Category: Europe

Hungary’s ‘political vandalism’ threatens CEU, civil society

     

Hungary said it will not withdraw new legislation to regulate foreign universities that a Budapest college founded by American financier and philanthropist George Soros says could force it out of… Read more »

West ‘ignoring Putin’s actions’ – must engage Russia’s democracy movements

     

The U.S. should remain engaged with Russia’s pro-democracy movement, says a leading opposition activist. It is important to maintain pressure on the Russian authorities and President Vladimir Putin and take… Read more »

Belarus on the boil: What happens next?

     

Belarus authorities have arrested dozens in the wake of demonstrations protesting a law against “social parasites,” RFE/RL reports. The 2015 law took effect earlier this year, sparking protests that have broadened into… Read more »

Civil society the target in Hungary’s attack on Soros-funded university

     

Students and staff at the Central European University (CEU) in Hungary are protesting against what they say are government plans to close it down, the BBC reports: The university says… Read more »

Why Europe’s last dictator’s crackdown will only further radicalize Belarusians

     

A rare and large-scale protest took place in Belarus on Saturday, when hundreds took to the streets to protest a tax — the so-called “tax on parasites” — against the under-employed,… Read more »

Why Europe’s ‘last dictator’ is allowing Belarus protests

     

Where the Soviet system was rigid, today’s autocrats are flexible and pragmatic, writes Freedom House analyst Arch Puddington: Where the older generation of communists were bureaucratic and slothful, today’s dictators… Read more »

How political populism has taken root

     

Populism and political extremism has been on the rise for years, especially in Europe, with both left and right wing authoritarians gaining in popularity, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank…. Read more »

Global Civic Activism in Flux

     

For civic activism, it appears to be both the best and worst of times, argues analyst Richard Youngs. The positive dynamics of empowerment and the negative trend of constraints on… Read more »

Soft power not enough in the Balkans

     

The 21st century in the Balkans is starting to look dangerously like the 19th — with one important difference. In the 19th century, Russia and Turkey were big rivals in… Read more »