Authoritarianism

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden ran on making Saudi Arabia a “pariah,” given that the CIA accused Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of authorizing the murder in 2018 of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Istanbul Saudi consulate. Biden and a bipartisan majority in the US Congress were also upset about […]

Authoritarianism

Elections: a Global Ranking rates US Weakest among Liberal Democracies

The Conversation

By Toby James, University of East Anglia; and Holly Ann Garnett, Royal Military College of Canada | – Defending democracy has suddenly become one of the central challenges of our age. The land war in Ukraine is widely considered a front line between autocratic rule and democratic freedom. The United States continues to absorb the […]

Authoritarianism

Iran: Arrests Amid Economic Protests: Attempt to Suppress Growing Social Movements

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Iranian authorities have arrested several prominent activists on baseless accusations amid labor union strikes and ongoing protests against rising prices, since May 6, 2022, in dozens of small towns, Human Rights Watch said today. Those arrested include a prominent sociologist and four labor rights defenders. News outlets close to […]

Anti-Vaccination

Pandemic Anti-Rights Syndrome

Tomdispatch

By Nina Burleigh | – ( Tomdispatch.com ) – Last month, not long after Florida federal judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled that the transportation mask mandate was illegal, I flew from New York City to Miami. Videos of airplane passengers in midflight ripping off their masks and cheering with joy had already gone viral following […]

Authoritarianism

How Big Oil fuels both Rising Authoritarianism and worsening Climate Crisis

The Conversation

By Eve Darian-Smith, University of California, Irvine | – Around the world, many countries are becoming less democratic. This backsliding on democracy and “creeping authoritarianism,” as the U.S. State Department puts it, is often supported by the same industries that are escalating climate change. In my new book, “Global Burning: Rising Antidemocracy and the Climate […]

Authoritarianism

Facing severe Repression, Russians are turning to antiwar Graffiti

Waging Nonviolence

By Colleen Wood and Alexis Lerner | – ( Waging Nonviolence ) – It is exceedingly difficult to organize peaceful protests in Russia. Since the Kremlin’s “Special Operation” began on Feb. 24, police have detained nearly 15,000 people across the country in connection with peaceful demonstrations. On March 4, the Kremlin expanded the scope of […]

Authoritarianism

Could Vladimir Putin be ousted over his Ukraine invasion?

The Conversation

Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom, University of British Columbia | – As the Russian invasion of Ukraine grinds on with no apparent solution through international diplomacy, some commentators are wondering if an end of the conflict could come from Vladimir Putin’s removal from power in Russia. Russian troops on the Ukrainian front lines are struggling, prominent Russian […]

Authoritarianism

Syrians Watch Ukraine with Fear and Hope: International Protections Provided to Ukrainians Can Still Be Extended to Syrians

Human Rights Watch

By Maya Ghazi | – ( Human Rights Watch ) – Over the past couple of years Syria has settled into a grim status quo: a crumbling economy, a fragmented nation, and the continued peril refugees face from forced returns home. Yet in the lead-up to the 11th anniversary of the Syrian revolution, there have […]

Authoritarianism

Putin’s brazen manipulation of language is a perfect example of Orwellian doublespeak

The Conversation

By Mark Satta, Wayne State University | – If you’ve been paying attention to how Russian President Vladimir Putin talks about the war in Ukraine, you may have noticed a pattern. Putin often uses words to mean exactly the opposite of what they normally do. He labels acts of war “peacekeeping duties.” He claims to […]