The COVID-19 pandemic will exacerbate the very weaknesses that have marked the democratic erosion of the last decade in most of the 137 developing and transformation countries examined in the… Read more »
The coronavirus is leading Iranians to question the relationship between state and religion, putting the theocratic state in “an unusual and awkward position“, observers suggest. The Islamic Republic had to… Read more »
Authoritarian-minded leaders around the world have used the coronavirus emergency to consolidate power. In Europe, the governments of Poland and Hungary have done that and more. They have managed to… Read more »
The Algerian government has begun investigating the funding of media organizations and news sources that it claims are using foreign funding to promote anti-government and anti-reform content. The authorities have… Read more »
Populist politics tilts authoritarian. In sweeping away supposedly corrupt elites and institutions, the populist leader weakens all forces standing in his way. Critics becomes enemies, constitutional constraints become obstacles to… Read more »
Five experts respond to Svante E. Cornell’s essay, “How Should America Deal with Authoritarian States?” and discuss the legacy of Jeane Kirkpatrick for policymakers today, The American Interest writes. This… Read more »
Yes, and sooner than you might think, argues Misagh Parsa in a thoughtful book on the state of dissent inside Iran. “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent… Read more »
The past twelve months registered the 14th consecutive year of decline in global freedom, according to Freedom in the World 2020, the latest survey of political rights and civil liberties… Read more »
Iranians voted for a new parliament Friday, with turnout seen as a key measure of support for Iran’s leadership as sanctions weigh on the economy and U.S. pressure isolates the… Read more »
Tunisia’s interior regions have been a wellspring for social protests. Without deep economic restructuring, populists could pose an even graver threat to the country’s nascent democracy, argues analyst Hamza Meddeb…. Read more »
