North Korea is the world’s most oppressive example of what former Soviet dissident, Natan Sharansky, called a “fear society,” according to Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy. … Read more »
Angola faces a choice between three likely scenarios, says Rafael Marques de Morais, a leading journalist and democracy advocate: a dysfunctional status quo, with the kleptocratic, nepotistic regime maintained by… Read more »
A survey by Afrobarometer shows that growing dissatisfaction with the country’s leadership and government performance has spilled over into frustration with democracy in general, writes analyst Boniface Dulani: Looked… Read more »
After years of being ruled by leaders in their 80s, the Gulf Arab states are getting younger rulers. These young leaders won’t necessarily gravitate to democratization, say RAND analysts Becca… Read more »
For 30 years, Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge fighter, has wielded power through a combination of threats, clever deal-making and sheer willpower. And for most of that… Read more »
Like many African leaders, Yoweri Museveni preached democracy even as he was seizing power through the barrel of a gun, writes FT analyst David Pilling: In his stirring inaugural speech… Read more »
A terrorist attack in Quetta, claimed by militants thought to be seeking inclusion in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as Isis or Daesh, has fueled… Read more »
Columbia University analyst Mariya Snegovaya points to ten reasons why Putinism may not be nearly as “sustainable” as many think, Paul Goble writes for The Interpreter: Protest attitudes are growing… Read more »
Venezuela’s recently-elected assembly has approved a pardon for political prisoners. The move is the latest in the country’s “transition from authoritarianism to democracy,” said opposition MUD coalition leader Jesus Torrealba…. Read more »
Why is the West not winning the war of words with ISIS and reclaiming the virtual landscape in which radical Islamists openly recruit? asks Jonathan Russell, head of policy… Read more »