Spotlight on Egypt’s repression
In theory, Egypt’s Public Prosecution should be an independent, impartial institution, defending the rights of all Egyptians before the law, notes a new report from the Project on Middle East… Read more »
Tag: National Endowment for Democracy
Resurgent authoritarians threaten liberal democracy
Liberal democracy is facing a growing threat from authoritarian regimes, says Carl Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy. “Russia, China, and Iran are asserting their power in a… Read more »
West’s ‘China fantasy’ a conceptual failure and strategic blunder
A top-level meeting of the ruling Chinese Communist Party has endorsed President Xi Jinping as a “core” leader, giving him equal billing with late supreme leaders Deng Xiaoping and Mao… Read more »
A post-ISIS recovery plan for Syria?
With the Iranians and the Russians fully backing Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, it’s clear that the chances of regime change anytime soon are zero. Assuming that Raqqa will be liberated… Read more »
Does culture affect foreign policy – and democratization?
Western ideas—which many in the West believe are universal—collide with the ideals of Middle Eastern societies in ways that aren’t always obvious, argues Steven Cook, a Fellow for Middle… Read more »
Why populism is not fascism
It is a mistake to conflate populism and fascism: populism is a symptom of democracy in trouble, while fascism and other revolutionary movements are the consequence of democracy in crisis,… Read more »
Hungary: fought for freedom, now content with tyranny?
The crushing of Hungary’s anti-Soviet uprising 60 years ago this week stood as a tragic symbol of communist barbarism throughout the Cold War, notes Arch Puddington, head of research for… Read more »
Populism the ‘most menacing challenger’ to democracy
European democracy seems to be in jeopardy, and there is no shortage of culprits, notes Takis S. Pappas, associate professor of comparative politics at the University of Macedonia and coeditor… Read more »
Iran pursuing China Model?
At 77, and with at least one hospitalization in recent years for prostate cancer, Ayatollah Khamenei appears determined, while he still has full power, to make the changes essential for… Read more »
Authoritarian soft power not drawing many converts
When the Philippines’ tough-guy President Rodrigo Duterte announced in Beijing last week that “America has lost” and that he was “separating” from the United States to align with a rising… Read more »