Why the West is losing the fight for democracy
The “politics of imitation” is a phrase that recurs innumerable times in The Light That Failed: Why the West Is Losing the Fight for Democracy by Ivan Krastev (above) and Stephen Holmes,… Read more »
Category: Democratic Transitions
Which nation improved the most in 2019?
Two countries became notably less despotic in 2019. In Sudan mass protests led to the ejection of Omar al-Bashir, one of the world’s vilest tyrants. However, the risk that thugs from… Read more »
Taiwan model proves democracy is a universal idea
Prosecutors in Taiwan say they have detained 10 people, including a former staff member of the China-friendly opposition party, and are investigating them on suspicion of falsifying documents to… Read more »
Algeria crackdown as election looms: Is a democratic transition possible?
Algeria‘s contentious presidential election campaign is highlighting the deep gulf between young people at the heart of a street protest movement and an ageing elite they see as clinging to… Read more »
Offsetting Sudan’s deep state: Unfolding transition offers promise – and substantial risk
Sudan’s unfolding transition offers both great promise and substantial risk, according to a new analysis. There is every reason to expect that entrenched interests that have benefited under the old… Read more »
Navigating Sudan’s Transition
One hundred days into his tenure as Prime Minister of Sudan, H.E. Dr. Abdalla Hamdok is poised to be the first Sudanese head of government to be welcomed by… Read more »
Global protest wave rattles governments, but can it advance democracy?
Whether the unprecedented wave of protests leads to sustainable democratic transitions depends in large part on the strategic sophistication of illiberal regimes and democratic actors, including the latter’s ability to… Read more »
Fresh hope for Ukraine on Maidan, Holodomor anniversaries?
Do new faces in politics in Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and Slovakia mean real change, New Eastern Europe asks. ‘Is this part of a wider trend that indicates deeper social transformation’,… Read more »
Arab Spring 2.0?
Recent disturbances in Arab countries have not yet become as far-reaching as what ensued after a Tunisian fruit vendor immolated himself in protest nine years ago, but observers are already… Read more »
Post-1989 structures need ‘remodeling, even democracy,’ says Walesa
Did Central Europe’s democratic forces defeat one form of authoritarianism, but fail to anticipate other threats to freedom? The post-Cold War disruption in job markets, economic inequities, and disputes over… Read more »