The deterioration of Cambodia’s ‘python regime’
The optimism I sensed in Cambodia in 2015 was cautious at best, notes analyst Martha Bayles. But among young people, at least, it was contagious enough that, when rumors began… Read more »
Category: National Endowment for Democracy
China’s sharp power the ‘greatest single challenge to Western-style democracies’
To those it seeks to influence, the Chinese Communist Party can be an intimidating presence. The China scholar Perry Link once called the party “the anaconda in the chandelier,” the… Read more »
Can civil society take root in North Korea?
Can civil society finally take root in the world’s most oppressive country? In November 2017, the National Endowment for Democracy hosted a former high-ranking North Korean diplomat for a… Read more »
Iran ‘outsmarted itself’ in silencing civil society?
Iran in large part considers peaceful activism a “threat to national security,” and those who warn about festering popular grievances and rampant corruption are treated as seditionists, notes Tara Sepehri… Read more »
Kleptocracy: The Dark Side of Globalization
In the 1960s and 1970s, scholars studying postcolonial states began increasingly to focus on corruption as an impediment to prosperity, notes journalist Oliver Bullough, the author of The Last Man… Read more »
Can Europe step up on global democracy support?
The new U.S. National Security Strategy raises a number of questions, the Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer writes for TIME: How does the principle of “America First” square with plans to promote democracy… Read more »
Pathways to Media Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa
….is the subject of the latest report from the National Endowment for Democracy’s Center for International Media Assistance. Herman Wasserman and Nicholas Benequista lay out a vision for how the… Read more »
Toxic cash: Russia’s ‘sovereign civil society’ program
By banning NGOs from receiving foreign funding, the Russian government has forced them to seek financial support at home. But state grants undermine civil society’s independence, notes Andrey Kalikh, a… Read more »
Reclaiming the Philippines’ Democracy Narrative
Riding a strong populist wave and exerting a brand of crisis, Rodrigo Duterte was elected to power in the Philippines in mid-2016. More than a year into his presidency, Duterte’s… Read more »
How to counter China’s sharp power? Ask Australia
This week’s Economist dedicated its cover story to the issue of China’s growing influence strategy, referencing the National Endowment for Democracy’s excellent report on Beijing’s “sharp power” strategies, notes Council on Foreign Relations analyst… Read more »