By Michael Allen on March 12, 2010
“It has become fashionable to say that the Bush administration made ‘egregious’ errors promoting democracy in the Arab world,” writes Steven A. Cook at the Council on Foreign Relations.
But, while Cook opposed invading Iraq, he insists that the previous administration was otherwise commendable in addressing the Arab world’s democracy deficit.
The “forceful, public support for [read full story]
Posted in Middle East and North Africa, NGOs/Civil society, autocrats, democracy, democracy promotion, promoting democracy | Tagged civil society, democracy deficit, democracy promotion, promoting democracy in the Arab world, promotion of democracy |
By Michael Allen on March 11, 2010
The democratic West is consistently failing to pull the emerging democracies into partnerships and alliances on issues as diverse as climate change and sanctions against Iran, writes Nikolas K. Gvosdev.
Contrary to expectations of engaging them in a revived Community of Democracies, “southern democracies” like Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, India and Indonesia show a disturbing inclination [read full story]
Posted in Africa, Asia, China, India, autocrats, democracy, democracy promotion, democratization, emerging democracies |
By Michael Allen on March 10, 2010
The trial of Hissène Habré, Chad’s former dictator, will be “the first trial by the courts of one country against the former head of state of another,” writes human rights lawyer Reed Brody – if it takes place.
Twenty years ago, Souleymane Guengueng watched hundreds of his fellow inmates in Chad’s notorious jails die from torture [read full story]
Posted in Africa, Chad, Human rights, NGOs/Civil society, National Endowment for Democracy, autocrats, dictatorships, rule of law |
By Michael Allen on March 9, 2010
Is the Obama administration hesitant to make democracy promotion a priority? The Carnegie Endowment’s Robert Kagan and Aroop Mukharji hint as much.
But they are more concerned to celebrate Colombia President Álvaro Uribe’s decision not to seek a fourth term of office:
Democracy is being undermined across South America, where hyper-presidencies and constitutional change have become commonplace. [read full story]
Posted in Backlash, autocrats, democracy, democracy promotion, democratization, promoting democracy | Tagged promoting democracy, wave of autocracy |
By Michael Allen on March 9, 2010
As elections loom, Ethiopia appears to be a relatively stable, prosperous nation in a turbulent neighborhood, writes Lauren Gelfand – “a bulwark against increasingly isolated and sanctioned Eritrea and a comparative oasis of calm compared to perennially chaotic Somalia.”
But human rights and democracy advocates experience one of the continent’s most repressive regimes. After the 2005 [read full story]
Posted in Africa, Ethiopia, Featured, Human rights, NGOs/Civil society, autocrats, democracy, democratization |
By Michael Allen on March 9, 2010
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]
Posted in Asia, China, Featured, authoritarianism, autocrats, communist regimes, democratic reform, democratization, freedom of expression |
By Michael Allen on March 8, 2010
When Suharto’s military dictatorship and the economy collapsed simultaneously in 1998, observers expected Indonesia to lapse into chaos and violence. The prevailing scenarios held that without an autocratic figure to hold it together, the country would Balkanize or fall prey to fundamentalist Islam.
Instead, while the threat of radical Islamist terrorism has not dissipated, the country [read full story]
Posted in Asia, Indonesia, Islam and democracy, Islam/politics, autocrats, corruption, democracy, democracy and development, democracy promotion, promoting democracy, rule of law |
By Michael Allen on March 4, 2010
Never mind Avatar, George Clooney and that bomb-disposal team in the Iraq war. A grantee of the National Endowment for Democracy could be the star of this week’s Oscars, writes Christian Caryl over at Foreign Policy.
Burma VJ, a favorite for best documentary, features covertly filmed footage of the 1988 Saffron Revolution filmed by a small [read full story]
Posted in Burma, Democracy assistance, National Endowment for Democracy, autocrats, democracy support, media | Tagged Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country, Democratic Voice of Burma, foreign policy, National Endowment for Democracy, saffron revolution |
By Michael Allen on March 3, 2010
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]
Posted in Africa, Analysis, Asia, Backlash, Blogs, China, Democracy assistance, Egypt, Elections, Fragile States, Iran, Iraq, Islam and democracy, Islam/politics, Journal of Democracy, Middle East and North Africa, NGOs/Civil society, National Democratic Institute, National Endowment for Democracy, Publications, Religion and Democracy, Russia, Soft power, Tools/technology, Women, accountability, authoritarianism, autocrats, backsliding, color revolutions, corruption, democracy, democracy and development, democracy promotion, democracy support, democratic reform, democratization, dictatorships, dissidents, economic crisis, emerging democracies, foreign policy, governance, media, promoting democracy, protests, religious freedom, rule of law, smart power, solidarity, state-building | Tagged Broadcasting in UN Blue: The Unexamined Past and Uncertain Future of Peacekeeping Radio, Center for International Media Assistance, Dalia Ziada, democracy in Mexico, Democratization in Africa, freedom of the internet for democracy, Human rights, Human Rights in the North Caucasus, Iraqi Elections, Islam and Religious Freedom, Islamic Republic of Iran, Mark Lagon, Mexican Media Under Attack, Mobilizing for Women's Rights and Eliminating Violence against Women, National Endowment for Democracy, Restoring America’s Reputation, Second Geneva Summit for Human Rights, velayat-e-faqih, Women in a Changing China, Women's Learning Partnership, Yemen, Zalmay Khalilzad |
By Michael Allen on March 3, 2010
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]
Posted in Africa, Analysis, Asia, China, Cuba, Cuba, Elections, Europe, Featured, Georgia, Kenya, Latin America and the Carribean, Middle East and North Africa, NGOs/Civil society, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam, authoritarianism, autocrats, backsliding, corruption, democracy, democracy and development, democratization, economic crisis, emerging democracies, freedom of expression, governance, media, rule of law |
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