Category: Democracy Assistance and Promotion

Despotic Data: Autocrats winning online fight of open vs. closed societies?

     

A critical differentiator between traditional media and social media is how ‘targetcasting‘ is available only to a specific audience. Such secret targeting tears at the fabric of democracy, says Tom Wheeler, a… Read more »

Arab democrats need ‘realistic pathways for change’

     

As a fresh wave of protests generates speculation about an Arab Spring 2.0, the challenge for MENA democrats is to move beyond calls for regime change and focus on building… Read more »

Shining light on ‘an existential moment’ for Asian democracies

     

Asian democracy is facing a “dystopian future” as scaling back in U.S. engagement and leadership is empowering forces that undermine democratic norms and processes. The warning came as Asian democracy… Read more »

Defending Democracy: Lessons for renewal?

     

In the face of democratic erosion and decay, do other countries’ experiences offer lessons on securing a route to democratic renewal? Defending Democracy: Lessons from Around the World is a… Read more »

How to Make Democracies Resilient

     

  The spread of illiberal and autocratic tendencies challenges Europe’s democracies, the V-Dem Institute observes. While in some European countries democratic institutions are already eroding, illiberal political parties are on… Read more »

Baltic Road to Freedom: Rhetoric vs. realpolitik

     

As Soviet communism following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the experience of Baltic “freedom fighters” like Vytautas Landsbergis of Lithuania and Lennart Meri of Estonia demonstrated the  “almost unbridgeable… Read more »

Iraqi freedom vs. Iranian domination – or failed state?

     

For more than a month, Iraq’s protesters have withstood bullets and stun grenades, tear gas and water cannons, as they chanted, danced and called for the ouster of the entire… Read more »

Communism’s Shadow: How post-1989 liberal dream became illiberal nightmare

     

Central and Eastern Europe’s transition to democracy has not been smooth. But there are grounds for hope, notes Alison Smale. What would Vaclav Havel have made of post-1989 developments? she asked… Read more »

Countering Truth Decay: Digital tech leaves democracy in ‘permanent flux’

     

Hillary Clinton says she’s “dumbfounded” that the U.K. government has failed to release a report on Russian influence in British politics before the country holds a national election next month…. Read more »

How to reverse global drift toward authoritarianism

     

Autocrats and populists are on the march around the world, including in European countries that were seen until recently as firmly in the democratic camp. The phenomenon, coupled with the… Read more »