authoritarianism

Russia: poll signals Putin demise or engineered to defuse growing protests?

Did last weekend’s regional elections indicate growing voter fatigue with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s ruling party? Or is his power vertical pretty much intact with the elections providing a convenient safety valve to defuse growing social unrest?
United Russia saw its share of the vote fall in seven of eight regional legislatures as voters registered their [read full story]

US will promote Arab democracy – and engage autocrats, MEPI head insists

The United States remains committed to promoting democracy in the Middle East, a senior State Department official insisted today, but the pace and content of reform will be determined by local actors and the specific conditions within Arab states.
“Economic and social development are prerequisites for sustainable democracy,” said Tamara Wittes, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State [read full story]

Democracy events

Tuesday, March 16 – 10:00 am to 11:30 a.m.  Disappearing God Gap: Religion’s Role in the 2008 Presidential Elections and Beyond – The Brookings Institution, Saul/Zilkha Rooms, 1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC – In a new book by religion and politics experts Corwin Smidt and Kevin den Dulk, The Disappearing God Gap? (Oxford University [read full story]

Europe’s new democracies – resilient, uncertain and suffering (but at least they’re not Greece)

What if Greece were a Central European country?, asks Ivan Krastev, chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, Bulgaria.
While a year ago many feared that Central Europe was too corrupt and politically unstable and its economies too liberal (too Anglo-Saxon) to survive the crisis, now it has become clear that it was actually [read full story]

China: leadership crisis over emerging transition?

Contrary to recent portrayals of a self-confident, newly assertive China assuming its place as a global hegemon, the country’s leadership “is in crisis mode”, according to a new Stratfor analysis.
Meanwhile, the ruling Communist Party’s second-highest ranking official today conceded the danger of social instability, emphasizing that the regime’s priorities would be to enhance social security [read full story]

Burma: junta’s charm offensive cuts little ice

Sadly, Burma VJ didn’t win the Oscar for best documentary. The film features covertly filmed footage of the 1988 Saffron Revolution filmed by a small group of video journalists — the “VJs” of the film’s title — working the Oslo-based exile group Democratic Voice of Burma, a grantee of the National Endowment for Democracy.
 But it’s [read full story]

Democracy jobs

National Endowment for Democracy
Currently available opportunities include: Administrative Assistant – CIMA, Program Assistant – Asia, Program Assistant – Europe, Program Officer for Asia, Program Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean, Database/Web Developer, and Senior Director of Finance.  Further details here.  
International Republican Institute
Currently available DC-based opportunities include: Online Communications Specialist, Deputy Press Secretary, Program Assistant [read full story]

Democracy events

Thursday, March 4, 2010 – 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM – The Iraqi Elections & the Changing Politico-Security Environment in Iraq – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. – Featuring keynote speaker Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, this one day conference presents a number of panels and experts discussing key issues of security and [read full story]

Democratic advantage obscures ’significant setbacks’ and autocratic legitimacy

The apparently stable advantage of democracy over autocracy disguises worrying erosion in the quality of democracy, a new analysis suggests.
Democracy has not lost its normative appeal, but even established democracies have experienced “significant setbacks” in the freedoms of assembly, association and the press, as well as declines in political participation, civil liberties and social capital, [read full story]

Failed states main threat to global stability?

Weak or failing states will be the principal source of global instability in the 21st century, not emerging authoritarian powers, claims a leading analyst.
“Russia has a one-dimensional economy and is hobbled by corruption and a shrinking population,” writes Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, while China is “constrained by its enormous population [read full story]

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