China’s ‘biological Chernobyl’ exposes absurdities of autocracy
The death of Li Wenliang has shaken China like an earthquake. He was a young doctor who was reprimanded by Chinese police for alerting colleagues to a new virus that has… Read more »
Latin America’s militaries: Back in the spotlight?
What does the resurgence of the armed forces in the political arena mean for democracy in Latin America? Americas Quarterly – the award-winning magazine produced by the nonprofit Americas Society/Council of the… Read more »
Where and why people are satisfied with democracy
Global dissatisfaction with democracy has increased over the past 25 years, according to a recent Cambridge University report. Drawing upon the HUMAN Surveys project, the report covered 154 countries, with 77 countries… Read more »
‘Firm Up Democracy’s Soft Underbelly’: Autocrats winning war of ideas
The authoritarian resurgence will remain a major global risk in 2020 due to the many economic and social consequences of autocratic governance, according to Global Risk Intelligence. While some exceptions… Read more »
Magnitsky sanctions will protect free media, says report
Officials and prosecutors who arbitrarily detain journalists or impose blanket restrictions on free expression should be subject to a new regime of targeted international sanctions, according to a panel report… Read more »
‘Westlessness’: Liberal democracies’ malaise allows for renewal
A revitalization of the West in the world must start at home. But, in contrast to autocratic regimes, liberal democracies have built-in mechanisms that allow for course corrections and democratic… Read more »
‘Nowhere To Hide’: Who’s proliferating digital authoritarianism?
Is China pursuing a grand strategy to systematically proliferate digital authoritarian tools? China’s efforts vary by country, local context, and its own interests, argues Steven Feldstein, Chair of Public Affairs… Read more »
Stop advancing democracy and ‘learn to live with despots’?
Instead of advancing democracy we should aim for good enough governance, argues #FSI‘s Stephen D Krasner, a Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the… Read more »
Tracking conditions for citizen action in democratic transitions
While Tunisians remain committed to democracy, they are feeling the painful lack of economic and political progress, argues analyst Jake Walles. Tunisians generally describe the essential objectives of the 2011… Read more »
Africa’s evolving regimes: Totalitarian or autocratic?
Perfidy – or, corruption and scandal – is one of the strongest predictors of dissatisfaction with democracy, note University of Cambridge researchers Roberto Foa and Andrew James Klassen. Inevitably, more extreme… Read more »