Media and Civic Engagement: From Protests to Dialogue
While civil society and the media are often painted primarily as forces of opposition, a growing group of scholars and practitioners makes the case for their vital roles in building… Read more »
Tag: National Endowment for Democracy
Iran polarized ahead of pseudo-election
After an unexpectedly close race between President Hassan Rouhani, the pragmatic incumbent, and hardline challenger Ebrahim Raisi (left), ordinary Iranians on the eve of the vote appeared united only in… Read more »
Fragile states an early-warning signal for potential conflict
2016 was a dismal year for liberal internationalism. But a new index of global “fragility” by the Fund for Peace (FfP) think-tank suggests that, overall, the world did not become… Read more »
Iran election exposes Islamic Republic’s façade and true face
The presidential election in Iran this Friday is being billed as yet another contest in which a spirited but ineffectual reformer is fighting it out with a hard-boiled theocrat. Meanwhile,… Read more »
E.U.’s democratic values ‘up for grabs’ in Poland
Poland’s alleged slide from democracy came under scrutiny from fellow European Union states on Tuesday, with some openly questioning the nationalist government in Warsaw’s commitment to EU values, Reuters reports:… Read more »
Eddie N. Williams, head of leading black think tank and true democrat, dies at 84
Eddie N. Williams, the son of a hotel housekeeper who as the head of the nation’s leading black think tank for more than three decades marshaled facts and figures to… Read more »
As West dithers, Russia ups its game in the Balkans
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 »
Observing the decline of Turkey’s democracy
Several recent analyses depict Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is set to meet with President Trump in the White House on Tuesday, as a once moderate and liberal politician… Read more »
African democracy: supply and demand at a tipping point?
One of Africa’s most stable democracies is quietly drifting into authoritarian rule, notes Nic Cheeseman of the University of Birmingham. Until now, Zambia’s progress under multi-party politics has been quietly… Read more »
Venezuela’s government to write new constitution? ‘That way lies autocracy,’ says analyst
Facing escalating civil unrest, the government of Venezuela has finally come up with a response: a call for a constituent assembly, notes Javier Corrales, Dwight W. Morrow 1895 professor of political… Read more »