A new breed of Cuban dissident
For most of his career as a Cuban dissident leader, through his 2003 arrest and seven years as a political prisoner, José Daniel Ferrer was repeatedly pressed by the Cuban government… Read more »
Category: Dictatorships
North Korea leads as global slavery hits 46 million
Almost 46 million people are living as slaves globally with the greatest number in India but the highest prevalence in North Korea, according to the third Global Slavery Index… Read more »
Setting a precedent? Habré trial a model for international justice
Former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré has been found guilty by a Dakar court of crimes against humanity, rape, and sexual slavery. Habré’s trial marked the first of an ex-leader by… Read more »
China’s future: Xi’s ‘great rejuvenation’ is radical and risky
“China is simply not turning out as many had expected and have worked so long and hard to realize — a liberal China,” notes David Shambaugh, a professor of political… Read more »
Azerbaijan court frees campaigning journalist Khadija Ismayilova
A top Azerbaijan investigative journalist, in jail since December 2014, has been freed on the order of the country’s supreme court, the BBC reports: Khadija Ismayilova‘s seven-and-a-half year sentence… Read more »
Obama chides Vietnam on political freedoms
U.S. President Barack Obama chided Vietnam on political freedoms on Tuesday after critics of the communist-run government were prevented from meeting him in Hanoi, a discordant note on a… Read more »
A Strategy for Democratic Renewal
Democracy is being challenged today as never before since the end of Cold War, notes Carl Gershman, President of the National Endowment for Democracy. Freedom House has recorded ten consecutive… Read more »
China’s five year plan – consolidating power, revitalizing ruling party
The strategy underpinning China’s 13th five-year plan – outlined in an impressive report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies – is about consolidation of power and party revitalization, notes Robert… Read more »
‘Fascistic’? Russia’s foreign policy in the Putin era
The worldview of Russia’s ruling elite can be understood within a “fascist framework” for geopolitics, argues Yale University historian Timothy Snyder, who asserts that fascism is a framework which is… Read more »
Cultural Revolution nightmare still disturbs Chinese democracy dream
The nightmare of the Cultural Revolution continues to disturb the dream of Chinese democracy, The Economist notes: The violence of the Cultural Revolution, and the many officials it claimed… Read more »