Category: Democratization

Democracy in an age of anxiety: freedom the first casualty of fear

     

The fearful era in which we live is not conducive to defending democratic standards or extending democracy’s reach, according to the latest edition of The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index…. Read more »

Deriding support for democracy is counterproductive

     

It has become fashionable in some circles to pooh-pooh support for democracy, but Tunisia provides the Arab Spring’s “one encouraging success story”, even if its success is fragile, its economy… Read more »

Supporting internationalism in a dangerous world

     

The alternatives to U.S. leadership are few, according to former senators Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who jointly worked on the American Internationalism Project, an impressive bipartisan undertaking… Read more »

Civil resistance in the Arab Spring: what went wrong?

     

The overriding lesson of the abortive Arab Spring is that getting rid of a dictatorial and corrupt ruler is not enough. Building democratic institutions, and restoring confidence in a flawed… Read more »

Tunisia’s democratic experiment ‘still up for grabs’?

     

Thousands gathered in Tunisia’s capital Thursday to mark the fifth anniversary of the uprising that inspired the Arab Spring. Tunisians thronged Habib Bourguiba Avenue, the main thoroughfare in central Tunis… Read more »

The Algerian Conundrum: Authoritarian State, Democratic Society

     

Algeria is facing deepening domestic uncertainty as collapsing oil revenues and tensions across the region threaten its hard-won stability. Adding to the concern are questions about the ability of the… Read more »

China’s leaders reveal their fears

     

Once admired by authoritarian governments elsewhere, not to mention some commentators in the West, for its canny balancing of free markets and party control, China’s style of leadership may be… Read more »

What’s next for Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution?

     

  Tunisia’s main Islamist party, Ennahda, re-emerged as the dominant faction in Parliament on Monday as mass resignations from President Béji Caïd Essebsi’s secular party continued, largely to protest his… Read more »

Stephen W. Bosworth, aided transition in Philippines

     

Stephen W. Bosworth, a former American ambassador who pulled off a diplomatic coup in 1986 by persuading the Philippines’ dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos to allow free elections, and then personally… Read more »