Sri Lanka turmoil points to China’s ‘new colonialism’
The surest way to lose an election in south Asia is to be too enthusiastic about China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Wherever Chinese influence has grown, governments have turned more… Read more »
Tag: National Endowment for Democracy
Building resilience in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova: Russia’s threat to civil society
Encouraging the creation of a cadre of ‘active citizens’ in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova will help increase social cohesion and build ‘cognitive resilience’ to malign Russian influence from the ground… Read more »
Violence returns as Bangladesh gears up for polls
Bangladesh has faced increasingly difficult human rights challenges in recent years, notes the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission: The country’s decision to open its border to approximately 800,000 Rohingya refugees… Read more »
Corruption hits support for democracy in Eastern Europe: feeds ‘Generation of Distrust’
Eastern Europeans’ faith in democracy has declined and German researchers think they know the reason why — corruption, POLITICO.EU’s Philip Kaleta reports: A study by the German Economic Institute, a Cologne-based think… Read more »
Strategic approach needed to defend democracy
A new presence in Washington is likely to add a forceful voice in support of democracy and human rights, reports suggest. “The House has a voice which it can use… Read more »
Opposition aims to rescue Bangladesh’s ‘decaying democracy’
The announcement of a schedule for the next general election in Bangladesh has triggered hope of a credible poll but also concern about more political violence across the Muslim-majority South Asian nation,… Read more »
China’s sharp power targets satirist of totalitarianism
China’s sharp power is targeting a satirist of totalitarianism, The New York Times reports. A Hong Kong venue operated by a nonprofit with ties to the local government withdrew an invitation… Read more »
Civil courage deprives authoritarians of vital weapon
Liberal democracies are facing an authoritarian resurgence and various forms of sharp power projections on the part of Russia and China. These countries are becoming more authoritarian and prohibiting independent… Read more »
An Arab anomaly? A danger to Tunisia’s democracy
Nidaa Tounes yesterday described a ministerial reshuffle in Tunisia as “a coup against the constitution and democracy in the country,” Middle East Monitor reports: Secretary-General of Nidaa Tounes Slim Riahi… Read more »
Is more democracy always better democracy?
…….asks Harvard University scholar Yascha Mounk. Some political scientists contend that “[s]eemingly minor variations in the institutional setup of democracies” determine the different ways in which states behave, while “supposedly… Read more »