The 2016 Transformation Index BTI of the German Bertelsmann Stiftung ranks 74 out of 129 developing countries as democracies—the highest level since the survey was developed. This fact, however, belies… Read more »
The European Union is founded on a set of common principles of democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental rights. But whereas candidate Member States are vetted for their… Read more »
In Russia, and now in countries from Hungary to Poland, and in China, forms of authoritarianism are ascendant and liberalism (or even modest liberalization) are in retreat, Roger Cohen… Read more »
A number of American politicians have suggested that the Arab Spring was a disaster and that the region needs strongmen to stabilize it, but while working on Middle East policy at the… Read more »
While economic downturns are threatening the stability of the former Soviet Union’s “entrenched dictatorships,” the migration crisis is fueling populism in Eastern Europe, and reforms in the Balkans are in… Read more »
Aside from Peru’s inconclusive election, a number of other Latin American countries are in the midst of turmoil, according to the latest issue of the National Endowment for Democracy’s Journal… Read more »
Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Friday, promising continuing American military and humanitarian aid in the fight against the Islamic State, and showing… Read more »
Simply dismissing the uprisings [of the Arab Spring] as a failure does not capture how fully they have transformed every dimension of the region’s politics, argues Marc Lynch, a… Read more »
For all the commentary on democratic recession, there has been nothing like the kind of “reverse wave” that Samuel P. Huntington’s The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century… Read more »
Criticizing U.S. missteps in promoting democracy is certainly reasonable—particularly in light of the debacles in Iraq and Libya—but elevating these criticisms into high doctrine and principled critiques of democracy promotion… Read more »