The United Nations’ human rights chief has warned of the “dark clouds” of political extremism and intolerance that are building over Indonesia. Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein has highlighted the blasphemy laws… Read more »
Only a third of Americans now trust their government “to do what is right”—a decline of 14 percentage points from last year, according to a new report by the communications marketing… Read more »
With democracy on the defensive, America is missing in action, argues Brookings analyst William Galston. The latest Freedom House survey of global freedom (see below) notes “the accelerating withdrawal of… Read more »
Democracy promotion has become associated with some of America’s greatest foreign policy failures of the 21st century, and it is increasingly seen as an unaffordable luxury in a dangerous world,… Read more »
Nine Hong Kong democracy activists have been banned from contesting seats in China’s legislature, the South China Morning Post reports. Elections to choose deputies to the National People’s Congress now… Read more »
The Kremlin-backed Russian Internet Research Agency operated dozens of Twitter accounts masquerading as local American news sources that collectively garnered more than half-a-million followers, Bloomberg’s Selina Wang reports: More than 100… Read more »
What is the state of democracy around the world? asks Mélida Jiménez, a program officer in International IDEA’s Democracy Assessment, Analysis and Advisory unit. Many observers have been sounding alarms… Read more »
Around 1,000 Indonesians, led by hardline Islamist groups, protested outside parliament on Tuesday as lawmakers approved a presidential decree banning civil organizations deemed to go against the country’s secular… Read more »
To enhance its economic and political clout, China has made substantial inroads across Southeast Asia on the back of multi-billion-dollar infrastructure and investment deals, notes analyst Philip Heijmans. This… Read more »
Liberal democracies confront a range of domestic and international challenges. In Europe, the most serious threats come from a blend of ideological and institutional inertia in the face of a… Read more »
