Populists and authoritarians are ‘taking over the global economy’
Populists and authoritarians now manage the largest bloc of the G-20 economies, according to a new analysis. When you add up the nominal output of the G-20 states plus… Read more »
Category: Governance
Iraq and Lebanon elections energize civil society
The elections in Iraq and Lebanon earlier this month present a fragile but important counterpoint to a region in turmoil, notes Tamara Cofman Wittes, a Senior Fellow at Brookings’ Center… Read more »
Was the Arab Spring a Black Swan event?
The Arab Spring surely satisfies the three criteria for a black swan event: surprising, historically consequential, and rationalized by hindsight, notes the World Bank’s Elena Ianchovichina, author of Eruptions of… Read more »
Why governance reform is so essential – and so difficult
Governance is one of the most important foreign policy challenges—and among the most difficult, notes Brookings analyst Dan Byman: Poor governance is linked to civil wars, corruption and a lack of economic… Read more »
China’s secret ‘magic weapon’ for global soft power
Xi Jinping is quietly ramping up the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist party in a push for global “soft power”, The FT’s James Kynge writes in a… Read more »
Kenya poll highlights East Africa’s fragile democracies
Kenyans vote Thursday in a repeat presidential election that has East Africa’s economic power on edge once more, AP reports: The Supreme Court shocked Africa last month by nullifying… Read more »
Ukraine’s ‘double existential threat’ – West’s credibility at stake
The West’s credibility and cohesion are at stake in Ukraine, according to a new analysis from Chatham House, the London-based foreign policy think-tank. The international community has invested heavily in… Read more »
As China attacks Western democracy, are non-democratic options emerging?
China’s official Xinhua news agency attacked Western democracy as divisive and confrontational on Tuesday, praising on the eve of a key Communist Party Congress the harmony and cooperative nature of… Read more »
Community of Democracies needed now more than ever
When the Community of Democracies first gathered in Warsaw seventeen years ago, no one could be certain that the Community would continue for very long, let alone develop and… Read more »
Defending sovereignty vs. promoting democracy?
There was an echo of George W. Bush’s democracy promotion agenda in President Donald Trump’s address to the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly. But unlike Mr. Bush, this… Read more »