The Church That Stalin Couldn’t Kill
Seventy years ago, on March 8-10, 1946, under orders from Josef Stalin, an illegal “synod” of Kremlin-controlled clergy gathered in the city of Lviv, recently absorbed into the Soviet Union… Read more »
Search Results for: democracy support
How the military changed during Tunisia’s democratic transition
Five years after the Arab Spring, only Tunisia remains on the path to democracy. To explain the Tunisian success story, scholars often point to the Tunisian military, which, unlike other… Read more »
Zimbabwean state actors harass civil society
Democracy advocates have strongly condemned the targeted harassment of a leading civil society organization, Institute for Young Women Development (IYWD), by Zimbabwean state actors. On March 4, just days before… Read more »
Obama’s Cuba trip: ‘misguided’ or ‘subversive’?
President Obama’s forthcoming trip to Cuba continues to divide analysts and democracy advocates. A successful trip could vindicate the decision by Mr. Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba to pursue an official thaw, broadcasting… Read more »
Market-Leninism: capitalism with Communist characteristics?
It would be a serious mistake to assume that Cuba’s economic opening, advanced by the Obama-initiated rapprochement, will necessarily usher in a new political era in Cuba, argues Brahma Chellaney,… Read more »
Russia’s persecuted opposition continues struggle for human rights
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s high popularity rating masks the actual “fragility” of his hold on power, said Paula Dobriansky, who served as U.S. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and… Read more »
Labor unrest surges in China
China’s ruling Communist Party is facing an upsurge in labor militancy and social unrest, notes China Digital Times: Amid an economic downturn and a plan to streamline the state-owned sector, the Chinese… Read more »
US envoy condemns Cuba rights record: Obama playing a long game
Deputy US Secretary of State Antony Blinken today condemned a surge in arrests of activists in Cuba, three weeks before President Barack Obama’s historic trip to the Communist-ruled island: Addressing… Read more »
Russians not fundamentally illiberal – unlike Putin
Contrary to some analysts’ suggestions that Russian culture and history have fostered a predisposition towards authoritarian rule, new research suggests otherwise. The evidence emerging from a cross-country comparison of attitudes… Read more »
Honoring Nemtsov, a call for action
Thousands of people marched in honor of slain opposition politician Boris Nemtsov on February 27, one year after he was shot dead near the Kremlin. Five suspects have been charged… Read more »