Category: Analysis

Democracy ‘still the most effective form of government ever devised’

     

U.S. President Barack Obama warned today against a rise in nationalism and populism – from both Left and Right – noting that a backlash against globalization had stoked illiberal movements…. Read more »

The Islamic State: Between Aspirations and Reality

     

“Democracy is stronger than organizations like ISIS,” U.S. President Barack Obama said today, using one of the names for Islamic State. Democracy is why the United States welcomes “people of… Read more »

Advancing democracy plays key role in more competitive ideological environment

     

The world ideological climate is now more contested. After being in retreat for decades, authoritarian regimes are increasingly pushing back against liberalizing currents, as the 2008 global financial crisis and… Read more »

Facing up to authoritarian influence-peddling

     

For 25 years, open societies saw themselves as the uncontested winners and expected that the remaining autocracies, with the help of western pro-democracy actors, would be relegated to the dustbin… Read more »

Countering extremism while maintaining democracy

     

Democracies increasingly face a conundrum: how to counter violent extremism while maintaining democratic institutions and civil liberties, analysts suggest. Violent extremism is one of the principal challenges that emanate from… Read more »

Pro-Russian candidates win elections in Bulgaria and Moldova

     

Voters in Bulgaria and Moldova elected pro-Russian populist presidents on the weekend, adding to mounting concern about Western unity,The Daily Telegraph reports. Bulgarian Socialist ally Rumen Radev, a Russia-friendly newcomer… Read more »

Libya: time for a reset?

     

Libya may descend into a “free-fall” if the peace process among its myriad of political actors is not “reset”, a new report warns. An accord between rival factions reached last… Read more »

Defending democracy a Sisyphean task

     

History does not follow a teleological path. There is no straight road towards freedom, notes David Motadel, an Assistant Professor of International History at the London School of Economics. Throughout… Read more »

How populism can strengthen democracy, not imperil it

     

Populism has long been a contested and ambiguous concept, notes Michael Kazin, who teaches history at Georgetown University: Scholars debate whether it is a creed, a style, a political strategy,… Read more »