Consensus grows on North Korea’s human rights-security nexus
Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov once said, a “country which does not respect the rights of its own citizens will not respect the rights of its neighbors,” note Victor Cha… Read more »
Author Archives: DemDigest
Russia’s persecuted opposition continues struggle for human rights
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s high popularity rating masks the actual “fragility” of his hold on power, said Paula Dobriansky, who served as U.S. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and… Read more »
Democracy That Delivers
Programs to counter violent extremism and building the economic institutions of democracy in North Africa are just two of the topics featured on a new podcast launched by the Center… Read more »
Russia’s current conflicts reopen battles over past
Secrets were forbidden in camp Perm-36. Guards searched everywhere for them, even in prisoners’ eyes, ears and teeth, notes analyst Francesca Ebel. Ukrainian poet Vasyl Stus, imprisoned in the Soviet… Read more »
Iran’s election wasn’t about moderation or democracy
The elections in Iran confirm that the Syrian crisis has taught Iranians who are otherwise eager for change a few lessons, Harvard University researcher Amir Mahdavi writes for The Washington… Read more »
Labor unrest surges in China
China’s ruling Communist Party is facing an upsurge in labor militancy and social unrest, notes China Digital Times: Amid an economic downturn and a plan to streamline the state-owned sector, the Chinese… Read more »
Russian NGO sues state TV over espionage claims
A Russian environmental NGO targeted by Moscow’s foreign agent law and dogged by treason charges against its leader, is pushing a slander suit again a state broadcaster for saying it… Read more »
Azar Nafisi – finding her roots
Azar Nafisi is best known as the author of the national bestseller “Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books,” which electrified its readers with a compassionate and often harrowing… Read more »
US envoy condemns Cuba rights record: Obama playing a long game
Deputy US Secretary of State Antony Blinken today condemned a surge in arrests of activists in Cuba, three weeks before President Barack Obama’s historic trip to the Communist-ruled island: Addressing… Read more »
Russians not fundamentally illiberal – unlike Putin
Contrary to some analysts’ suggestions that Russian culture and history have fostered a predisposition towards authoritarian rule, new research suggests otherwise. The evidence emerging from a cross-country comparison of attitudes… Read more »