Search Results for: authoritarianism

‘Reasons for Hope’? Illiberal wave vs. democratic resilience

     

The illiberal wave in Poland and Hungary, in addition to the corruption in Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, and Slovakia can be easily used as excuses against further EU enlargement, notes Carnegie’s Judy Dempsey…. Read more »

Explaining the global protest wave

     

Sixty-three people died over the weekend in a crackdown by security forces against ongoing anti-government protests [HT: CFR], according to the semi-official Iraq High Commission for Human Rights. Iraq is… Read more »

The Soviet Collapse and the Charm of Hindsight: Misplaced optimism for Russian democracy?

     

On leaving Moscow in May 1992, I wrote: “I do not think it is an act of mindless optimism to look forward to a future in which Russia has developed… Read more »

Armenia’s authentic democratic breakthrough faces central dilemma

     

Nikol Pashinyan’s government, which came to power as a result of Armenia’s Velvet Revolution, has the best chance in the state’s newly independent history of bringing about a sustainable democratic… Read more »

The protests in Lebanon and Iraq are really about…..

     

In both Iraq and Lebanon’s unfolding protests, people’s demands for accountable governance, economic relief and an end to corruption stand at odds with identity-based sectarian solidarity, argues Bassel F. Salloukh,… Read more »

The payback playbook: A strategic plan to fight democratic backsliding

     

Democracy is facing major challenges, yet suggestions of a global crisis of widespread or systemic backsliding are not warranted, according to data from the largest democracy database ever compiled. The… Read more »

Post Wall, Post Square: 1989 – The Light that Failed?

     

Like 1776, 1789 and 1917, the year 1989 was one of those rare moments that mark a decisive turning point in human history. So, at least, it seemed at the… Read more »

Fukuyama vs. Navalny: Fighting fear in Russia

     

Last week, Warsaw hosted the fourth Boris Nemtsov Forum, welcoming dozens of prominent experts, journalists, and activists to discuss “fighting fear in Russia and beyond,” Meduza reports. On October 9,… Read more »

Why history isn’t moving inexorably in the direction of democracy

     

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it seemed that history was moving inexorably in the direction of democracy and free markets—that we’d reached the “end of history” and could… Read more »

‘Beyond Populism’: A way out of the quagmire?

     

Much has been made of the seemingly inevitable rise of authoritarian politics in Europe, but the true picture in Europe today is far more complex than what such generalizations allow,… Read more »