Can Tunisia’s democratic deterioration be stopped?
Tunisia’s main opposition leader, Rached Ghannouchi, was arrested last week during a raid on his home, the latest in a wave of arrests by Tunisian President Kais Saeid, the Soufan… Read more »
China gaining sharp power edge in Southeast Asia
The United States has lost influence to China in Southeast Asia over the past five years, a leading Australian think-tank said today. According to a report released by Sydney’s Lowy Institute,… Read more »
A ‘striking process of detransition’: MENA autocrats aim to bury the Arab Spring
The violence in Khartoum, which began as Sudan attempted to transition to democracy, already has killed hundreds of people and left millions trapped in urban areas, sheltering from gunfire, explosions… Read more »
Does ‘democracy aid’ really promote democracy?
Does democracy assistance really help advance democracy? And, if so, what forms of aid are most effective? Employing the Varieties of Democracy Index, and OECD/DAC aid data from all donors… Read more »
UK sanctions follow Kara-Murza’s ‘Stalinist’ sentence
Britain on Friday sanctioned a Russian judge and four others linked to the arrest and alleged poisonings of Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza who was jailed for 25 years this week… Read more »
Tyranny’s propagandists are winning
China has spent an estimated US$6.6 billion since 2009 on strengthening its international media influence, and Russia spent at least US$1.5 billion last year on similar efforts, according to Nobel… Read more »
Ukraine: Can a liberal, democratic empire an illiberal, antidemocratic one?
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, has described the European Union as “the first ever attempt to build a liberal empire,” contrasting it with Putin’s attempt to restore Russia’s colonial empire… Read more »
‘Comprehensive Resilience’: CORE model counters hybrid threats to democracies
Hybrid threats pose a specific danger to democracies, because they target core democratic processes and weaken citizens’ trust in their institutions and governments. And they are expected to grow in… Read more »
Is Tunisia’s democracy being destroyed?
Tunisia’s tragic descent from Arab Spring democracy into dictatorship is continuing with the arrest and detention of Rached Ghannouchi, the world’s most important Islamic democrat and the spiritual leader of… Read more »
Putin myth of autocratic competence exposed
Putin’s ill-fated war in Ukraine risks the complete annihilation of the myth of autocratic competence, notes Kathryn Stoner, the Mosbacher Director of Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the… Read more »