Category: Authoritarianism

China’s ‘new Comintern’ struggles for minds and influence

     

The job of the International Department of China’s ruling Communist Party is to win support among foreign political parties by cultivating what’s been called a “new Comintern,” the Economist observes…. Read more »

China launches ‘gray-zone’ warfare to subdue Taiwan: CCP ‘reaping the whirlwind’ from too-sharp power

     

Months after eliminating a popular challenge to its rule in Hong Kong, China is turning to an even higher-stakes target: self-governing Taiwan. The island has been bracing for conflict with… Read more »

Covid-19 pandemic highlights democratic deficits (and resilience)

     

More than six in 10 countries around the world have adopted measures during the Covid-19 pandemic that threaten democracy or human rights, a report by the Stockholm-based democracy institute International… Read more »

How ‘summit for democracy’ can rally allies against autocracies

     

The U.S.-led countries of the trans-Atlantic alliance and their democratic East Asian allies lack a strategy for dealing with their most formidable competitor: China. But the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)… Read more »

Democracy in post-pandemic Latin America: Enhanced vulnerabilities

     

Latin American democracy was already vulnerable before the pandemic due to crises of trust, legitimacy and representation, corruption, and the overall mixed results of the political system for citizens, according… Read more »

Arab Spring revisited: Did the West ‘miss a date with history’?

     

Ten years ago, as protests flared across the Arab world, Western governments failed to meet a date with destiny and help nurture dreams of democracy, missing an unprecedented chance to… Read more »

Venezuela’s opposition needs ‘to rethink alternatives’ after election charade

     

This week, Venezuelans are being asked to go to the polls not once but twice, in two bizarrely conflicting electoral events. On Monday, December 7, the government of embattled president Nicolas Maduro… Read more »

Coronavirus a ‘catalyst for global civil society’?

     

The coronavirus pandemic has had a profound impact not only on government policies but also on societies, says a leading analyst. The crisis has played out at the public authority… Read more »