Venezuela crisis prompts austerity in Cuba: three sad scenarios
Cuba is seeing a surge in tourism, helped in part by the arrival of Americans. But it is suffering economically, in part because of its reliance on fuel from Venezuela,… Read more »
Category: Dictatorships
Time to act on Azerbaijan
Earlier this year, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan looked like he was softening his authoritarian grip on his country, note David J. Kramer and Richard Kauzlarich. But since President Obama’s… Read more »
Gay Cuban journalist dismissed, as Farinas hunger strike continues
A gay Cuban journalist and activist says he was fired from a government-run radio station because he worked with independent media, The Washington Blade reports: Maykel González Vivero (left) hosted… Read more »
‘Rebalancing’ to Asia falters in Laos?
Neither ‘Asian values’ nor any other form of regional exceptionalism can be invoked to justify authoritarian rule, President Barack Obama said in Laos today. “[D]emocracy can flourish in Asia because… Read more »
Cuba censoring text messages with words like ‘democracy’
Cuban dissidents said Monday that Raúl Castro’s communist government is censoring mobile text messages that contain certain words, including “democracy” and “human rights,” Reuters reports: Text messages that included… Read more »
North Korea will change only when it fears regime survival
North Korea will change its course only when international pressure could work in a way to make Pyongyang concerned about the very existence of its regime, a former U.S. diplomat… Read more »
China warns ‘localists’ against reshaping Hong Kong’s political landscape
China has warned that anyone advocating Hong Kong’s independence could be punished, the BBC reports: The stern message came after young pro-democracy activists won seats on Hong Kong’s Legislative Council… Read more »
Dictator’s playbook is Karimov’s legacy
Uzbekistan’s authoritarian president, Islam Karimov, leaves a legacy of political and religious repression, Human Rights Watch said today. His death provides a moment for concerned governments to press for concrete… Read more »
Opaque Uzbekistan confronts transition anxieties
Whether Islam Karimov, who has ruled Uzbekistan with astounding brutality for the past 27 years, is dead or alive, his era is almost certainly drawing to a close. Two questions… Read more »
China’s Civil Society Crackdown Risks Mass Unrest, Says UN
The UN’s top expert on extreme poverty and human rights has complained of having his access restricted in China as he criticized Beijing for overseeing a “drastically shrinking space” for… Read more »