Asia

‘Southern democracies’ resist Euro-Atlantic embrace

The democratic West is consistently failing to pull the emerging democracies into partnerships and alliances on issues as diverse as climate change and sanctions against Iran, writes Nikolas K. Gvosdev.
Contrary to expectations of engaging them in a revived Community of Democracies, “southern democracies” like Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, India and Indonesia show a disturbing inclination [read full story]

Engaging civil society – in Pakistan at least

The Obama administration has bridled at criticism of a purportedly realist reversion on promoting democracy. But Hillary Clinton’s State Department seems to have overcome an initial reticence to consider civil society groups as serious interlocutors, at least in Pakistan, this anecdote suggests:
Shamila Chaudary — a self-described “backbencher” — had toiled for years as a faceless [read full story]

China: leadership crisis over emerging transition?

Contrary to recent portrayals of a self-confident, newly assertive China assuming its place as a global hegemon, the country’s leadership “is in crisis mode”, according to a new Stratfor analysis.
Meanwhile, the ruling Communist Party’s second-highest ranking official today conceded the danger of social instability, emphasizing that the regime’s priorities would be to enhance social security [read full story]

Burma: junta’s charm offensive cuts little ice

Sadly, Burma VJ didn’t win the Oscar for best documentary. The film features covertly filmed footage of the 1988 Saffron Revolution filmed by a small group of video journalists — the “VJs” of the film’s title — working the Oslo-based exile group Democratic Voice of Burma, a grantee of the National Endowment for Democracy.
 But it’s [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]

Democracy jobs

National Endowment for Democracy
Currently available opportunities include: Administrative Assistant – CIMA, Program Assistant – Asia, Program Assistant – Europe, Program Officer for Asia, Program Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean, Database/Web Developer, and Senior Director of Finance.  Further details here.  
International Republican Institute
Currently available DC-based opportunities include: Online Communications Specialist, Deputy Press Secretary, Program Assistant [read full story]

Burma VJ highlights ‘unpleasant paradox’ of democrats’ struggle

Never mind Avatar, George Clooney and that bomb-disposal team in the Iraq war. A grantee of the National Endowment for Democracy could be the star of this week’s Oscars, writes Christian Caryl over at Foreign Policy.
Burma VJ, a favorite for best documentary, features covertly filmed footage of the 1988 Saffron Revolution filmed by a small [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]

Combating Afghan corruption: gotta start somewhere……

If Afghanistan is going to outgovern, not just out-fight the Taliban insurgency, corruption and governance need to be at the top of the agenda.
The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and the National Center for Policy Research (NCPR) of Kabul University made their own contribution to an arduous task with this week’s Kabul roundtable on [read full story]

Democratic advantage obscures ’significant setbacks’ and autocratic legitimacy

The apparently stable advantage of democracy over autocracy disguises worrying erosion in the quality of democracy, a new analysis suggests.
Democracy has not lost its normative appeal, but even established democracies have experienced “significant setbacks” in the freedoms of assembly, association and the press, as well as declines in political participation, civil liberties and social capital, [read full story]

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