The public sphere’s new enemies
All around the world, it seems, the walls are closing in on the space that people need to assemble, associate, express themselves freely, and register dissent, notes Chris Stone, president… Read more »
Category: Democratic institutions
Requiem for the Arab Spring
Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution shook the Middle East, setting off the hopeful uprisings that came to be known as the Arab Spring, AFP reports: But five years later, the countries… Read more »
What’s next for Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution?
Tunisia’s main Islamist party, Ennahda, re-emerged as the dominant faction in Parliament on Monday as mass resignations from President Béji Caïd Essebsi’s secular party continued, largely to protest his… Read more »
Ukraine: the good, the bad, the irreversible
Ordinary Ukrainians, Euromaidan activists and military veterans are despondent at the complete lack of progress in the fight against high-level corruption and the dominance of Ukraine’s oligarchs, says a… Read more »
West losing battle over ‘Putinization’ of Europe?
European Union officials are seeking to calm an escalating fight with Poland after its new government made moves some of its partners fear will lead to tighter political control over… Read more »
China: ‘unprecedented’ crackdown on organized labor
Authorities have arrested four labor activists who were helping campaign for workers’ legal rights, Reuters reports. The number of known strikes in China surged to a record 2,774 in 2015–double… Read more »
South Africa faces toughest test since transition
South Africa faces what some believe is its toughest economic period since it made the transition to democracy in 1994, The Financial Times reports: Some of mineral-rich South Africa’s woes… Read more »
Down the Rabbit Hole: the UNHRC’s Universal Review Process
As part of a National Endowment for Democracy project addressing the voting records and activities of the United Nations Human Right Council (UNHRC), Chris Sabatini and Amy Williams examine the recommendations… Read more »
Pillars of Poland’s democracy under threat
Poland, the pivotal power in post-communist central Europe, is in danger of being reduced by its recently elected ruling party to an illiberal democracy, argues Timothy Garton Ash. Basic pillars… Read more »
Morocco’s changing civil society
Moroccan activists formerly associated with the February 20 Movement are redirecting their focus to cultural activities away from overtly political demands, Dörthe Engelcke writes for Carnegie’s Sada Journal. On December… Read more »