‘Edge of catastrophe’? Spotlight on Turkmenistan
Investors and governments should stop cozying up to gas-rich Turkmenistan, according to a new analysis that describes the central Asian hermit state as “a country teetering on the edge of… Read more »
Every crisis is an opportunity? A chance to reform Moldova’s captured state
After Moldova’s constitutional crisis was unexpectedly resolved, there is an opportunity to introduce genuine democratic reforms in a post-Soviet state whose institutions have been held captive by oligarch rule, according… Read more »
Bipartisan initiative for democratic resilience and renewal
Resilient democratic institutions, such as an independent judiciary and a functioning system of checks and balances within political systems, are critical for the successful control of public-sector corruption, writes Patricia… Read more »
Why are happy voters backing angry populists?
Research suggests that happiness is the main determinant of whether a government gets re-elected, more important than jobs or wages. So why are happy voters backing insurgents and populists? Why… Read more »
Can civil society help ‘re-wire politics to Africa’s advantage’?
The European Union this week announced a Call for Proposals to Support Civil Society Initiatives to Promote Democracy and Human Rights in Equatorial Guinea. How timely. The authorities in Equatorial Guinea should immediately… Read more »
Africans want elections — if they bring change at the top
Many factors can affect how free and fair an election is, such as whether the opposition was given an equal chance to participate, whether media coverage was fair, whether votes… Read more »
China ‘normalizing and enabling’ global authoritarianism
Thirty years have passed, yet China’s Communist Party is only becoming more authoritarian and cruel, notes Xiao Qiang, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of China Digital Times, a bilingual website launched… Read more »
Algeria’s divided democracy movement seeks end to impasse
In April 2019, Algerians ousted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, becoming the fifth Arab country to topple a president since 2011, the Brookings Institution reports. Though successfully deposing the head of state,… Read more »
‘Backlash to the backlash’: tide turning against populism?
The newly-elected prime minister of the center-right New Democracy party, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, promises a return to normality for the middle class after 4.5 years with the populist Syriza party… Read more »
Breaking the populist polarization spiral
Across the world—from the United States to the United Kingdom, from Europe to South Asia and Latin America—politics and media are stuck in a spiral that incentivizes divisive rhetoric, hyper-partisanship,… Read more »