Support Egypt’s democrats at ‘arms-length,’ says report
In the tumultuous two years since President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt came to power, one ally has kept the Arab world’s most populous country from economic ruin: Saudi Arabia… Read more »
Category: Human rights
West’s ‘China fantasy’ a conceptual failure and strategic blunder
A top-level meeting of the ruling Chinese Communist Party has endorsed President Xi Jinping as a “core” leader, giving him equal billing with late supreme leaders Deng Xiaoping and Mao… Read more »
Reformists, hardliners vie to influence choice of Iran’s next supreme leader
There is a lot of manoeuvring in Tehran to influence the decision on who will be Iran’s next supreme leader. There is no public succession plan for the most powerful… Read more »
Venezuela’s odd transition to dictatorship
Venezuela’s Congress on Sunday declared that the government had staged a coup by blocking a drive to recall President Nicolas Maduro in a raucous legislative session that was interrupted when… Read more »
The future of Arab reform: beyond autocrats and Islamists
The argument for democratic reform in the Middle East seems harder to make today, despite the evidence for it being clearer, than it was when the Arab Spring sprung, argues… Read more »
‘Harassed, Imprisoned, Exiled’ – Azerbaijan’s crackdown on dissent
The Azerbaijani government has renewed its vicious crackdown on critics and independent groups, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today: The 75-page report, “Harassed, Imprisoned, Exiled: Azerbaijan’s Continuing… Read more »
Forum 2000: the Courage to Take Responsibility
The prospect of rolling back centuries of political development was raised at the opening ceremony of Forum 2000, the Prague-based gathering for democracy, human rights and civil society, The Prague… Read more »
Ethiopia crackdown highlights ‘downside of authoritarian development’
Ethiopia‘s government has declared a six-month state of emergency in the face of an unprecedented wave of violent protests, the BBC reports: Activists in the country’s Oromia region has… Read more »
Vietnam moving to smother dissent
There are growing signs that Vietnam’s government is moving to smother dissent, as the one-party regime in recent days has labeled a pro-democracy group a terrorist organization, imprisoned a blogger… Read more »
Protecting fundamental freedoms in Morocco?
Morocco’s King Mohammed on Monday named moderate Islamist leader Abdelilah Benkirane as prime minister for a second term after his party won the most seats in last week’s election, Reuters… Read more »