Iran’s theocratic regime: Retreating or resilient?
Iran’s protest movement on Monday started a concerted effort to hold three days of strikes, with reports of thousands of businesses closed in several parts of the country, CNBC reports…. Read more »
A global Zeitenwende? Three scenarios at historic ‘inflection point’
The United States and its global partners should double down in 2023 to shape the contest unfolding between democrats and despots that will define the post-Cold War order, according to… Read more »
China’s protests raise hope for solidarity among activists
The recent protests in China have rippled well beyond the mainland, to cities around the world with large contingents of Chinese students — even Hong Kong, where the pro-democracy protests… Read more »
Who’s the ‘First to Stand’ for democratic values and rights?
The documentary film FIRST TO STAND, follows Irwin Cotler, Founder and International Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, and his team of activists as they take on… Read more »
Can democracy survive populism?
The collapse of state socialism brought about social liberalization, political democratization and economic privatization, but these transformations never ran smoothly or in the same direction in all post-communist states. By… Read more »
Nigeria’s democracy ‘under threat: Security risks to 2023 elections, says Blair Institute
One of the most high-stakes elections that Nigeria has witnessed in decades takes place on 25 February 2023. If successful, it will be the first time during its 63 years… Read more »
Blend liberalism and muscular patriotism to confront Autocracy, Inc.
Democracy advocates are not only fighting their own country’s authoritarian regimes, but confront affluent autocratic alliances that act more like a business agglomeration – Autocracy, Inc. – than nation states,… Read more »
Xi’s first real test, as China’s ‘rights subconscious’ resurfaces
A nationwide surge of protest has sent a stunning sign that even after one decade under Xi’ Jinping’s autocratic rule, a small and mostly youthful part of the population dares… Read more »
A long-haul strategy to help Ukraine win
The United States needs to make explicit that it supports Ukrainian victory and Russian defeat in terms of the Kremlin’s strategic goal of destroying the Ukrainian nation and Ukrainian identity,… Read more »
Long odds facing China’s dramatic dissenters
Protests against Covid lockdowns have rippled across China, among the most widespread there in decades. Some Chinese people, many of them young, are fed up with the government’s lockdowns, mandatory… Read more »