Central Asia’s only democracy “has a fighting chance of staying that way, but it will be a battle,” observers suggest, following the weekend’s presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan. But the election also looks set to boost Russia’s influence in …
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October 31, 2011
in Authoritarianism, Democracy Assistance, Democratic transitions, Elections, Eurasia, National Endowment for Democracy, NGOs and Civil Society
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Kyrgyzstan poll: a ‘victory for democracy’ – and Russia
October 31, 2011
in Authoritarianism, Liberation Technology, Media, NGOs and Civil Society, Syria, Tools and Technology
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Contesting networked authoritarianism?
The internet is politically contested terrain, a leading US official said last week, calling on global tech firms to defend cyberspace against authoritarian intrusion and censorship.
Companies had both a financial interest and a moral responsibility to ensure that the …
October 31, 2011
in Asia, China, Democracy Assistance, Dissidents, Human rights, Liberation Technology, Media, National Endowment for Democracy, NGOs and Civil Society, Tools and Technology
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China’s moral crisis: from Maoism to Daoism?
By highlighting cultural reform at the end of its annual plenum last week, China’s ruling Communist Party both drew attention to the country’s moral crisis and demonstrated its own ideological bankruptcy. Citizens were shocked and shamed by the recent incident …
October 29, 2011
in Asia, China, Democracy Assistance, Dissidents, Human rights, National Endowment for Democracy, Rule of Law
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‘Extraordinary’ campaign for barefoot lawyer Chen Guangcheng
- Supporters of blind activist lawyer Chen Guangcheng show online solidarity
Dozens of protesters have again descended on a remote village in eastern China’s Shandong province to demand the release of Chen Guangcheng (below), the blind dissident lawyer who has been
…
October 28, 2011
in Arab Spring, Civil Society, Democracy Assistance, Democratic transitions, Human rights, Middle East and North Africa, National Endowment for Democracy, NGOs and Civil Society, Women, Yemen
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Yemen: deterioration or democratization?
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today praised the first Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize and embraced her vision of a democratic Yemen. But analysts warn that the country’s political standoff is generating a “permanent deterioration” …
October 28, 2011
in Arab Spring, Democracy Assistance, Democratic transitions, Egypt, Islam and Politics, Libya, Middle East and North Africa, NGOs and Civil Society, Tunisia
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Aiding Mideast transitions – it’s the economy, stupid
Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya have each ousted longstanding autocratic leaders, but they appear likely to follow varying political trajectories, Arab reform expert Michele Dunne tells the Council on Foreign Relations. Economic malaise and insecurity are the greatest threats to …
Post-conflict DDR – from the Great Lakes to Libya
History often moves in perverse ways.
This week’s passing of one of the most celebrated experts on post-conflict reconciliation, reconstruction and disarmament comes at a time when such challenges are becoming increasingly pressing in Libya.
The technical aspects of …
October 28, 2011
in Africa, Civil Society, National Endowment for Democracy, NGOs and Civil Society
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Howard Wolpe: ‘tireless advocate’ for African democracy
Democratic activists are mourning the passing of Democratic U.S. Rep. Howard Wolpe (right), who sponsored the federal anti-apartheid act in 1986 and subsequently headed the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Africa program.
“As special envoy to Africa’s Great Lakes Region under President …
October 28, 2011
in Africa, Civil Society, Elections, National Endowment for Democracy, NGOs and Civil Society
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Insecurity in Burundi: a regional liability
Despite significant progress over the past five years, Burundi now faces monumental challenges to its democratic development and security. Nancy Welch examines the dimensions of Burundi’s current crisis and its potentially disturbing regional implications.
Since general elections in 2010, Burundi …
Political roots of Europe’s economic crisis
There is no shortage of analysis of European integration, but nothing on its disintegration, Princeton University’s Jan-Werner Mueller recently observed. “Yet what has been unfolding in the past 15 months or so should make even the most ardent pro-European …