Political scientists have long contended that culture matters to the formation and consolidation of democracy. But efforts to renew democracy and challenge authoritarianism will need to pay closer attention to… Read more »
North Korea’s regime has admitted its vulnerability to soft power “for the first time,” according to a prominent defector. An editorial in an official newspaper today conceded that information flows… Read more »
Young Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong warned Wednesday that China’s rise means human rights are in increasingly greater danger of being overshadowed globally by business interests, The Associated Press… Read more »
The assumption that autocracy is a feasible alternative to liberal democracy is understandable. When representative democracy fell before, it fell in that direction. It also fits the trend of events… Read more »
Latin America is about to embark on an extended series of critical electoral contests that will tell us a lot about the state of democracy in the region, notes Ted… Read more »
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, told the Democratic Republic of Congo to hold elections next year, rather than delay them until 2019, if it wanted to… Read more »
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 »
What accounts for the troubled condition of liberal democracy today? Marc F. Plattner asks in the latest issue of The Journal of Democracy: Standard explanations cite factors such as slowing… Read more »
Bonds issued by Venezuela and state oil firm PDVSA dropped sharply on Thursday amid concerns cash-flow problems and regulatory hurdles may leave PDVSA unable to make more than $2 billion… Read more »
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 »
