Are democracy assistance practitioners being outflanked and outmaneuvered by their democracy prevention counterparts? Venezuela’s recent presidential poll provides disturbing evidence of adaptive authoritarianism applied to the electoral process.

“As the facts behind Nicolás Maduro’s fabricated electoral ‘victory’ on April …

For the Obama administration, “the costs of inaction have started to outweigh the costs of action”, says a leading analyst, warning that Syria’s civil war is “metastasizing” into a wider regional conflict.

“It is spreading to other states …

Bolivia expelled the U.S. Agency for International Development last week because the agency doesn’t just offer paternalistic aid to the poor, it also advances democracy by promoting their empowerment.

“It was a familiar charge for the State Department’s principal foreign …

“Thousands of people turned out Monday for a protest here that was intended to draw attention to what organizers said was the return of political prosecutions in the Russian courts,” The New York Times’ Andrew E. Kramer reports …

“Israel played down weekend air strikes reported to have killed dozens of Syrian soldiers close to Damascus, saying they were not aimed at influencing its neighbor’s civil war but only at stopping Iranian missiles reaching Lebanese Hezbollah militants,” Reuters reports…

“Gunmen refused to give up control of two ministries in Libya‘s capital on Monday, even after parliament caved in to their demand and banned any senior official under dictator Muammar Gaddafi from holding government posts,” Reuters reports from Tripoli…

“It is difficult to pass judgment on the health of democracy today without an assessment of the Arab revolts,” says a prominent democracy expert.

“Despite the stirring images of courageous, sophisticated, and articulate protesters running great personal risk for a …

Pakistan’s forthcoming May 11 elections will be “severely compromised” unless the interim government takes measures to ensure the safety of candidates and party activists threatened by the Taliban and other militant groups, a new report warns.

The authorities “should …

Recent events demonstrate the failure of President Vladimir Putin’s project of developmental authoritarianism, says a leading analyst.

“Putin hoped to be the Lee Kwan Yew of Russia: someone who behind a facade of quasi-democratic institutions led a powerful state …

Growing Islamist influence within Syrian rebel ranks is prompting President Bashar al-Assad to wage an energized campaign to persuade Washington that it is backing the wrong side, The New York Times reports, while the jihadists’ role is also …