In scores of countries where democracy has sunk shallow roots, democratic development and the rule of law are threatened by a witches brew of corruption, bad governance, electoral fraud, illiberal… Read more »
The corruption of mafia-like elite circles are the soft spot of post-Cold War authoritarian states, argues AEI analyst Clay R. Fuller. “All authoritarian states are kleptocracies because by definition, authoritarians maintain an artificial monopoly on… Read more »
Taiwan’s 2014 Sunflower Movement unleashed a wave of youthful activism that has profoundly reshaped the island’s political landscape, showing how activists can effect change through elections, notes Ming-sho Ho, a… Read more »
Over the weekend, a court in Egypt sentenced 75 people to death, The Washington Post reports: [Abdel Fatah al-] Sissi’s regime has cracked down not just on Islamists but also on a… Read more »
China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, seemed indomitable when lawmakers abolished a term limit on his power early this year. But nearly five months later, China has been ruffled by economic headwinds, a vaccine scandal… Read more »
Egypt’s government is verging on totalitarian rule —and the United States needs to pay attention, says Carnegie Middle East Program Director Michele Dunne [a National Endowment for Democracy board member], who… Read more »
The idea of constant monitoring is not unprecedented in China. Indeed, the name of the government’s 2020 project — xueliang, or “sharp eyes” — is a throwback to a Communist party… Read more »
China is reversing the commonly held vision of technology as a great democratizer, bringing people more freedom and connecting them to the world. In China, it has brought control, the New… Read more »
The new world order that China’s ruling Communist party is constructing with frightening rapidity and success is deceptively dangerous because economic and political subjugation of the rest of the world… Read more »
The U.S. State Department has reportedly requested the deployment of Marines (HT:CFR) to protect the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan. The move comes against a background of China’s… Read more »