Category: Civic space

‘Dynamism Despite Disruption’: Will pandemic undercut or rejuvenate civil society

     

In many countries, restrictive laws already had been squeezing civil society before the Covid-19 crisis hit. The pandemic provides a convenient cover for governments to further tilt the balance of power… Read more »

You don’t defeat the virus by bleeding democracy

     

The Covid-19 pandemic is unlikely to alleviate demands for more democratic governance, respect for human rights, equality, an end to austerity, and meaningful steps to combat climate change and corruption,… Read more »

Autocratization poses challenge for democracy assistance strategies

     

Illiberals are neither fully committed to civil liberties – such as freedom of expression, assembly and association – and the rule of law, nor totally devoted to the institutions that… Read more »

Democratic resilience – new directions for civil society support

     

The acquittal of civil society activist Osman Kavala followed by his absurd rearrest shows the abysmal state of rule of law and democracy in Turkey, notes analyst Marc Pierini. The… Read more »

Tracking conditions for citizen action in democratic transitions

     

While Tunisians remain committed to democracy, they are feeling the painful lack of economic and political progress, argues analyst Jake Walles. Tunisians generally describe the essential objectives of the 2011… Read more »

What’s behind Latin America’s rebellion against the elites?

     

  The generational shift is profound and fundamental to understanding what is happening in Latin America (and around the world), argues Michael Shifter, the president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a… Read more »

Roads to Modernity: Democratizing moral revolution

     

While political scientists tend to focus on institutional reforms as a route to democratic renewal, there are also more old-fashioned ways to boost civic fabric, The FT’s Gillian Tett argues…. Read more »

Self-regulating democracy – declared moribund, may be more resilient

     

Democracy, repeatedly declared moribund by schadenfreudian pundits, may be more resilient than some acknow­ledge, notes Steven Pinker, the Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and the author of 10… Read more »