China and the embarrassment of Western democracy
The turmoil of democracy in the West represent a shift in the balance of soft power in the world. Europe and America, in confusion and uncertainty, today look unimpressive. It… Read more »
Category: democratic regression
‘Cultural counter-revolution’ tests Polish democracy
Divisions have heightened as the scope of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party’s ambition has become clear: to roll back the social liberalism that has flourished since communism collapsed and shift… Read more »
‘Dual threat’ from authoritarians, populists saps democracy, watchdog says
The resurgence of authoritarian powers and the emergence of “populist and nationalist forces” in democratic states have prompted a deterioration of democracy and growing threats to civil liberties, U.S.-based watchdog… Read more »
How constitutional democracy decays
There are two paths of democratic decay – authoritarian reversion and constitutional retrogression, according to the University of Chicago’s Aziz Huq and Tom Ginsburg: A reversion is a rapid and… Read more »
Paradox of Progress: increased risk of conflict calls democracy into question
Economic and technological advances have enhanced human wealth and possibilities, but that same progress is disrupting the state-centered global order and creating potential pitfalls, according to Global Trends: Paradox of… Read more »
Russia’s threat to liberal democracy: Putin making world safe for autocracy
With the end of the Cold War and the expansion of NATO and the EU to virtually all of Central and Eastern Europe, liberal democracy seemed ascendant and secure as… Read more »
Women’s rights activist’s arrest is ‘chilling’ escalation of Egypt’s crackdown
The arrest of a leading Egyptian women’s rights defender at her home in Cairo on December 7, 2016, represents a serious escalation in the authorities’ ongoing crackdown on independent rights… Read more »
Egypt NGO bill ‘effectively eradicates civil society’
Egypt has never been a welcoming place for civil society groups, but the past several years have seen an unrelenting crackdown on non-governmental organizations, note Nancy Okail and Allison L…. Read more »
Populism and protest: is Poland a harbinger?
The 2015 victory of Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) party is an example of the rise of contemporary authoritarian populism, say analysts Joanna Fomina and Jacek Kucharczyk. The PiS’s rise… Read more »
Is ‘Populist International’ Undermining Western Democracy?
Europe’s populists share ideas and ideology, friends and funders, notes analyst Anne Applebaum. They cross borders to appear at one another’s rallies. They have deep contacts in Russia — they… Read more »