It is quite possible that the coronavirus pandemic will represent the high-water mark for the appeal of the authoritarian model and of its two standard-bearers, China and Russia, according to… Read more »
The #coronavirus pandemic makes it a lot easier for strongman leaders to justify their blatant attacks on democracy. @joshuakeating for @Slate https://t.co/YXxUmtiIkh — Freedom House (@freedomhouse) May 12, 2020… Read more »
The coronavirus is leading Iranians to question the relationship between state and religion, putting the theocratic state in “an unusual and awkward position“, observers suggest. The Islamic Republic had to… Read more »
China has been buying up ads on U.S. social-media sites and adopting online tactics reminiscent of Russian disinformation campaigns in an apparent attempt to shape the story internationally about the… Read more »
Civil society activist Mariam Memarsadeghi and her NGO Tavaana aren’t planning for the “day of” the revolution, the way so many other opponents of the Iranian regime seem to be…. Read more »
Some 14 Cuban non-governmental organizations* have declared that a new “iron curtain of information” is descending that further censors access to the internet, and restricts the flow of information. The… Read more »
Russia has spent years exploiting institutions and legal systems in the West to target critics, invalidate court decisions and roll back sanctions, according to allegations in a new analysis, NPR’s… Read more »
The European Union decided on Monday to extend restrictive measures imposed against Iran to last for an additional year until April 13, 2020, due to “serious human rights violations”… Read more »
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei is doubling down on his regime’s policies of persecution, power projection and terror by appointing hard-line loyalists in a bid to ensure that critical state institutions remain… Read more »
“Is the Islamic Republic on the brink of collapse?” was the title of a long interview published by the Iranian news agency Tasnim. To fully appreciate the true explosive power… Read more »
