The democratic West has provided substantial assistance to support transitions in Tunisia and Egypt, intervened militarily in Libya and called for the ouster of Yemen’s President Saleh. So why have democracies been most reluctant to support “the most liberal …
President Barack Obama today urged Bahrain’s ruling dynasty to hold accountable those officials responsible for human rights abuses and to reach a compromise with opposition groups seeking reform.
His comments came after aleading member of Bahrain’s royal family met with …
While China’s ruling Communist party continues to struggle with the legacy of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, some foreign commentators appear to have less trouble.
Henry Kissinger is far too accommodating to China’s claims of neo-colonial victimization, but it is his …
Will Turkey’s June 12 elections spark a shift from relatively liberal democracy to competitive authoritarianism?
Nobody doubts that the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, will win a handsome majority. But if it secures more than 330 out of 550 seats, Prime Minister …
The contrast between Russia’s democratic promise and current deterioration will be all too evident to the National Security Council’s Michael McFaul (left), who, having worked on democracy assistance there in the 1990s, more recently emerged as an architect of the …
The daughter of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya (left) has welcomed the arrest of her alleged killer – but believes the architects of the murder remain at large.
“This case will be solved completely one day but I am not …
Is the prospect of inflation-induced political and social instability behind Chinese officials raising the possibility of compensating victims of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre?
“After all, it was concerns about spiraling prices that first stirred protests in the run-up to the …
International human rights groups are protesting the ongoing arbitrary detention of a prominent Zimbabwean democracy activist.
Florence Ndlovu, Matabeleland regional coordinator for Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights), is being detained after convening a workshop on the use of torture and …
Zimbabwe took a step closer towards early elections today when a facilitation team led by South African President Jacob Zuma completed a draft report on an election roadmap and revision of the troubled Global Political Agreement between Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF …
The Democratic Republic of the Congo faces the prospect of state collapse, writes Joshua Marks. The possibility of widespread violence around elections scheduled for November 2011 as well as the emergence of antigovernment movements in the provinces could precipitate a …