Democracy

By Mitchell Zimmerman | – ( Otherwords.org) – Our country may be divided on the issue of abortion. But when it comes down to it, most Americans believe that it’s a pregnant person’s right to decide for themselves whether to continue a pregnancy. That’s not only a blue-state attitude — it’s just as true in […]

Authoritarianism

How Tunisians can instill Democracy in the Face of growing Authoritarianism

Waging Nonviolence

By Craig Brown | – ( Waging Nonviolence ) – As Tunisia’s president Kais Saied takes the country down the path of authoritarianism, opponents faced a quandary about what to do during the July 25 referendum, on a constitution that will hand Saied significant power. Political opponents and civil society organizations considered whether it was […]

Authoritarianism

Violence in Darfur, Blue Nile adds to the worsening Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan

Middle East Monitor

By Khalil Charles | – The outbreak of violence in the Blue Nile leading to the death of at least 60 people this weekend and the injury of over 100 was sadly not unexpected. Tension was building for many months and now represents a wave of violence sweeping across eastern, western and central parts of […]

Democracy

The fall of the House of Arslan: How a Lebanese political Newcomer ousted a Dynasty

Global Voices

By Omar Boutine | – ( Globalvoices.org ) – On May 15, 2022, Lebanese voters cast their ballots in the first parliamentary elections to be held in the country since the Beirut blast leveled the eastern half of the capital in August of 2020. Since then, a nation mired in an economic crisis the World […]

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 […]

Democracy

Lebanese Election sees significant Gains for independent non-sectarian Politicians

The Conversation

By John Nagle, Queen’s University Belfast and Tamirace Fakhoury, Aalborg University | – Lebanese voters are signalling a desire for change, with Hezbollah and its allies losing ground across the country in a parliamentary election. Just as the recent election in Northern Ireland brought a boost for the non-sectarian Alliance Party, Lebanon’s election saw significant […]

Democracy

France: Macron’s Pyrrhic Victory — Is his Neoliberalism Producing the Far Right?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Romain Brunet at France 24 termed Emannuel Macron’s win in the presidential election a “Pyrrhic victory.” In 280-275 BC, Pyrrhus, the King of Epirus on the west coast of Greece, launched a war against the Roman Republic. He won some battles, but at such great cost that he may as […]

Democracy

GOP’s Voter Suppression Laws are a Five-Alarm Emergency for Democracy

OtherWords

By Robert P. Alvarez | – ( Otherwords.org ) – “Voter suppression” is a divisive and highly politicized term. But for the slate of bills Republicans are pushing across the country, it’s the only correct one. They’re introducing these bills in virtually every state, but three — Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin — are especially worrisome. […]

Democracy

Economic sanctions may deal fatal blow to Russia’s already-weak domestic opposition

The Conversation

By Brian Grodsky, University of Maryland, Baltimore County | – The West has responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by imposing harsh economic sanctions. Most consequentially, key Russian banks have been cut out of the SWIFT payments messaging system, making financial transactions much more difficult. The United States, European Union and others also moved to […]