Category: Analysis

Georgia’s free and fair elections confirm political polarization

     

Georgia’s parliamentary elections were free, fair, competitive and overall confirmed existing trends, most observers attest. The results nevertheless confirmed continued polarization of the political space between the two dominant political… Read more »

Illiberalism and authoritarianism can be successfully challenged

     

Illiberalism and authoritarianism in central and eastern Europe can be successfully challenged, according to Tom Junes, a member of the Human and Social Studies Foundation and a visiting fellow at… Read more »

Ukraine about to enter a ‘more difficult and dangerous phase’

     

What is happening in Ukraine shows that if there is sufficient courage and strength in numbers, people power can make a difference, says Carnegie analyst Judy Dempsey. The sheer pressure… Read more »

ISIS propaganda output drops under military pressure

     

The vaunted propaganda operations of the Islamic State, which helped lure more than 30,000 foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq, have dropped off drastically as the extremist group has come… Read more »

Are Eastern Europe’s new illiberal democracies sustainable?

     

Hungary’s largest daily newspaper was unexpectedly shut down on Saturday (8 October), fueling concerns over a government crackdown on critical media. Nepszabadsag’s print and online editions were abruptly shut on… Read more »

Georgia elections: polarized but ‘pluralistic, competitive and well-run’

     

The ruling Georgian Dream party won a decisive victory in weekend elections, Transitions Online reports: Georgian Dream captured about 48.6 percent of the vote, and the opposition UNM a distant second… Read more »

Morocco election highlights political polarization, maintains constitutional smokescreen

     

  Morocco‘s moderate Islamists have won parliamentary elections, beating a rival party critics say is too close to the royal palace in a tight race that will complicate negotiations to… Read more »

Regime ramps up repression as Russia ponders return to Cuba

     

The Russian military is considering the possibility of regaining its Soviet-era bases on Cuba and in Vietnam, the Defense Ministry said Friday, a statement that comes amid growing U.S.-Russia tensions… Read more »

Does populism’s rise mean liberalism’s end?

     

Liberal democracy may be facing dark times, as a conference at the National Endowment (left and below) this week suggested. But this is not the first time the Liberal Story… Read more »

How social media undermines democratic transitions

     

Egypt’s 2011 uprising has become synonymous with the successful use of social media to overthrow an entrenched authoritarian regime, note analysts Sean Aday, Deen Freelon and Marc Lynch. Popular and… Read more »