Angola: the fall of a kleptocracy?
The son of Angola’s former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos has been remanded in custody in a $1.5bn corruption case. Those targeted include the ex-president’s son, Jose Filomeno dos Santos,… Read more »
The Great Delusion: democracy vs. sovereignty?
Democracy depends on national sovereignty, U.S. President Donald Trump told the U.N. General Assembly today. “Sovereign and independent nations are the only vehicle where freedom has ever survived, democracy has… Read more »
Saving liberal democracy from the extremes?
Larry Diamond of Stanford University has argued that liberal democracy has four necessary and sufficient elements: free and fair elections; active participation of people, as citizens; protection of the… Read more »
Media reform in the ‘New Malaysia’ (as Bangladesh backtracks)
On May 9th, 2018, Najib Razak’s United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) Government was defeated in general elections that stunned the world. Today, nearly five months on, the International Federation of… Read more »
‘Digital social contract’ will combat political disinformation
Russia has re-ignited its ideological battle with the West by waging a more insidious offensive: intrude on Western democratic processes and meddle in nations’ politics, according to Digital Warfare: Russia’s… Read more »
Anna Politkovskaya – ‘Intractable Woman’
Anna Politkovskaya was a reporter for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta who, she said, never wrote “commentary, or opinion, or speculation.” Yet her unvarnished accounts of the war in Chechnya antagonized many powerful… Read more »
Democracies’ crisis of confidence imperils liberal world order
Robert Kagan, the author of “The Jungle Grows Back; America and Our Imperiled World,” offers a bleak vision, The Economist notes. Even if Mr Kagan underestimates the power of an idea… Read more »
Reality Czech: recognizing courageous writers at risk
The Hundredth Anniversary of the Founding of Czechoslovakia will be the occasion for honoring Secretary Albright for her unparalleled contribution to the return of the Czechs and Slovaks to the… Read more »
Maldives election halts authoritarian drift: a blow to China’s sharp power
Maldives leader Abdulla Yameen conceded defeat on Monday to a candidate who has pledged to reverse the country’s slide toward authoritarianism, marking a setback for China, which had forged strong ties with the president… Read more »
‘Allure of the Illiberal’ prompts democrats’ call to arms
If we fail to learn from the past, we do so at our own peril. That was one of the messages from the Chinese artist-activist Ai Weiwei to a gathering… Read more »