Category: Democratic Backsliding

10 questions for Francis Fukuyama

     

Is a pessimist simply a well-informed optimist? Francis Fukuyama, author of the famous 1989 essay, “The End of History,” offers his thoughts about the importance of optimism and how so… Read more »

The problem with illiberal democracy: a ‘new iron curtain’?

     

Poland’s turn toward authoritarian rule has set off alarm bells across the European Union and within NATO, notes Jan-Werner Mueller, Professor of Politics at Princeton University. But as long as… Read more »

Turkey Divided and Conquered: How the AKP Regained Power

     

The landslide victory of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey’s November 1 election came as a shock to many, notes a new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center…. Read more »

The Chavismo Files

     

Following the recent shift in the Venezuelan National Assembly it is sensible to go back and examine the legacy Hugo Chavez and his acolytes that steered Venezuela to the edge… Read more »

Russia and China seek new ‘client states’?

     

U.S. President Barack Obama raised eyebrows around the world with a difficult-to-interpret reference to Ukraine in his final annual State of the Union address that lumped the post-Soviet state and… Read more »

Is Poland a failing democracy?

     

Poland’s new right-wing government faces international demands to roll back radical changes to the country’s institutions, but the odds that it will suffer any serious punishment from Brussels are close to zero, analyst Jan Cienski… Read more »

Turkey: Erdogan’s ‘dangerous dance with radicalism’

     

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s flirtation with radical Islam in Syria and march from liberal democratic reformer to illiberal populist authoritarian have confused Americans trying to deal with Turkey, which… Read more »

Fears of illiberal Central Europe axis ‘overblown’?

     

Poland’s crackdown on the judiciary and public media, emulating Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s accumulation of power, has raised fears in the European Union of a new illiberal axis based… Read more »

South Africa faces toughest test since transition

     

South Africa faces what some believe is its toughest economic period since it made the transition to democracy in 1994, The Financial Times reports: Some of mineral-rich South Africa’s woes… Read more »