The public sphere’s new enemies
All around the world, it seems, the walls are closing in on the space that people need to assemble, associate, express themselves freely, and register dissent, notes Chris Stone, president… Read more »
Category: Authoritarianism
Exporting the Chinese Model?
As 2016 begins, an historic contest is underway, largely hidden from public view, over competing Chinese and Western strategies to promote economic growth, notes Francis Fukuyama, a senior fellow… Read more »
The authoritarian hijacking of soft power
A renewed struggle between democracy and authoritarianism has emerged, argues Christopher Walker, executive director of the International Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy. The decade-long democratic… Read more »
Requiem for the Arab Spring
Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution shook the Middle East, setting off the hopeful uprisings that came to be known as the Arab Spring, AFP reports: But five years later, the countries… Read more »
West losing battle over ‘Putinization’ of Europe?
European Union officials are seeking to calm an escalating fight with Poland after its new government made moves some of its partners fear will lead to tighter political control over… Read more »
China: ‘unprecedented’ crackdown on organized labor
Authorities have arrested four labor activists who were helping campaign for workers’ legal rights, Reuters reports. The number of known strikes in China surged to a record 2,774 in 2015–double… Read more »
Who’s next on Putin’s enemies list?
Say you are the president of a country plunged into economic crisis, failing policies and rampant corruption. What do you do to maintain public support without addressing these problems? asks… Read more »
Free and fair elections attract investment. Here’s why.
If developing countries want to be prosperous and attract international investment, they should hold free and fair elections, argues Mike Touchton, an assistant professor of political science at Boise… Read more »
Armenian opposition activist jailed
Armenia’s authorities should release a political activist who was arrested during a public gathering on January 1, 2016, and placed in pretrial detention, pending an impartial investigation into the charges… Read more »
Fates of 53 dissidents show difficulty of Cuba policy
The fates of 53 dissidents released as a result of Washington’s rapprochement with Havana show just how hard it will be for the U.S. to push human rights in Cuba… Read more »