Democracies more likely to win World Cup
During the most politicized World Cup since Argentina in 1978 — it is worth asking. Are democratic nations more likely to qualify for the World Cup? The Athletic asks. Five… Read more »
Category: Middle East/North Africa
Iran’s World Cup loss stirs rebukes: Regime has ‘lost a generation’
Iran’s 6-2 loss to England in the football World Cup has prompted rebukes of the regime and further protests, Bloomberg reports. As their country’s national anthem was played prior to the… Read more »
Qatar’s World Cup ‘sportswashing’ sets an example for autocrats
Qatar is hardly the first state to brandish sportswashing as a form of reputation-laundering, notes Sarath K. Ganji, a Penn Kemble Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy and a… Read more »
Could Iran protests prompt another ‘Arab Spring’?
It’s often forgotten that Iran’s Green protest movement of 2009 was the precursor to the so-called “Arab Spring,” an observer notes. Protest activity and strikes in Iran will likely increase… Read more »
Qatar’s World Cup sportswashing is democracies’ own-goal?
The FIFA World Cup from November 20 to December 18, 2022, will be played following years of serious migrant labor and human rights abuses in Qatar, Human Rights Watch said today,… Read more »
Iran protests confirm regime failure to instill its ideology
Very composed #TurbanTossingpic.twitter.com/4Nd1lSeoyN — 1500tasvir_en (@1500tasvir_en) November 9, 2022 Russia’s national security chief visiting Iran discussed Ukraine and ways to combat “Western interference” in their internal affairs with his Iranian… Read more »
Democracy without liberalism?
The two core components of liberal democracy—liberalism and democracy—have been diverging for some time. For most of the modern era, the two concepts went hand in hand, at least in… Read more »
MENA citizens want democracy — even if it’s not perfect
In previous Arab Barometer survey waves, the vast majority of MENA respondents affirm that democracy remains the best system of governance. This seventh wave is no exception — but there have… Read more »
‘Tinderbox’ Iran: Protests expose broken social contract
President Biden has gone farther, faster in supporting protests in Iran than Barack Obama did in 2009 and promises even more to help demonstrators and punish the regime, the Washington Post… Read more »
Transition or repression? Three scenarios for Iran’s protest movement
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday appealed for national unity and tried to allay anger against the country’s rulers, even as the anti-government protests that have engulfed the country for… Read more »