Tag: Brookings Institution

Iran’s totalitarianism, weak civil society could prompt ‘social explosion’

     

Prominent Iranian artists, inside and outside the country, have reacted to the brutal crackdown of recent protests in Iran, The Independent reports (HT:FDD). Amnesty International says Iranian authorities are continuing… Read more »

Resisting populism, renovating democracy in the age of globalization

     

The rise of populism in the West and the rise of China in the East have stirred a debate about the role of democracy in the international system, The Brookings… Read more »

Algeria’s divided democracy movement seeks end to impasse

     

In April 2019, Algerians ousted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, becoming the fifth Arab country to topple a president since 2011, the Brookings Institution reports. Though successfully deposing the head of state,… Read more »

Fresh protests highlight need to engage Iran’s civil society

     

Fresh protests broke out in Iran today as shop keepers, stall vendors, farmers and truck drivers demonstrated in the Amir-Kabir industrial complex of Isfahan, central Iran, protesting against high prices… Read more »

Democratic backsliding: slippery slope of hostility toward media

     

On an unprecedented scale, authoritarian regimes are employing “sharp power” tactics to manipulate the very institutions that serve as the foundation of democracy, such as free media, says Christopher Walker,… Read more »

Why liberal democracies avoid war, reduce civil conflict

     

International Peace Day is an appropriate occasion for assessing democracy’s contribution to peace and security. The Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928, also known as the Paris Peace Pact, does not have a good… Read more »

Guatemala faces ‘moment of political reckoning’

     

Guatemala is facing a moment of political reckoning, notes Anita Isaacs, a professor of political science at Haverford College. Last Sunday, the country woke to the news that President Jimmy… Read more »

Is professionalism the antidote to populism?

     

The perils of populism and political ignorance can be mitigated by empowering parties, career politicians and professional experts to act as “intermediaries” in order to constrain and channel public opinion,… Read more »

Empowering local actors, devolving power can assist Syria’s transition process

     

If the United States screens refugees for security risks, 59% of Americans support taking in refugees from the conflicts in Syria and other Middle Eastern countries, while 41% oppose, according… Read more »