Exposing the ‘dark reality’ behind Cuba’s medical missions
The U.S. says it is pressuring Cuba to end human rights violations such as harassment of opponents of Cuba’s one party system. It also wants Havana to stop supporting… Read more »
Iran’s totalitarianism, weak civil society could prompt ‘social explosion’
Prominent Iranian artists, inside and outside the country, have reacted to the brutal crackdown of recent protests in Iran, The Independent reports (HT:FDD). Amnesty International says Iranian authorities are continuing… Read more »
Will democracy crisis empower Latin America’s military?
Can Latin America’s elected civilian leaders regain the trust of their publics and deliver on the promises of democratic governance? Can militaries escape the pressures of stepping into power during… Read more »
‘Digital Trenches’: North Korea’s Information Counter-Offensive
The South Korean government should stop disengaging from ongoing human rights abuses by North Korea, a coalition of human rights and other groups said on December 16, 2019 in a… Read more »
A case for liberal democratic nationalism?
Viewed from today’s perspective, it seems clear that liberalism and nationalism are enemies. But that was not always the case. As recently as 1989, liberalism and nationalism were allies in… Read more »
Mobilizing for democracy? Five myths about protest movements
Lebanese security forces fired tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons Sunday to disperse hundreds of protesters for a second straight day, ending what started as a peaceful rally in… Read more »
Why China’s TikTok is a national security concern
TikTok, the short-form video app that’s been downloaded 1.5 billion times, is one of the most exciting and goofiest places on the internet, and possibly the only truly fun social… Read more »
What went wrong in Central and Eastern Europe? A case for ‘pessoptimism’
There’s has been extensive and ongoing debate about “what went wrong in Central and Eastern Europe” and what explains its various forms of illiberalism and democratic decline. A variety of,… Read more »
Africa’s ‘engines of democracy’
By 2040—a decade before Africa’s population is forecast to reach 2.1 billion, or double what it is today—the continent will become majority urban. That means over a billion people in… Read more »
Taiwan ‘battling a wave of online disinformation’
Taiwan is the territory most exposed to foreign disinformation from you-know-where, research suggests. Thousands of lies flood social media every day in Taiwan, a new frontier of information warfare. Scholars say… Read more »