New research may suggest that Beijing has had a limited return on its investment in promoting its soft power and that pluralist democracies have an advantage in the field…. Read more »
……..Serge Schmemann asks in The New York Times: Countries rarely embrace democracy as their first choice; they have often tried monarchies, oligarchies or other forms of coercive government first. They… Read more »
Human Rights Watch says in a new report Tuesday that China has tried to intimidate, blacklist and squelch the voices of rights advocates who operate within the U.N. system,… Read more »
The crisis and ‘democratic deconsolidation’ in Venezuela is a glaring demonstration of the value and necessity of democracy promotion as a foreign policy objective, according to The Washington Post’s Jennifer… Read more »
First, there was a media report hinting at shadowy links between foreign-funded charities and terrorism in Kazakhstan. Then, the taxman came knocking, notes analyst Joanna Lillis. The tax inspections served as… Read more »
While illiberal democracy is certainly worrying, many of its critics fundamentally misunderstand how democracy’s historical relationship with liberalism and how democracy has traditionally developed, notes Sheri Berman, a professor of… Read more »
Modern authoritarianism has succeeded, where previous totalitarian systems failed, due to new strategies of repression, the exploitation of open societies, and the spread of illiberal policies in democratic countries… Read more »
“Principled Realism” is no more likely than realpolitik to check Tehran’s clerical regime where it matters most, in Syria, according to a leading analyst. Such an approach “appears ideologically… Read more »
Does a foreign policy of “principled realism” necessarily entail sidelining human rights concerns and offering few critiques of authoritarian leaders’ records on democracy, the rule of law and protecting essential… Read more »
Turkey’ s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected criticism by monitors who say the referendum campaign fell short of international standards, the BBC reports: The observers said Mr Erdogan had… Read more »