Category: Civil Society

Crowdfunding: just one option to save independent journalism

     

The media crackdown in Turkey is a major story that should make us appreciate the countless unsung reporters and editors worldwide who struggle every day to practice good journalism, no… Read more »

China to Strengthen Communist Party’s Role in NGOs

     

China has issued new rules demanding the establishment of Communist Party panels in non-government bodies, aiming to beef up the ruling party’s role in such social groups, amid a broad… Read more »

Survey raises concerns about Turkey’s democratic status

     

  European leaders have become increasingly uncomfortable with what they see as authoritarian tactics of the Turkish government, particularly since last month’s bungled military coup, Bloomberg reports. Focus groups convened… Read more »

Putin bans 25th anniversary tribute to Soviet coup’s defeat

     

Russia has banned a 25th-­anniversary tribute to the thousands who helped defeat an attempted coup by communist hardliners trying to topple Mikhail Gorbachev, The Times reports: Critics said the order… Read more »

Venezuela ‘on the brink’

     

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro reportedly spent more US $400,000 in less than a week while celebrating the 90th birthday of Fidel Castro, the former leader of Cuba, PanAm Post reports: According… Read more »

How the internet can impede democratization

     

The internet is an intuitive boon for democracy, according to Elizabeth Stoycheff, Assistant professor at Wayne State University, and Erik C. Nisbet, Associate professor at Ohio State University. It provides… Read more »

HK’s Umbrella Movement Fights Back

     

The run-up to the Sept. 4 election for Legislative Council is getting tense, and the governments of both Hong Kong and Beijing are watching with keen interest, notes analyst Lian… Read more »

Suvash Darnal – ‘consummate democracy activist’

     

It was because Suvash Darnal (right) combined so flawlessly several key attributes that he can be considered to have been a consummate democracy activist, writes Carl Gershman, the President of… Read more »

The Week Democracy Died?

     

Across the affluent, established democracies of North America and Western Europe, the last years have witnessed a meteoric rise of figures who harness a new level of anger that is… Read more »