Youth activists played a vital role in mobilizing and educating voters in the run-up to Nigeria’s recent elections and in monitoring the polls, widely considered the country’s most credible since the end of military rule.
Despite considerable politically-orchestrated violence…
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 …
“The arrest of Ratko Mladic on May 26 caught me off guard,” writes Natasia Kandic (left). “I couldn’t believe it. I clenched my fists, trying to grip him tightly in my hands. Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief.”
But …
The European Union must shift from a top-down technocratic approach to promoting democracy if it is to help sustain transitions in the Arab world, according to leading opinion-formers.
The EU can support political reform through election-monitoring, political party assistance …
With Yemen finely poised between transition and regression, some opposition activists expressed cautious optimism today that acting President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi could initiate democratic reform. But the protest movement may face fierce resistance to a genuine transition from …
Yemen’s pro-democracy and civil society activists are celebrating President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s departure for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia as a fresh chance to halt a descent into civil war and initiate a peaceful transition of power.
But is the …
Egypt’s Jasmine Revolution was largely driven by economic concerns rather than democratic aspirations, according to a new survey of public opinion.
Most voters are inclined to vote for new political parties, but the role of new social media in …
The Chinese government has declared it will limit environmentally-damaging projects in Inner Mongolia, following recent protests. The authorities also confirmed the extent of China’s environment degradation, conceding that acid rain afflicts half of its cities and that water …