The permeability of borders, along with political vacuums and economic marginalization in the hinterlands, has transformed border communities in the Maghreb-Sahel into epicenters of identity-driven politics, militancy, violent conflict, and… Read more »
Excluding hereditary monarchies, there are close to 40 countries around the world in which the national leader has been in power for 10 or more years, writes Freedom House analyst… Read more »
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 »
“The institutions of civil society were too weak; the political culture of winner-take-all too strong; sectarian differences too powerful; and a belief in pluralism too inchoate,” notes Dennis B. Ross, a… Read more »
Subscribe to the Democracy Digest Blog RSS feed here. Contents Obama’s inaugural – nuanced support for democracy assistance? Engage Iran’s ‘grand alliance’ for reform Afghanistan: corruption and ‘legitimacy… Read more »