Democracy Digest » Labor/labor unions http://www.demdigest.net/blog News and analysis on democracy assistance and promotion Fri, 24 May 2013 21:17:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Free union elections for Foxconn workers – precedent or PR? http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/02/free-union-elections-for-foxconn-workers-precedent-or-pr/ http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/02/free-union-elections-for-foxconn-workers-precedent-or-pr/#comments Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:53:34 +0000 Demdigest http://www.demdigest.net/blog/?p=18950 China’s largest private sector employer is planning to hold “genuinely representative” trade union elections in an attempt to address growing worker discontent and prevent further outbreaks of unofficial labor militancy.

If the polls go ahead as planned …

]]> http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/02/free-union-elections-for-foxconn-workers-precedent-or-pr/feed/ 0 Moving Beyond Rhetoric: U.S. Policy in the Middle East http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/moving-beyond-rhetoric-u-s-policy-in-the-middle-east/ http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/moving-beyond-rhetoric-u-s-policy-in-the-middle-east/#comments Thu, 31 Jan 2013 23:19:14 +0000 Demdigest http://www.demdigest.net/blog/?p=18934 The Obama administration should be more assertive steps to in?uence the outcome of Arab Spring transitions, engage more broadly than government-to-government relations with a diverse set of actors, and employ leverage and incentives to affect the behavior of key actors, …

]]> http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/moving-beyond-rhetoric-u-s-policy-in-the-middle-east/feed/ 0 ‘Hybrid autocrat’ Chávez leaves Venezuela in ‘twilight zone’ http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/hybrid-autocrat-chavez-leaves-venezuela-in-twilight-zone/ http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/hybrid-autocrat-chavez-leaves-venezuela-in-twilight-zone/#comments Wed, 30 Jan 2013 20:56:14 +0000 Demdigest http://www.demdigest.net/blog/?p=18898 Hugo Chavez was a ‘Great Leader’?  Er, no, he wasn’t, says a former admirer.

The fading Venezuelan president “was neither a tyrant nor a democratic liberator but a hybrid, an elected autocrat, and the nuances of that category often …

]]> http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/hybrid-autocrat-chavez-leaves-venezuela-in-twilight-zone/feed/ 0 ‘Fourth time lucky’ for Georgia’s democracy? http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/fourth-time-lucky-for-georgias-democracy/ http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/fourth-time-lucky-for-georgias-democracy/#comments Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:23:16 +0000 Demdigest http://www.demdigest.net/blog/?p=18759 “Something amazing happened in Georgia’s 1 October 2012 parliamentary elections. The government lost and it gave up power, aside from the now-weakened presidency that it will hold for another year,” say two leading analysts:

A new coalition known as Georgian …

]]> http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/fourth-time-lucky-for-georgias-democracy/feed/ 0 Why Promoting Democracy is Smart and Right http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/why-promoting-democracy-is-smart-and-right/ http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/why-promoting-democracy-is-smart-and-right/#comments Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:42:48 +0000 Demdigest http://www.demdigest.net/blog/?p=18721 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 …

]]> http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/why-promoting-democracy-is-smart-and-right/feed/ 0 ‘Moderate’ Muslim Brotherhood? Morsi’s anti-Jewish slurs raise concerns over Egypt’s illiberal course http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/morsis-anti-jewish-slurs-raise-concerns-over-egypts-illiberal-course/ http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/morsis-anti-jewish-slurs-raise-concerns-over-egypts-illiberal-course/#comments Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:02:24 +0000 Demdigest http://www.demdigest.net/blog/?p=18644

The exposure of virulent anti-Semitic and anti-Western sentiments by Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi is “raising questions about Mr. Morsi’s efforts to present himself as a force for moderation and stability,” The New York Times reports:

Nearly three years …

]]> http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/morsis-anti-jewish-slurs-raise-concerns-over-egypts-illiberal-course/feed/ 1 Now out of never? Foreseeing the unforeseeable in China http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/now-out-of-never-foreseeing-the-unforeseeable-in-china/ http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/now-out-of-never-foreseeing-the-unforeseeable-in-china/#comments Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:26:45 +0000 Demdigest http://www.demdigest.net/blog/?p=18581  

“The consensus is stronger than at any time since the 1989 Tiananmen crisis that the resilience of the authoritarian regime in the People’s Republic of China is approaching its limits,” writes Columbia University political scientist Andrew J. Nathan. What …

]]> http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/now-out-of-never-foreseeing-the-unforeseeable-in-china/feed/ 0 Egypt’s workers: ‘unionized and nowhere to go’ http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/egypts-workers-unionized-and-nowhere-to-go/ http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/egypts-workers-unionized-and-nowhere-to-go/#comments Wed, 09 Jan 2013 21:47:04 +0000 Demdigest http://www.demdigest.net/blog/?p=18562 A major curb on freedom of association in Egypt “went virtually [but not completely] unnoticed in the political upheaval following President Morsi’s November 22 constitutional declaration which granted him almost dictatorial powers,” writes Stanford University’s Joel Benin:

Decree …

]]> http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2013/01/egypts-workers-unionized-and-nowhere-to-go/feed/ 0 ‘Tyranny of the majority’ in Egypt, as Morsi empowers military? http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2012/12/tyranny-of-the-majority-in-egypt-as-morsi-empowers-military/ http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2012/12/tyranny-of-the-majority-in-egypt-as-morsi-empowers-military/#comments Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:02:20 +0000 Michael Allen http://www.demdigest.net/blog/?p=18191 President Mohamed Morsi has ordered Egypt’s army to assume police powers, including the right to arrest civilians. The move comes on the eve of mass rival demonstrations on the controversial draft constitution.

It orders the military to fully cooperate with …

]]> http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2012/12/tyranny-of-the-majority-in-egypt-as-morsi-empowers-military/feed/ 0 Tunisia’s exclusion bill aimed at Ennahda rivals? http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2012/12/tunisias-exclusion-bill-aimed-at-ennahda-foes/ http://www.demdigest.net/blog/2012/12/tunisias-exclusion-bill-aimed-at-ennahda-foes/#comments Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:43:00 +0000 Demdigest http://www.demdigest.net/blog/?p=18139 Tunisia’s ruling Islamist party is proposing to exclude politicians associated with the former ruling party from the political process. The measure, says one analyst, “is being seen by some as a tactic to hinder an opposition front to Ennahda and ensure …

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