Covid vs. Democracy: How pandemic impacts the West
The pandemic has had two dramatic effects in the West, reports suggest: It has spotlighted shortcomings in Western democracies, where death rates have been far higher than in many Asian… Read more »
Category: COVID-19
A lesson in pandemic democracy?
What if the coronavirus pandemic delayed an election and no one cared? Bloomberg’s David Fickling asks. That’s pretty much what’s happening in New Zealand, where Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appears… Read more »
Largest Arab opinion poll finds ‘huge appetite’ for democracy
A significant majority of Arab citizens favor a democratic political system, with 76% in favor and only 17% opposed, according to the largest opinion poll of its kind released by… Read more »
Covid vs. Democracy: Brazil’s Populist Playbook
Covid-19 has had unambiguously tragic human consequences in Brazil, which have been exacerbated by President Jair Bolsonaro’s “executive underreach” in failing to follow public-health guidance, notes Amy Erica Smith, Amy… Read more »
Turkey backsliding to ‘stunted democracy’
Serious backsliding in democratic standards, rule of law and fundamental freedoms continued in the absence of effective checks and balances, said the European Commission’s “2020 Report on Turkey,” published on… Read more »
Lessons for a post-pandemic world
Does the Covid pandemic illustrate the fragility of liberty in the advanced democracies or its resilience? The world that is being ushered in as a consequence of the covid-19 pandemic is… Read more »
Pandemic Backsliding: Covid-19 ‘infecting democracy itself’
Excessive use of emergency powers and limitations of media freedoms have raised concerns that Covid-19 is infecting democracy itself, a new analysis observes. How do government responses to Covid-19 violate… Read more »
Is Covid-19 a threat to democracy?
Yes, says Freedom House (above). “The authoritarians can act worse under the cover of the pandemic because the democracies are not united in effective, moral, concerted leadership,” adds Irwin Cotler, the… Read more »
‘Democracy Under Lockdown’: COVID19’s repression pandemic
The world’s democracies are showing signs of strain from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new Freedom House analysis. The report, titled Democracy Under Lockdown, says “the COVID-19 pandemic has… Read more »
A pandemic turning point for democracy & open government?
When it comes to pandemics, politics cannot be wished away, say analysts Sara E Davies and Clare Wenham. Even the most democratic country can stumble over political ideologies and nationalism… Read more »