Twilight of the Putin Era?
While the Kremlin’s new national security strategy is not devoid of foreign policy goals, it is actually heavily focused on Russia itself, notes Olga Oliker. In this context, it’s notable… Read more »
Category: Democracy Assistance and Promotion
Down the Rabbit Hole: the UNHRC’s Universal Review Process
As part of a National Endowment for Democracy project addressing the voting records and activities of the United Nations Human Right Council (UNHRC), Chris Sabatini and Amy Williams examine the recommendations… Read more »
When rhetoric collided with reality in the Middle East
President Obama came to office far more focused on showing the world that the Bush era was over than on any coherent strategy of his own for advancing human… Read more »
Anxious Dictators, Wavering Democracies
The findings of Freedom in the World 2016, Freedom House’s annual assessment of political rights and civil liberties, will be released on Wednesday, January 27, at 9:00-10:30 a.m. This year’s report… Read more »
Friends, Foes, and Future Partnerships in a Turbulent World
To achieve its strategic goals, the United States relies heavily on its allies and coalition partners—the “outer defenses” of America’s security system, notes RAND analyst Hans Binnendijk. It needs partners… Read more »
The Arab Spring five years later
Five years have passed since the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia sparked revolts around the Arab world and the beginning of the Arab Spring. Despite high hopes that the… Read more »
Advancing democracy during retrenchment?
President Obama will seek to consolidate his foreign-policy legacy this year by traveling widely and working with allies to combat extremism and foster the rise of emerging democracies, according to… Read more »
Adapt or perish: the new normal for civil society?
One of the primary tactics governments are using to repress civil society is the stigmatization of activists and organizations. As such narratives have gained traction, donors and civil society leaders… Read more »
Why has ‘pivot’ to Asia had underwhelming results?
Throughout much of the 1990s and the early 2000s, Southeast Asia was one of the brightest spots for democracy globally. Since the late 2000s, however, the region’s democratization has stalled;… Read more »
Liberal democracies ill-equipped to deal with autocrats’ ‘hybrid warfare’
The latest version of Russia’s National Security Strategy is the most specifically anti-Western one to date, Leonid Bershidsky writes for Bloomberg: NATO and the European Union are accused of being… Read more »