Azerbaijan’s parliament, the Milli Mejlis, has postponed discussion of the proposed amendments to the NGO and media laws scheduled for today. Officials claimed that the deferral was due to lack of but democracy activists insist it was, in the words …

An extra-ordinary session of Azerbaijan’s parliament convenes tomorrow to consider proposed legislation on non-governmental organizations and the media which critics believe will seriously undermine rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association. The debate takes place just 10 days …

Events in Iran bear a striking resemblance to the “color revolutions” in post-communist Europe, notes political scientist Joshua A. Tucker, an associate professor of politics at New York University and a National Security Fellow at the Truman National Security …

Liberal commentator Spencer Ackerman notes some Democrats’ concern at the Obama administration’s cautious response to events in Iran and finds that some democracy promotion experts are pinning their hopes for a more assertive U.S. approach on  Michael McFaul, the National …

The Obama administration has apparently conceded that prospects for building democracy in Afghanistan are slight, at least for the foreseeable future, even though Afghan democrats and civil society groups will continue their laudable efforts.  But now commentators are asking …

By appeasing Cuba’s communist regime, Europe is betraying the humanist ideal at the core of its political identity, writes former dissident Vaclav Havel.

“One of the fundamental pillars of Europe’s political architecture is a strong and enduring belief in the …

Democracy advocates are concerned at press reports that Taiwan’s Kuomintang government is planning to “purge” the country’s democracy promotion foundation of programs that could allegedly antagonize the mainland’s Communist authorities.

Reports suggest that President Ma Ying-jeou’s nationalist government …

The U.S. State Department has announced the winners of its Democracy Video Challenge online video competition.

The winners, from more than 900 submissions, are Rodin Hamidi’s The Path; Chansa Tembo from Zambia; Aissa Penafiel’s Long Live the Fearless Man…

June 16, 2009. 3 p.m. – The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Africa Program. “Kenya: Is Political Reform Possible?” Panellists: Kenyan parliamentarians Martha Karua and Paul Muite; and Makau Mutua, University of Buffalo Law School. CSIS, 1800 K …

Is today’s Iranian presidential election “a festival of freedom or a cover for theocracy?’ asks Elliott Abrams, George W. Bush’s deputy national security adviser and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. This week’s elections in Lebanon and Iran …