The Church That Stalin Couldn’t Kill
Seventy years ago, on March 8-10, 1946, under orders from Josef Stalin, an illegal “synod” of Kremlin-controlled clergy gathered in the city of Lviv, recently absorbed into the Soviet Union… Read more »
Tag: National Endowment for Democracy
How the military changed during Tunisia’s democratic transition
Five years after the Arab Spring, only Tunisia remains on the path to democracy. To explain the Tunisian success story, scholars often point to the Tunisian military, which, unlike other… Read more »
Empower women to counter violent extremism
A major new study released on International Women’s Day offers insight into how non-violent Islamist ideology overlaps with the violent Islamism of groups including Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda (AQ). The… Read more »
Vietnam: cost of living with trafficking
On International Women’s Day, Radio Free Asia (RFA) today released a short documentary, “Vietnam: Cost of Living” — the eighth installment of the online RFA multimedia series “Breaking Free: Stories… Read more »
Palestinian teachers’ protest ‘revitalizing’ democracy, exposing PA corruption
One of the largest protests the West Bank has seen in recent years is not aimed against the Israeli occupation, but to deliver a message to the Palestinian Authority, Al… Read more »
Obama’s Cuba trip: ‘misguided’ or ‘subversive’?
President Obama’s forthcoming trip to Cuba continues to divide analysts and democracy advocates. A successful trip could vindicate the decision by Mr. Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba to pursue an official thaw, broadcasting… Read more »
Iran sought client state in Iraq, says envoy
Senior American officials held confidential talks with Iran about Iraq’s future in advance of the United States-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, and secured a promise that the Iranian military would not fire… Read more »
Consensus grows on North Korea’s human rights-security nexus
Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov once said, a “country which does not respect the rights of its own citizens will not respect the rights of its neighbors,” note Victor Cha… Read more »
Russia’s persecuted opposition continues struggle for human rights
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s high popularity rating masks the actual “fragility” of his hold on power, said Paula Dobriansky, who served as U.S. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and… Read more »
Russia’s current conflicts reopen battles over past
Secrets were forbidden in camp Perm-36. Guards searched everywhere for them, even in prisoners’ eyes, ears and teeth, notes analyst Francesca Ebel. Ukrainian poet Vasyl Stus, imprisoned in the Soviet… Read more »