What the Iran protests were not
Iran’s most significant protests in almost a decade may have calmed, but anger that fueled the nationwide demonstrations lingers and could erupt again at any time, according to experts. Siavush… Read more »
Fighting to end Libya’s slave auctions
Since CNN’s International report exposed slave trading in Libya, Congresswoman Karen Bass and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) have been among the many groups joining forces to bring about freedom and justice for slave trade… Read more »
Anti-democratic forces have ‘no alternative to a liberal international order’
Despite the threat posed to democracy by various forms of populism and authoritarianism, “there is simply no grand ideological alternative to a liberal international order,” argues Princeton University’s G. John… Read more »
How corruption undermines democracy
Democratic polities are undermined “when the virus of illicit finance, hidden in the secret channels of the global financial network, infects a democratic system that depends on trust to survive,”… Read more »
Growing backlash as China turns soft power into sharp tool
Australia has launched a scathing attack on China’s efforts to build influence in the Pacific, accusing Beijing of currying favor with the region’s smaller nations by funneling cash into little-used… Read more »
Democratic model still excels against all alternatives
Democracy has taken some hard hits. But before we cede bragging rights to autocrats, or persuade ourselves of the need for precipitate action to arrest a perilous strategic slide, we… Read more »
Tunisia protests highlight trade-off between democracy and strong economy?
One person has died, 50 policemen have been injured and more than 200 people arrested in two nights of widespread and violent protests across Tunisia, driven by anger over steep price… Read more »
Six steps to counter Putin’s ‘asymmetric assault on democracy’
A new report warns of deepening Russian interference throughout Europe and concludes that even as some Western democracies have responded with aggressive countermeasures, the U.S has no strategic plan to… Read more »
The deterioration of Cambodia’s ‘python regime’
The optimism I sensed in Cambodia in 2015 was cautious at best, notes analyst Martha Bayles. But among young people, at least, it was contagious enough that, when rumors began… Read more »
Teaching Democratic Citizenship When Democracy is at Risk
In a letter to James Madison, Thomas Jefferson wrote: Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. Enable them to see that it is their interest to preserve peace… Read more »