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backsliding
By Michael Allen on March 4, 2010
Are the recent arrests of leading Turkish military figures a pre-emptive blow against a “deep state” of secular elites planning a coup against the country’s democratically-elected government? Or do they signal the growing influence of radical Islamist forces determined to discredit a revered institution and breach the red lines that protect the country’s secular constitution?
As [read full story]
Posted in Featured, Islam and democracy, Islam/politics, NGOs/Civil society, National Endowment for Democracy, Turkey, backsliding, democratization, promoting democracy |
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 |
By Michael Allen on February 18, 2010
The world’s democracy and human rights advocates need to develop genuinely global responses and new approaches to deal with the current authoritarian offensive against fundamental freedoms of association and expression, former Czech President Vaclav Havel told a Washington meeting last night.
There is a compelling moral imperative for solidarity with dissidents within totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, [read full story]
Posted in Backlash, Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Cuba, Democracy assistance, Human rights, NGOs/Civil society, National Endowment for Democracy, authoritarianism, autocrats, backsliding, communist regimes, democracy, democracy and development, democracy support, dissidents, freedom of expression, promoting democracy, solidarity, totalitarianism |
By Michael Allen on February 3, 2010
Russia must democratize, join NATO and the EU, shrink its military, and disband its Interior Ministry and Federal Security Service, according to a new report released today by a think tank linked to President Dmitry Medvedev.
Urgent economic reforms cannot be realized without political modernization, says the report, “21st-Century Russia: Reflections on an Attractive Tomorrow,” published [read full story]
Posted in Featured, Russia, authoritarianism, backsliding, democracy, democratization, promoting democracy, rule of law |
By Michael Allen on February 2, 2010
Leading politicians are joining with democracy and civil society groups in calling on authorities in Kazakhstan to release jailed human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis.
His case was raised on Capitol Hill today at a hearing on Kazakhstan’s controversial leadership of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) featuring the country’s Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev.
The [read full story]
Posted in Eurasia, Featured, Human rights, Kazakhstan, NGOs/Civil society, National Endowment for Democracy, authoritarianism, backsliding, emerging democracies, freedom of expression, media, rule of law |
By Michael Allen on February 2, 2010
Nigeria faces the prospect of a breakdown in constitutional order prompted by the two-month absence of its president and resulting political impasse, analysts warn.
“Even at the best of times, good governance in Africa’s most populous state is rare,” write the International Crisis Group’s Louise Arbour and Ayo Obe, a legal practitioner in Nigeria and a [read full story]
Posted in NGOs/Civil society, National Endowment for Democracy, backsliding, corruption, democracy support, governance, promoting democracy |
By Michael Allen on January 26, 2010
Zimbabwe’s faltering recovery confirms that democratization is a sine qua non for genuine economic development, the country’s finance minister said today.
South African premier Jakob Zuma should convene a summit of the Southern African Development Community to end the current impasse, Tendai Biti told a Washington meeting sponsored by Freedom House and the National Democratic Institute.
The [read full story]
Posted in Africa, Democracy assistance, Elections, Featured, NGOs/Civil society, National Democratic Institute, Zimbabwe, backsliding, corruption, democracy support |
By Katherine Bannor on January 25, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010- 12 noon. Ukraine After the First Round of Elections. Discussion with David Kramer, senior transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. The Woodrow Wilson Center: One Wilson Plaza; Reagan Building; 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW. Full details at 202-691-4000, or http://www.wilsoncenter.org.
Monday, January 25, 2010- 6p.m. The Obama Administration’s [read full story]
Posted in Analysis, Backlash, Democracy assistance, Elections, Events, Human rights, Islam and democracy, Islam/politics, NGOs/Civil society, National Democratic Institute, National Endowment for Democracy, Zimbabwe, authoritarianism, autocrats, backsliding, color revolutions, communist regimes, corruption, democracy, democracy and development, democracy promotion, democracy support, democratization, dictatorships, dissidents, emerging democracies, foreign policy, governance, promoting democracy, protests | Tagged Concertacion, democratic consolidation, Participatory Institutions, State Capacity, tibet |
By Michael Allen on January 19, 2010
Vietnamese democracy and human rights activists go on trial tomorrow, charged with conspiring to overthrow the communist regime. The ruling Communist Party equates the advocacy of political pluralism with treason.
The court has banned the use of any recording devices or computers by media attending the trial. “These are the regulations of this court,” said a [read full story]
Posted in Human rights, Vietnam, backsliding, communist regimes, democracy, dissidents, promoting democracy |
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