Three paths to instability in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean authorities this week imposed restrictions on the import of a range of goods, from bottled water to fertilizers and canned beans, while local businesses complain of not being… Read more »
Category: Democratic institutions
Push back against the tyrants: how to counter authoritarian assault on civil society
With rising awareness that simply holding elections does not a democracy make, investments in civil society are central to democracy promotion—helping to provide the education, information, and accountability without which… Read more »
With Brexit, ‘Euroskepticism Arrives: Marginal No More’
In light of the raging debates over the causes and consequences of the UK’s Brexit vote, it is worth revisiting two prescient and illuminating essays from the Journal of Democracy…. Read more »
Europe’s insurgent parties overturning consensus on Atlanticism, liberal democracy
The British vote on EU membership could be an early sign of a European political tsunami, as upstart “insurgent” political parties across the continent use referendums as their weapon of… Read more »
Global downturn in civil and political rights – key implications
There is a downturn in civil and political rights in many of the world’s largest and most geopolitically significant countries, especially Russia, China, and Turkey, but also other countries such… Read more »
Activist ban highlights ‘existential threat’ to Egypt’s civil society
An Egyptian activist was prevented from flying to Beirut for a women’s rights conference on Monday after passport control officials told her she was banned from traveling, Reuters reports:… Read more »
Brexit a win for Putin
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia received the geopolitical equivalent of manna from heaven when British voters opted to leave the European Union, speeding his long-term goal of weakening the… Read more »
How to understand and ‘throttle’ ISIS
A thorough examination of the Islamic State’s history and practices is useful for designing a coordinated and effective campaign against it—and for understanding why the group might be able to… Read more »
Brexit the ‘most damaging blow ever inflicted on liberal democratic international order’
Make no mistake about it. Britain’s vote to leave the EU is the most damaging blow ever inflicted on the liberal democratic international order created under US auspices after 1945…. Read more »
The populist perils of illiberal paeans
Modern democracies operate within a framework of rationalism. Dismantle it and the space is filled by prejudice. Fear counts above reason; anger above evidence. Lies claim equal status with facts,… Read more »