The failure of young democracies in so many regions of the world has had enormous consequences, writes Joshua Kurlantzick. Most obviously, the renewed strength of authoritarian rule means that billions of people continue to live under repressive or pseudo-democratic …

The United Nations has signed an accord with the Democratic Republic of Congo aimed at combatting rape and sexual violence by armed militias in the strife-torn eastern region.

The accord, seen by AFP on Tuesday, was signed by DRC …

Just days after Angolan police launched a violent crackdown against anti-government protesters (right), a former prime minister “today launched a barbed attack against his former government colleagues, denouncing President Jose Eduardo dos Santos’s government as authoritarian and corrupt,” AFP …

The leaders of four sub-Saharan African states are consolidating democratic gains, producing more stable government and generating economic growth, President Barack Obama said.

Presidents Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone, Macky Sall of Senegal, Joyce Banda of Malawi, and …

Authoritarian regimes around the world are exporting their worst practices and working together to repress their own citizens and undermine human rights standards internationally, writes Daniel Calingaert.  

This “authoritarian internationalism,” which has likely contributed to the …

The Institute for Democracy in Africa (IDASA) will close after 27 years due to lack of financial assistance, it announced today. Formed in 1987 during the apartheid era as the Institute for a Democratic Alternative in South Africa, …

Democratic backsliding in Eurasia, Egypt’s dependence on foreign subsidies, Kenya’s elections, Russian anti-corruption initiatives and the U.S. military’s efforts to help promote democracy feature in this week’s Democracy Lab roundup:

Anna Nemtsova sends a dispatch from Moscow on the …

“Kenya‘s Supreme Court today ordered a recount of votes cast at 22 polling centers, after presidential elections in which a second-round run off was only avoided by the narrowest of margins,” AFP reports:

The court also ordered …

“Zimbabwe’s new constitution was approved by an overwhelming majority in Saturday’s referendum, according to the country’s electoral commission,” the BBC reports:

The document, which will limit future presidents to two five-year terms, was backed by more than three …

There is increasing international focus on the role of legislatures in promoting government accountability. Nigeria is the world’s 8th larger exporter of petroleum which makes up nearly 40% of its GDP and 80% of government revenue. Despite this natural …