The Islamic Republic’s repressive capacity, aided by the Green movement’s tactical inflexibility, weak leadership and strategic myopia, mean that the balance of advantage has shifted to the regime in the aftermath of this week’s events.
But growing tensions between Iran’s …
Democracy assistance practitioners tend to be wary of regime change.
Recent experience, not least during the Third Wave of democratic transitions, suggests that sustainable democratization is more of a process than an event and the disappointing trajectory of some …
Iran imposed a “near-total information blockade” as part of its efforts to suppress dissident voices during today’s 31st anniversary commemoration of the Islamic revolution.
“Internet, mobile phone, e-mail, and SMS services in Iran have reportedly been disrupted,” RFE/RL reports, …
North Korea’s political system has little to do with Stalinism or communism, argues Christopher Hitchens:
…we should instead regard the Kim Jong-il system as a phenomenon of the very extreme and pathological right. It is based on totalitarian …
The significance of today’s largely abortive demonstrations for the Iran’s Green movement is exercising analysts and activists. The Islamic Republic’s security apparatus managed to stifle the opposition’s attempt to hijack the 31st anniversary celebrations of the Islamic revolution.
“It’s pretty …
Iran’s regime largely succeeded in stifling the Green opposition’s attempt to hijack the 31st anniversary celebrations of the Islamic revolution. The government bussed in thousands of subsidized supporters for the official rally, many of whom were given free food (as …
The rationale for promoting democracy in the Middle East as a component of a broader anti-jihadist strategy remains both relevant and urgent, argue Shadi Hamid and Steven Brooke.
Some commentators deny the relationship between radical Islamist terrorism and regional …
North Korea’s political system has little to do with Stalinism or communism, argues Christopher Hitchens:
…we should instead regard the Kim Jong-il system as a phenomenon of the very extreme and pathological right. It is based on totalitarian “military …
Vietnam’s communist authorities have jailed democracy advocates Tran Khai Thanh Thuy and her husband, Do Ba Tan, the latest in a series of prosecutions that has seen at least activists jailed over recent months.
Thuy has been an active dissident …
Kazakh Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev makes a rather bizarre attempt to justify the incarceration of human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis, comparing his case to that of celebrated film director Roman Polanski.
Zhovtis was sentenced to four years in prison…