Category: Democracy Assistance and Promotion

Russian activist sues on 5th anniversary of Nemtsov assassination

     

Three years ago, in February 2017, Vladimir Kara-Murza was rushed to a Moscow hospital, where he suffered massive organ failure, forcing doctors to place the Russian democracy activist on a… Read more »

Bolivia in transition?

     

Defying Bolivia’s constitution and a binding referendum forbidding reelection, former President Evo Morales ran for a fourth consecutive term in October 2019. Documented fraud sparked nationwide protests that eventually led… Read more »

Can democracy survive in the coming age of AI?

     

Given all the data that can be gathered by smartphones and sensors, with more to come, the Economist asks in a recent issue whether artificial-intelligence systems could one day “replace the autonomous… Read more »

China launches counteroffensive in the war of ideas

     

For China’s one party-state, the West’s promotion of liberal democracy is part of an ideological struggle led by an adversary that is still vastly superior, a situation that Chinese strategists… Read more »

Liberalism or illiberalism vs. democracy?

     

Following four-plus years of assault by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, the embattled Polish judiciary may be on its last legs. On 4 February, amid mass domestic and international… Read more »

R.I.P. Vietnamese dissident Nobel Prize nominee Thich Quang Do

     

Thich Quang Do, a dissident Buddhist monk who has effectively been under house arrest since 2003 and was nominated multiple times for the Nobel Peace Prize, has died. Head of… Read more »

Iran’s regime ‘facing fundamental test of legitimacy’

     

Iranians voted for a new parliament Friday, with turnout seen as a key measure of support for Iran’s leadership as sanctions weigh on the economy and U.S. pressure isolates the… Read more »

How to defeat populism

     

Established democracies should draw lessons from the struggles of liberals fighting the good fight in younger and less stable democracies, says Stanford University political scientist Larry Diamond. Defeating populism requires… 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 »

‘Persuade or Perish’: How to slow democratic recession

     

A new strategic framework provides a lens to understand the strategic logic of antidemocratic malign influence, how their actions may inadvertently contribute to its intents and effects, and provide them… Read more »