How AI became ‘the autocrat’s new toolkit’
China is not foisting their model on an unwilling world, argues analyst Paul Scharre. Many countries are all too happy to emulate China’s example of how to suppress freedoms and… Read more »
Russia: From individual to collective resistance?
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s former adviser and Soviet-era dissident Gleb Pavlovsky (above) died on Monday at the age of 71 after a prolonged illness, Reuters reports. An influential figure in… Read more »
Moldova ‘the next Ukraine’?
A new anti-government protest in Moldova’s capital Tuesday stirred fears of more unrest after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to demand that the country’s new pro-Western government fully… Read more »
Tensions rise as Nigeria opposition dismisses ‘sham’ election
Nigeria’s main opposition parties are calling for fresh elections, describing results currently being announced by electoral body as “heavily doctored and manipulated,” in a joint press conference in the capital,… Read more »
How political innovation reinvigorates democracy
Groups like the young German nonprofit JoinPolitics and Nigeria’s #FixPolitics, founded in 2020 by Oby Ezekwesili, cofounder of Transparency International, exemplify a worldwide trend to revive democratic principles through citizen-led innovation, analysts Johanna… Read more »
Flawed poll queries Nigeria’s ‘democratic self-correction’
Opposition parties today walked out of the venue where results from Nigeria’s tightly contested presidential elections are being announced, the BBC reports: The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and… Read more »
How Amlo’s strongman act is weakening Mexico
Tens of thousands of people filled Mexico City’s vast main plaza Sunday (February 26) to protest President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s electoral law changes they say threaten democracy and could… Read more »
How to win the hot war in Ukraine – and the following Cold War
A Russian victory in Ukraine would frog-march the world down a bleak path where might is right and frontiers are drawn by violence. It may hasten the next, even worse,… Read more »
Defeating the Dictators: How Democracy Can Prevail
The classic ‘Western’ trajectory of modernization characterized by democracy and individual liberty is no longer seen as a reliable route to prosperity by many states. In a new book, “Defeating… Read more »
‘Dekleptofication’: West’s efforts starting to wane?
A year on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, governments that have pledged to track down sanctioned Russian elites’ wealth must be publicly accountable about the measures they have taken –… Read more »