Tag: Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD)

‘Beijing’s Mask Diplomacy’ rewriting the narrative

     

The implications of the Covid-19 pandemic are “potentially monumental” for China, but the ruling Communist Party’s leader, Xi Jinping has seized on the crisis as an opportunity in disguise. And… Read more »

A catalyst for change in Iran?

     

Families of some protesters detained during the November unrest in Iran have been denied any information about them and fear they are dead, others who have been released say they… Read more »

China’s ‘thuggish regime’ pushes conspiracy theories on Hong Kong protests

     

Pro-democracy unrest sweeping Hong Kong is threatening to tip the trading hub into recession for the first time since the global financial crisis a decade ago, as uncertainty grips an… Read more »

Post-Erdoganism? Istanbul election shows resilience of Turkey’s democracy

     

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is grappling with the fallout of the ruling party’s big defeat in the Istanbul mayoral election, and his government faces pressure to release political prisoners,… Read more »

‘Connectivity is the new geopolitics’: democracy at stake

     

Chinese tech giants Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent are rapidly improving their artificial intelligence, challenging current U.S. tech leaders like Google and Amazon, Fortune’s Jonathan Vanian writes: China’s so-called BAT companies, as New York University… Read more »

Losing legitimacy: Iran’s Islamic Republic ‘on brink of collapse’?

     

“Is the Islamic Republic on the brink of collapse?” was the title of a long interview published by the Iranian news agency Tasnim. To fully appreciate the true explosive power… Read more »

Russian efforts to subvert democracies demand counter info-ops campaign

     

  Vladimir Putin is committed to dividing and destroying the West’s democracies, according to a former confidante. From our conversations in 1992, I realized that Mr. Putin understood that it… Read more »

How Khomeini betrayed the democratic promise of the Iranian revolution

     

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini betrayed the principles of the Iranian revolution after sweeping to power in 1979, leaving a “very bitter” taste among some of those who had returned with him… Read more »

Iranian Repression: Architects of Human Rights Abuse in the Islamic Republic

     

“While representing political prisoners in the Soviet Union 45 years ago, I noted that ‘vacation time in the West is prison time in the Soviet Union,’ with the regime imprisoning… Read more »

Turkey’s election: cause for concern to every liberal democracy

     

With his victory in Sunday’s elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken his place among the world’s emerging class of strongman rulers, nailing down the sweeping powers he has insisted he… Read more »