Islam/politics

Solidarity with Muslim democrats vital in combatting violent extremism

Promoting democracy is a vital element in the war of ideas against violent extremism, writes James Glassman, former U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs.
Public diplomacy and public relations are not the same thing, and efforts to improve the image of the United States will be less effective than active solidarity with [read full story]

Iran: labor emerging as political factor?

Iran’s Green Movement should reach out to the country’s workers to expand support amongst the country’s poor and working families, opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi said recently.
“The fate of the movement should be tied to the fate of all walks of life – in particular the two groups in charge of [the] economy and education, meaning [read full story]

Obama visit highlights Indonesian democracy’s achievements – and shortcomings

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]

Huh? An unpredictable election in the Arab world?

This weekend will see something rare: an election in the Arab world in which the winner can’t be predicted in advance. Aside from the predictably confessional alignments of Lebanese elections, Iraq’s March 7 parliamentary poll is the region’s only election where there is a real prospect of political power changing hands.
The campaigns have been genuinely [read full story]

Turkey: democracy threatened or saved?

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]

Democracy events

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]

Arab Reform Bulletin

The latest edition of the must-read Arab Reform Bulletin includes Husam Tammam on Egypt’s New Brotherhood Leadership: Implications and Limits of Change and Brian Katulis explains why Iraq’s Elections Highlight a Gap in U.S. Policy.
This is the first issue of the new-look ARB which will now publish 1-2 articles weekly instead of several features [read full story]

Democracy Events

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]

Democracy events

Thursday, February 18 – Iraq’s Elections—and Iraq’s Future. 12:15-1:45, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW –The Iraqi parliamentary elections on March 7 will be a critical test for the young democracy. Ad Melkert, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, will assess the latest situation on the ground in the run-up [read full story]

Iran: West must aid ‘disorganized, leaderless’ opposition as advantage shifts to regime

The Islamic Republic’s repressive capacity, aided by the Green movement’s tactical inflexibility, weak leadership and strategic myopia, mean that the balance of advantage has shifted to the regime in the aftermath of this week’s events.
But growing tensions between Iran’s clerical establishment and the Revolutionary Guards, exacerbated by the unresolved challenge of the Green opposition, are [read full story]

Search by Category

Browse Democracy Links

Bulletin and Archives

Opportunities and Events

Subscribe to the RSS Feed


Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner