CEE’s democratic vulnerabilities revealed
Corruption, populism, nationalism and disinformation have eroded faith in liberal democracy in Central and Eastern Europe, according to a new report – which says many people would trade in some… Read more »
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Don’t underestimate resilience of the smart new despotisms
The new despotism defies the standard distinction between democracy and authoritarianism, argues John Keane (above), Professor of Politics at the University of Sydney and WZB (Berlin). The “whip-smart resilience” of… Read more »
COVID-19 highlights democracies’ cohesion or confusion?
As the World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision making body of the World Health Organization, gathers virtually today for its annual conference, more than 120 countries have signed a draft… Read more »
‘Democracy on Pandemic Pause’: Why populists understand Eastern Europe
Amid the turmoil and fear caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Central and Eastern European populists are wasting no time sowing division and attempting to cement their positions. Hungarian Prime Minister… Read more »
Is partisanship driving pandemic polarization?
Reuters Institute analyst J. Scott Brennen draws on sample of 225 pieces of misinformation rated false or misleading by fact-checkers, drawn from a collection maintained by First Draft, to explain… Read more »
COVID-19’s new pretexts for consolidating autocrats’ power
Authoritarian-minded leaders around the world have used the coronavirus emergency to consolidate power. In Europe, the governments of Poland and Hungary have done that and more. They have managed to… Read more »
‘Authoritarian entrepreneurship’: How coronavirus contaminates democracy
Open societies “are more likely to find answers (to the #covid19 crisis) more quickly” than authoritarian ones because they encourage “ creativity and cooperation, National Endowment for Democracy (NED) board… Read more »
Autocratization poses challenge for democracy assistance strategies
Illiberals are neither fully committed to civil liberties – such as freedom of expression, assembly and association – and the rule of law, nor totally devoted to the institutions that… Read more »
Ukraine faces challenges of history and diplomacy
During the final days of January, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky carried out two sensitive “working visits,” to Israel and Poland. They were connected with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of… Read more »
What went wrong in Central and Eastern Europe? A case for ‘pessoptimism’
There’s has been extensive and ongoing debate about “what went wrong in Central and Eastern Europe” and what explains its various forms of illiberalism and democratic decline. A variety of,… Read more »