“There’s an addictive thing about freedom,” says Jenni Williams (far left) of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA):

When we organize our protests and we defy all the unjust laws that are in place and we are in …

The people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo must have genuine representation and expression of their grievances for any peace process to last, said Joshua Marks, the National Endowment for Democracy’s senior program officer, addressing last week’s Great …

While radical Islamist forces are wreaking havoc in the north of Mali, “a republican form of Islamism is peacefully conquering the south,” says Hannah Armstrong, a fellow of the Institute of Current World Affairs in the Sahel.

“The High Council …

The ongoing global shift toward democratic government, vividly joined in recent years by the Arab World, is tempered by the many challenges of democratic transitions, writes Joseph Siegle.* The toppling of an autocratic leader does not automatically mean the rise …

The United States “will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom,” President Barack Obama …

Pro-democracy and human rights advocates have denounced the detention of a leading Zimbabwean activist.

Okay Machisa (left), director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) is the most recent victim of a concerted crackdown on civil society activists in the run- …

Sub-Saharan Africa’s “frail democracies too often fall victim to corruption, social division, greed and dictatorship,” says analyst Landry Signé:

The world needs to add another “responsibility to protect” — a duty of democratic nations to safeguard popular …

Kenya’s forthcoming election seems likely to unleash a wave of tribal violence and destabilize East Africa’s “anchor state” and a significant strategic partner to international security efforts in the region.

Many observers are concerned that the poll could elect …

Sudan’s government is trying to close independent forums for civil society dialogue and coordination, says a leading African rights group,  accusing pro-democracy NGOs of receiving US funding in order to undermine the ruling National Congress Party:

The African Centre for Justice …

……democracy, argues Democracy Lab’s Christian CarYL.

Also in the latest Democracy Lab Weekly Brief:

Rick Rowden argues that accounts of “Africa’s rise” are fundamentally flawed.

Juan Nagel outlines scenarios for Venezuela if Hugo Chávez leaves the scene.

Peter Passell …