Learn the lessons of Russia’s creeping authoritarianism
A few hours before Vladimir Putin gave his 2014 new year’s speech, a shadowy group calling itself Shaltai Boltai — the Russian for Humpty Dumpty, the nursery rhyme character —… Read more »
Category: Democracy Assistance and Promotion
N. Korea’s jangmadang markets raise questions of regime resilience
Anything to break the information blockade in North Korea should be encouraged, from USB drives containing foreign films to radios that can be tuned to news broadcasts from abroad,… Read more »
Romania corruption protests: government surrender or strategic retreat?
Is there any other country in Europe where the No. 2 politician (head of the Senate) and the No 3 politician (head of the Chamber of Deputies), who have just… Read more »
Latin America: democracy under strain
“We are at an interesting moment in modern history,” according to Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States. “There appears to be a growing appetite for populist politics… Read more »
Has Putin poisoned another critic?
The U.S. ambassador to Moscow says the United States is monitoring the condition of Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., a Kremlin critic who is in hospital with symptoms similar to those he… Read more »
Quality of Pakistan’s democracy on the slide
The year 2016 has seen Pakistan’s Quality of Democracy slide by 4 percentage points from 2015, according to a report released by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency… Read more »
Arab Fractures: Citizens, States, and Social Contracts
Long-standing pillars of the Arab order—authoritarian bargains and hydrocarbon rents—are collapsing as political institutions struggle with the rising demands of growing populations, says a new report from the Carnegie Endowment…. Read more »
Countering authoritarianism in cyberspace
Authoritarian regimes are increasingly adept at fragmenting and controlling the internet for purposes of censorship, surveillance, and internal and external propaganda and misinformation, note analysts Mario Loyola and James K…. Read more »
Middle class bolsters Pakistan’s fragile democracy
Pakistan, often in the headlines for terrorism, coups and poverty, has developed something else in recent years: a burgeoning middle class that is fueling economic growth and bolstering a fragile… Read more »
Not only economic issues fueling populist backlash
There are many possible causes of the contemporary crisis of democratic belief – economic stagnation and sluggish income growth for median workers; and growing inequality, as educated workers are better… Read more »