorder’
What the Mosul operation should be making obvious is that whoever gets to the gaps in governance and civil society first and best will win the epic struggles of identity… Read more »