Covid vs. Democracy: How pandemic impacts the West
The pandemic has had two dramatic effects in the West, reports suggest: It has spotlighted shortcomings in Western democracies, where death rates have been far higher than in many Asian… Read more »
Category: Analysis
A lesson in pandemic democracy?
What if the coronavirus pandemic delayed an election and no one cared? Bloomberg’s David Fickling asks. That’s pretty much what’s happening in New Zealand, where Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appears… Read more »
No reason to lose faith in advancing democracy as core element of foreign policy
Even if 2020 marks a low point of U.S. democratic practice, supporting liberalism abroad must remain a vital element of U.S. foreign policy, says a leading observer. In a world already… Read more »
Africa policy ‘needs a reset’: What do Africans think?
In the runup to Guinea’s elections on Oct. 18, voters are grappling with a familiar-sounding problem: disinformation and a lack of transparency over who’s providing the news they’re getting, Bloomberg… Read more »
Democratic déjà vu: Kyrgyzstan ‘developing immunity to authoritarianism’?
Kyrgyzstan’s President Sooronbay Jeenbekov announced Tuesday that he plans to ask Parliament for a new vote on their prime minister nominee, Reuters reports [HT: Cipher Brief]: The move could be… Read more »
EU sanctions Russia for Navalny poisoning, Belarus leader for crackdown
The European Union agreed Monday to impose targeted sanctions against Russian officials and entities allegedly involved in the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny but officials insisted the move should… Read more »
Post-Pandemic World? ‘China’s Narrative Power Play’
Supposing that the world order can be placed somewhere in the spectrum between constitutionalized and authoritarian, China’s narrative power-play during the Covid outbreak might have moved the post-pandemic order closer… Read more »
Democracies disadvantaged in sharp power competition
The international reputation of the United States, the world’s worst-hit country, has suffered over its handling of the covid-19 pandemic — but China, its main geostrategic rival, has struggled to… Read more »
Freedoms at Risk: El Salvador ’embarking on same path as Venezuela’
El Salvador is embarking on the same path as Venezuela, and President Nayib Bukele is using democracy “to dismantle it,” a Washington forum heard yesterday. “El Salvador is closely connected… Read more »
Largest Arab opinion poll finds ‘huge appetite’ for democracy
A significant majority of Arab citizens favor a democratic political system, with 76% in favor and only 17% opposed, according to the largest opinion poll of its kind released by… Read more »