A testing time for the China model
Perhaps because they are often poorly run, hotlines do not seem to be making local governments any more popular. These form the most despised tier of authority in China: many… Read more »
N. Korea’s jangmadang markets raise questions of regime resilience
Anything to break the information blockade in North Korea should be encouraged, from USB drives containing foreign films to radios that can be tuned to news broadcasts from abroad,… Read more »
Romania corruption protests: government surrender or strategic retreat?
Is there any other country in Europe where the No. 2 politician (head of the Senate) and the No 3 politician (head of the Chamber of Deputies), who have just… Read more »
Russia ‘weaponizing misinformation’ to ‘disable’ western democracy
Russia is using cyber-hacks and “weaponizing misinformation” to undermine the West, the U.K. warned today. “Today we see a country that, in weaponizing misinformation, has created what we might now… Read more »
Latin America: democracy under strain
“We are at an interesting moment in modern history,” according to Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States. “There appears to be a growing appetite for populist politics… Read more »
Has Putin poisoned another critic?
The U.S. ambassador to Moscow says the United States is monitoring the condition of Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., a Kremlin critic who is in hospital with symptoms similar to those he… Read more »
A Multipronged Counter-ISIL Strategy
The U.S. counter-ISIL strategy must recognize the long-term nature of the global violent jihadi threat, according to a new RAND analysis. Diplomatic and military actions should focus on reducing the… Read more »
How authoritarians consolidate
The murder in Yangon of Ko Ni (left), one of Myanmar’s most prominent Muslim voices and a legal adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi, is ominous for the country’s democratic transition, The Financial Times… Read more »
Quality of Pakistan’s democracy on the slide
The year 2016 has seen Pakistan’s Quality of Democracy slide by 4 percentage points from 2015, according to a report released by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency… Read more »
Arab Fractures: Citizens, States, and Social Contracts
Long-standing pillars of the Arab order—authoritarian bargains and hydrocarbon rents—are collapsing as political institutions struggle with the rising demands of growing populations, says a new report from the Carnegie Endowment…. Read more »