Tag: National Endowment for Democracy

Jordan poll reveals pessimism, anxiety over economy and refugees

     

There has been a sharp uptick in the number of Jordanians who are pessimistic about the country’s trajectory, and increased support for closing the borders to Syrian refugees, according to… Read more »

Eclipse of the West’s soft power?

     

While the resurgent authoritarians of Russia and China are investing in the expansion of soft power, that of the Western democracies is dwindling, analysts suggest. The European Union’s approach to… Read more »

Why are so many Tunisians joining Islamic State?

     

Unlike neighboring Arab Spring states that have been consumed by violent extremism, civil war and resurgent authoritarianism, Tunisia actually managed to build a vibrant democracy. A new poll from the International Republican… Read more »

Economic boom times over. Democracy next?

     

The argument for liberalism and democracy has rested on economic success. More wealth for more people has been generated in societies calling themselves liberal, democratic, and capitalist, notes Zachary Karabell,… Read more »

Ideology underpins Iran’s rising axis of resistance?

     

The ideology underpinning the Iranian-led axis of resistance in the Middle East has evolved, according to Harvard analysts Payam Mohseni and Hussein Kalout. From a primarily state-centered enterprise, it has… Read more »

Blacklisting Muslim Brotherhood ‘may backfire’

     

Proposals to proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood are raising questions about appropriate strategies to counter violent extremism, The Wall Street Journal reports: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in particular, is a strong supporter… Read more »

Nobel laureate Alexievich quits ‘shameful’ Russian PEN

     

Russian PEN has dismissed Svetlana Alexievich’s decision to leave the freedom of speech organisation, saying she cannot quit because she has never been a member – prompting the Nobel prize… Read more »

Will Jangmadang lead to an opening of North Korea?

     

Since the mid-1990s, when an estimated one million people died from starvation or hunger-related illnesses during the famine that plagued North Korea, jangmadang (private markets) have emerged as a critical means of… Read more »

Why defending democracy is no vice

     

Despite recent setbacks, there remain compelling moral and self-interested reasons to support democracy and human rights around the world, argues Michael McFaul, director of Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for… Read more »