Cold War analogies aside, the world is in a battle for ideas, values, and the protection of sovereign democracies from outside influence and interference, argues Kevin Sheives – associate director… Read more »
A majority in nine countries across the Arab world feel they are living in significantly more unequal societies today than before the Arab spring, an era of uprisings, civil wars… Read more »
This week, the South Korean parliament passed a law criminalizing the practice of floating balloons with anti-regime leaflets, cultural items and cash into North Korea. The move is causing a backlash… Read more »
The conditions that spurred the Arab uprisings, including government corruption, failed economies and deteriorating social services, have only intensified in many countries, exacerbated by 2020’s Covid-19 pandemic, notes analyst Megan O’Toole…. Read more »
Members of Cuba’s San Isidro Movement – the group of artists, academics, and other alternative thinkers who garnered global attention by staging a rare protest outside the Ministry of Culture… Read more »
A promising sign that Aleksandr Lukashenko’s days in power might be numbered is emerging among the Belarusian security forces, say two leading analysts. To maintain his grip on power, the… Read more »
The job of the International Department of China’s ruling Communist Party is to win support among foreign political parties by cultivating what’s been called a “new Comintern,” the Economist observes…. Read more »
Months after eliminating a popular challenge to its rule in Hong Kong, China is turning to an even higher-stakes target: self-governing Taiwan. The island has been bracing for conflict with… Read more »
Ten years ago, as protests flared across the Arab world, Western governments failed to meet a date with destiny and help nurture dreams of democracy, missing an unprecedented chance to… Read more »
In the 20th century democracies were defined by freedom of expression, pluralism and the metaphor of a ‘marketplace of ideas’, and authoritarian regimes by censorship and state media control, the… Read more »