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Failed states
By Michael Allen on March 2, 2010
Serious regression on Afghanistan’s political front threatens to undermine the promising gains secured on the battlefield, a new analysis suggests.
President Hamid Karzai’s backtracking on reform commitments, most recently rewriting the electoral law while the parliament was out of session and his brazen assumption of control over the formerly independent Electoral Complaints Commission, require a forceful [read full story]
Posted in Afghanistan, Asia, Failed states, Transparency, corruption, democratic reform, governance, state-building | Tagged Center for American Progress, Electoral Complaints Commission, functioning democracy |
By Michael Allen on March 1, 2010
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]
Posted in Failed states, authoritarianism |
By Web on February 23, 2010
Wednesday, February 24 – Saturday, February 27 – “Voices from Afghanistan” Exhibit – Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE – On February 24, a new exhibit at the Library of Congress will display some of the thousands of hand-painted scrolls and letters received by Radio Azadi, RFE/RL’s popular Afghan radio station. [read full story]
Posted in Afghanistan, Democracy assistance, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Elections, Failed states, Fragile States, Haiti, Human rights, Iraq, Islam and democracy, Islam/politics, Kenya, Labour/labor unions, Middle East and North Africa, NGOs/Civil society, National Endowment for Democracy, Regions, Transparency, Women, authoritarianism, corruption, democracy, democracy and development, democracy promotion, democracy support, democratic reform, democratization, dissidents, engagement, foreign policy, freedom of expression, governance, media, promoting democracy, protests, rule of law, solidarity | Tagged and Google, Broadcasting in UN Blue, Center for International Media Assistance, Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, china, counter-extremism, Democracy & Democracy Promotion, Democracy Promotion in the Muslim World, democratic governance, Geneva Summit for Human Rights, International Labour Organization, Iraqi Elections, Islam and Religious Freedom, Lech Walesa, National Endowment for Democracy, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow, Rethinking Human Development, Role of the U.S. in Encouraging Pro-Democracy Movements, Tariq Ramadan, the Internet, Vaclav Havel, Violence against Women, Voices from Afghanistan, Women’s Rights in the Middle East and North Africa |
By Michael Allen on February 2, 2010
More tragic news emerging from Haiti where the United Nations confirmed that Gerardo Le Chevalier, head of the UN Electoral Assistance unit, was killed in the 7.0 quake.
A Salvadoran citizen and former director of Latin America and Caribbean programs for the National Democratic Institute, he was among those who died when the U.N. headquarters in Port-au-Prince [read full story]
Posted in Failed states, Haiti, Latin America and the Carribean, National Democratic Institute, National Endowment for Democracy, Solidarity Center | Tagged American Center for International Labor Solidarity, Carl Gershman, Earthquake Relief for Haitian Workers Fund, Gerardo Le Chevalier, Haitian Staff and Family Disaster Assistance Fund, National Endowment for Democracy, Solidarity Center |
By Michael Allen on January 28, 2010
News of secret talks with Taliban leaders broke today as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced a new international trust fund to finance the reintegration of its fighters into Afghan society – and politics. The decision came at today’s international conference in London where delegates from over 70 states and organizations met to discuss strategy [read full story]
Posted in Afghanistan, Asia, Failed states, Featured, Human rights, Islam/politics, National Endowment for Democracy, democracy support, state-building |
By Michael Allen on January 27, 2010
As political leaders gather for the 60-nation Afghanistan summit in London, there is heavy speculation that the meeting will produce a proposal to reach an accord with the Taliban.
“There seems to be an emerging consensus that when all is said and done, the Afghan jihadist movement — in one form or another — will be [read full story]
Posted in Afghanistan, Failed states, Human rights, Islam and democracy, Islam/politics, NGOs/Civil society, Women, democracy, promoting democracy |
By Michael Allen on January 14, 2010
Why Are There No Arab Democracies? asks Larry Diamond in the latest issue of The Journal of Democracy. The January 2010 issue, which marks the Journal’s twentieth anniversary, also includes a must-read analysis of Populism, Pluralism, and Liberal Democracy by Marc F. Plattner. The full text of these articles is available online here.
You will need [read full story]
Posted in Backlash, Closed societies, Democracy assistance, Elections, Failed states, Islam and democracy, Islam/politics, NGOs/Civil society, National Endowment for Democracy, authoritarianism, autocrats, color revolutions, communist regimes, democracy, democracy and development, democracy promotion, democracy support, democratization, dictatorships, dissidents, economic crisis, emerging democracies, foreign policy, governance, legislatures, populism, promoting democracy, rule of law, state-building |
By Michael Allen on January 8, 2010
January 11, 2010. “There Is No Freedom Without Bread! 1989 and the Civil War That Brought Down Communism”, with author Constantine Pleshakov, visiting assistant professor of Russian and Eurasian studies and critical social thought at Mount Holyoke College. Woodrow Wilson Center’s (WWC) Cold War International History Project. 12 noon. Venue: WWC, One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, [read full story]
Posted in Backlash, Closed societies, Democracy assistance, Elections, Events, Failed states, Human rights, Islam and democracy, Islam/politics, Journal of Democracy, NGOs/Civil society, National Endowment for Democracy, Publications, authoritarianism, autocrats, backsliding, color revolutions, communist regimes, corruption, democracy, democracy and development, democracy promotion, democracy support, democratization, dictatorships, dissidents, emerging democracies, engagement, foreign policy, freedom of expression, governance, media, promoting democracy, protests, resource curse | Tagged Freedom House, Libel Tourism, political Islam, radical Islam |
By Michael Allen on December 22, 2009
Mortar shells yesterday destroyed Somalia’s Voice of Democracy radio station, killing Amal Abukar, 22, the wife of the station’s director, Abdirahman Yasin, and two civilians.
Seventeen people were wounded, including Yasin and a producer, Adam Hussein, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports.
On Sunday, the recently-installed satellite dish and antenna for Shabelle Television, a new initiative of [read full story]
Posted in Failed states, National Endowment for Democracy, Somalia, freedom of expression, media |
By Michael Allen on November 12, 2009
North Korea’s semi-feudal, semi-Stalinist regime has historically managed to play off the U.S., Russia and China to its own advantage. But recent events could be interpreted as a “cry for help,” some analysts suggest.
It “might be a failing state, balancing on the verge of famine, but when it comes to diplomatic games, North Korean politicians [read full story]
Posted in Closed societies, Failed states, National Endowment for Democracy, communist regimes |
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