Vaclav Havel, the dissident playwright turned president in Czechoslovakia, had a unique ability to find hope in the bleakest of situations, notes Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for… Read more »
Liberal democrats need to go on the offensive to counter the external authoritarians and internal illiberal forces undermining democratic institutions and liberal values, says a prominent commentator. Ideas have power,… Read more »
A Vietnamese group known as OceanLotus is targeting foreign companies, using tactics similar to those in attacks against dissidents, journalists and governments at odds with the country, The New York… Read more »
The system of economic and political openness that has obtained since the end of the second world war and extended since the collapse of the Soviet Union is now under… Read more »
Tensions are rising between west and east and over the Balkans. Albania, Macedonia, Serbia and other Balkan countries that aspire to EU membership remain a long way from entry because… Read more »
In just over a decade, the Republic of Turkey has gone from a period of promising political liberalization to fast-approaching one-man rule under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, notes a new… Read more »
Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban has pushed a law through the Hungarian parliament which could shut down the Central European University, a graduate college founded more than a quarter-century ago by… Read more »
For civic activism, it appears to be both the best and worst of times, argues analyst Richard Youngs. The positive dynamics of empowerment and the negative trend of constraints on… Read more »
In the face of an illiberal upsurge, the European Union is lacking leadership, while the election victory of Marine Le Pen would mean the end of the European project, says… Read more »
A healthy and functioning civil society is vital for human rights and democracy everywhere, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission writes: Civil society organizations (CSOs) play a crucial role in… Read more »
