‘Darkness Before Dawn’ – China’s rights activists
A prominent Uighur scholar who is serving a life sentence for separatism in a Chinese prison was named on Wednesday as a finalist for a prestigious human rights award… Read more »
Author Archives: DemDigest
Strengthening the Liberal World Order
The liberal world order that was created in the aftermath of World War II has produced immense benefits for peoples across the planet, says a new analysis from the World… Read more »
Funding Mideast democracy in the face of authoritarian pushback
The U.S. Congress has taken note of the dexterity and flexibility of non-governmental democracy assistance groups in responding to the more challenging environment in the Middle East, says a report… Read more »
Serbia’s elections: what about democratic values?
The victory of Prime Minster Aleksandar Vucic’s Progressive Party in Serbia’s election enables the government to continue with its proposed reform and fiscal consolidation agenda, Fitch Ratings says. But the… Read more »
Evidence-based research boosts human rights work
The application of scientific methods, research, and evidence are contributing to the documentation efforts of human rights movements, according to a recent meeting of the American Association for the Advancement… Read more »
Mapping Pakistan’s Internal Dynamics
Pakistan poses one of the world’s most significant and vexing geopolitical challenges, as its geographic position at the nexus of the Middle East and Asia, nuclear stockpile, and domestic extremist… Read more »
Non-state actors aggravate government crackdowns on civil society
Armed non-state actors, criminal elements and violent extremists—not just governments—are responsible for the increasing crackdown on civil society, notes Shannon N. Green, director and senior fellow of the Human Rights… Read more »
New China law a recognition of NGO power?
China is moving closer this week to a new law that would strictly control thousands of foreign nongovernmental organizations in the country, The New York Times reports: Foreign governments and… Read more »
Putin experiencing ‘the impotence of omnipotence’
Many of the apparent contradictions in Russia today can be explained by the fact that Vladimir Putin and his regime have entered what political scientist Guilliermo O’Donnell called “the impotence of… Read more »
Uighur case highlights most sustained crackdown since Tiananmen
Patriotic chest-thumping over the weekend in India gave way to embarrassment and bitterness as the government made a very public U-turn on issuing a visa to Uighur dissident Dolkun Isa, The Washington… Read more »