DRC ‘at a precipice’
Pro-democracy activists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Lutte pour Le Changement (Lucha) movement have called for nationwide protests to demand that President Joseph Kabila steps down from power… Read more »
Category: Civil Society
Fragile states need strategic, systemic, selective, and sustained response
Fragile states may seem like a distant and abstract concern, but they are not, according to William J. Burns, Michèle A. Flournoy, and Nancy E. Lindborg. They are at… Read more »
Repressing civil society a recipe for failure, autocrats told
Autocratic regimes which repress civil society and curb human rights are “pursuing policies that will almost certainly fail,” according to Tom Malinowski, Assistant Secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of… Read more »
EU slams Egypt’s asset freeze on activists
The European Union External Action Service, the EU’s diplomatic arm, has criticized the Egyptian government’s decision to freeze the assets of leading civil society activists. “The increased pressure on independent… Read more »
Jordan election a ‘small step toward democratic reform’
Jordan‘s parliament election on Tuesday is being touted as proof that the pro-Western monarchy is moving forward with democratic reforms despite regional turmoil and security threats, AP’s Karin Laub writes:… Read more »
Civil Society in Eastern Europe and Eurasia: Thriving, or Just Surviving?
Is the trend to restrict civil society, visible in Russia and neighboring countries, getting worse? In some of the countries of the former communist world, it has become more difficult… Read more »
Ukraine: ‘democracy is not a free gift’
Following Ukraine’s Orange Revolution in 2004/ 2005 and the Euromaidan demonstrations that began in November 2013, Ukraine’s path towards democracy and European integration finally appeared to be a smooth… Read more »
Election chief stakes career on Russia’s poll
Russia’s new election chief, whose notorious predecessor oversaw massive election fraud, on Thursday pledged to resign if there are widespread voting violations in the upcoming parliamentary vote, AP reports: Vote-rigging… Read more »
Hopes for advancing democracy, liberal values confront harsh facts
These are tough days for enthusiasts of the world’s steady march of democracy, David Sanger writes for The New York Times: A wave of nationalism — led by calls to… Read more »
After 25 years, can Ukraine turn the corner?
The International Monetary Fund is today widely expected to approve a disbursement of least $1bn for war-torn Ukraine that was delayed for a year amid a domestic political crisis and… Read more »