Building democratic alternatives to extremism in Algeria
Algerian law requires the next parliament to be made up of 30 percent women — but political parties across the spectrum have struggled to come up with enough female candidates… Read more »
Category: Analysis
Advancing democracy at the root of American ‘exceptionalism’
The classic liberal internationalist vision of a global Pax Democratica lies at the root of American “exceptionalism,” according to Tony Smith, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Tufts University, and… Read more »
How central Europe’s high hopes gave way to creeping authoritarianism
The central European states were the vanguards of communism’s collapse in the late 1980s, prompting a sense of inevitability about democracy’s benign coming, reinforced by the diverse figures who stepped… Read more »
Why Russia is ignoring first flirtation with liberalism
Russia’s February Revolution is one of history’s great “What if” moments, says the University of Queensland’s John Quiggin. If this revolution — which actually took place in early March 1917… Read more »
Electoral espionage is ‘political warfare’
Russia “is up to all sorts of no good,” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said today, two days after announcing a plan to visit Moscow. “They are, I’m afraid, engaged… Read more »
Ukraine democratic transition ‘being driven from bottom-up’
Ukraine is set to launch its case against Russia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, seeking an order to halt Moscow’s support for pro-Russia separatists in… Read more »
Facing a two-front war of ideas
America is currently engaged in an epic war of ideas in which the country’s very way of life is at stake. The struggle is reminiscent of earlier clashes against ideologies… Read more »
Autocrats excel at anti-democratic propaganda
In contrast to inward-leaning democracies, which have an “End of History” sense of complacency, today’s autocrats are vibrant internationalists in the ideas sphere, notes Christopher Walker, vice president for studies… Read more »
Eastern Europe’s populists emboldened in limiting ‘foreign’ NGOs
Populist leaders across Central and Eastern Europe are mounting simultaneous crackdowns on nongovernmental organizations that promote open government, aid refugees and often serve as checks on authoritarian governments, The New… Read more »
‘Revolutionary situation unfolding’ in Belarus
A tax on “social parasites” is stirring up public angst in Belarus, according to reports. A classic revolutionary situation may be unfolding in Europe’s last dictatorship, notes analyst Leon Aron:… Read more »