West must focus on countering Russian disinformation
The president of Bulgaria is the latest figure to warn that Russia is trying to divide and weaken Europe, the BBC reports: Rosen Plevneliev warned of Russian influence in his… Read more »
Search Results for: authoritarian
What the West can do to contain Russia’s aggression, disinformation
Even before the December 2011 protests — and his own reelection as president in March 2012 — Vladimir Putin had begun signaling the return of a more authoritarian and aggressive… Read more »
China’s ‘anxious’ core leader learned lessons from Soviet collapse, Arab Spring
Even in a moment of triumph, China’s president, Xi Jinping, exudes anxiety. Since the Communist Party gave Mr. Xi the exalted title of “core leader” last week, it has built… Read more »
Cuba’s reform going in reverse?
The slow pace of reform in Cuba is raising questions about President Raúl Castro’s legacy, reports suggest. Frustration has begun to set in, with energy cuts paralyzing production, the economy… Read more »
Helping Europe through its crisis of illiberal politics
Twenty years after the U.S. brokered peace in Bosnia, leaders who once pledged to rebuild a European democracy here are shunning the West, The Wall Street Journal reports: In the… Read more »
Dialog can’t avert ‘final blow to Venezuela’s democracy’
Venezuela has freed three opposition activists jailed for more than a month in a first gesture by President Nicolas Maduro’s government after talks began with his foes, Reuters reports: The… Read more »
Russia’s ambitions clash with its capabilities
Speaking at the 13th Valdai Discussion Club near Sochi last week, Russian president Vladimir Putin again railed at the US for allegedly misusing its global hegemony of the past 25… Read more »
Orban leads surging illiberalism in CEE
Populist and nativist political parties have emerged throughout Europe, yet only in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have these illiberal democratic parties gained power, notes Jacques Rupnik, director of research… Read more »
Ethiopia pullout aids comeback by Somalia’s Al-Shabab
The resurgence of Al-Shabab, Somalia’s Islamic extremists allied to al-Qaida, could affect Somalia’s plans to hold elections next month and further destabilize what is already one of the world’s most… Read more »
West’s ‘China fantasy’ a conceptual failure and strategic blunder
A top-level meeting of the ruling Chinese Communist Party has endorsed President Xi Jinping as a “core” leader, giving him equal billing with late supreme leaders Deng Xiaoping and Mao… Read more »