Authoritarianism

Mideast Regimes met the Arab Spring youth with Iron Fists and Sectarianization, but anti-Corruption Protests Continue

Simon Mabon | – As the popular refrain of “ash-shab yurid isqat an-nizam” rang out across the Middle East in the early months of 2011, the nature of political life and relations between rulers and ruled began to fragment. The chant – which roughly translates as “the people want the fall of the regime” – […]

Authoritarianism

Mr. Erdogan: Cease Turkish Gov’t Campaign against Boğaziçi University, Students, Faculty and Institutions

Committee on Academic Freedom

Committee on Academic Freedom of the Middle East Studies Association of North America H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan President of the Republic of Turkey T.C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Genel Sekreterliği 06689 Çankaya, Ankara Turkey Dear President Erdoğan: We write on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) of North America and its Committee on Academic Freedom to […]

Authoritarianism

Trump’s Coup and Burma’s Coup: What they have in Common

Reese Erlich

The Asian country’s military overthrew its government over baseless claims of voter fraud. Sound familiar? ( 48hills.org) – This week, military officers in Myanmar (formerly Burma) overthrew that nation’s democratically elected government after the party it preferred lost the parliamentary elections. The military claimed voter fraud without presenting any proof. It tried to fill the […]

Authoritarianism

Trump was forced out, but he left a Legacy of Threats and Intimidation toward Elected Public Servants

The Conversation

By Shelley Inglis | – As the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump approaches, federal officials are investigating threats to attack or kill members of Congress. This comes in the wake of the Capitol riot, when a mob stormed the building where members of the House and Senate were preparing to certify the presidential […]

Authoritarianism

How does the 25th Amendment work, and can it be used to remove Trump from office after US Capitol attack?

The Conversation

By Stephanie Newbold | – A day after President Donald Trump incited supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol, Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer called on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office, saying “This president should not hold office one day longer.” The 25th Amendment, ratified by the states […]

Authoritarianism

Why Trump’s Senate supporters can’t overturn Electoral College results they don’t like – here’s how the law actually works

The Conversation

By Donald Brand | – On Jan. 6, the United States Congress will gather in a joint session to tally the votes of the Electoral College, which cast its ballots in state capitols last month. In his role as president of the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence is slated to officially announce Joe Biden as […]

Authoritarianism

Democracy’s Night of the Living Dead: Trump’s GOP Zombies Lost by a Landslide, but they’re back to eat our Brains

Dan Dinello

By Dan Dinello | – Like a political remake of Night of the Living Dead, the Republican Party — put to death by the Lame Duck’s poisonous presidency — has reanimated as the Zombie Party. This hollowed out duplicate looks the same, but has been implanted with the traitorous delusions of the demented ex-President. Denying […]

Authoritarianism

Trump’s ‘smoking gun’ tape is worse than Nixon’s, but congressional Republicans have less incentive to do anything about it

The Conversation

By Ken Hughes | – At least Donald Trump’s “smoking gun” tape is simpler than Richard Nixon’s. Schoolchildren can easily grasp Trump’s high crime, in contrast to the complex, Machiavellian plot immortalized on the tape that led to Nixon’s downfall. It will be harder to explain to them why congressional Republicans decided to hold Nixon […]

Authoritarianism

Turkey: Bill on ‘Preventing Terrorism’ actually Targets Freedom of Association, Civil Society

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch ) – (Istanbul) – The Turkish government should withdraw provisions in a draft law that would arbitrarily curtail nongovernmental organizations’ activities and have the potential to violate the right to freedom of association, Human Rights Watch said today. Parliament was due to vote on the law on December 24, 2020. The […]