Poland highlights the ‘specter haunting Europe’
Tens of thousands of protesters hit the streets of the Polish capital Warsaw Saturday (24 September) to rally against moves by the rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) government that they… Read more »
Addressing the democratization disconnect
While proposals to abandon democracy promotion are reckless, at this pivotal period in democracy’s evolution, Western democratic leaders can’t continue to operate business as usual, the University of Maryland’s Brian… Read more »
Putin preparing new phase of ‘guerrilla war’ against the West
As President Vladimir Putin further tightens his grip on power after dubious elections that gave his party an absolute majority, Russia is sliding into protracted stagnation. The Economics Ministry has adjusted downward… Read more »
Soviet Union’s collapse wasn’t inevitable, says Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reshuffled his inner-circle again, giving the parliament speaker’s job to his chief domestic strategist, a man who oversaw a vote that further strengthened the dominance… Read more »
Why Poland is not Hungary
Contemporary commentary on central and eastern Europe tends to come down with a heavy hand, say analysts Ireneusz Pawel Karolewski and In his recent snapshot, “Poland’s Constitutional Crisis,” Daniel Kelemen… Read more »
Why Zimbabweans turned against Mugabe
In a research report published this year for the Center for Strategic Intelligence Research, American University political scientist Adrienne LeBas analyzed the current political situation in Zimbabwe. As part of… Read more »
Mapping Media Freedom
Each week, Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom project verifies threats, violations and limitations faced by the media throughout the European Union and neighboring countries. Here are five recent reports… Read more »
Votes Without Violence
Electoral violence subverts basic standards for democratic elections — a cornerstone of democratic governance, the National Democratic Institute notes. The effects, or even merely the threat, of violence, can… Read more »
Does China invalidate Lipset thesis?
Does economic development eventually lead to democratic reform, as Seymour Martin Lipset (left) and other political scientists proposed in the decades after World War II? The New York Times asks…. Read more »
Democracy ebbing in the Western Balkans
A meeting of international donors, foundations, and multilateral funders opened in the Serbian capital Belgrade on September 21 amid growing concern from young grassroots and philanthropic organizations that the… Read more »