Democracy

Oxford, U.K (Special to Informed Comment) – Although Iran is one of the few countries in the Middle East that has regular presidential, parliamentary and local council elections, those elections are far from free and fair when judged by the standards of advanced democracies. The June, 2021 polls will be even more flawed, in large […]

African-Americans

The Worst Attack on Voting Rights Since Jim Crow

OtherWords

By Phyllis Richardson | – ( Otherwords.org ) – Last November, despite a global pandemic, voter intimidation, and an unprecedented disinformation campaign, a record number of Americans cast a ballot in the 2020 election. Expanded voting by mail, no-excuse absentee voting, curbside voting, and early voting made the ballot box more accessible. But now, Republican […]

Corruption

Could Dominion and Smartmatic take down Fox News for Libel and Reckless Disregard for the Truth?

The Conversation

By Nancy Costello | – Free speech advocates have long believed that suing a news organization threatens free speech. Democracy needs a press to be free to report, without fear or favor, the facts as it sees them. But recent legal actions against news organizations indicate that the First Amendment provides sufficient free speech protection, […]

Democracy

Ten years after the Arab Spring, Libya has another chance for peace

The Conversation

By Brian McQuinn | – Ten years ago, the United Nation’s no-fly zone over Libya marked the beginning of the Libyan revolution and the West’s bombing campaign. I spent much of the war embedded with the fighters in Misrata, Libya’s third-largest city, studying the insurgency. The fighting stopped with the death of Col. Moammar Gadhafi, […]

Democracy

Sudan’s Progressive, Secular Revolutionary Government faces Food Riots and Ethnic Violence

The Conversation

By Andrew E. Yaw Tchie | – Sudan’s political transition is in a precarious phase. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s government is facing a wide variety of challenges, including protests over the price of goods and commodities, and a resurgence of violence in the country’s Darfur region. If the situation continues to unravel, the country could […]

Democracy

Why Tunisians are still out on the streets — a decade after the Arab Spring

The Conversation

By Saerom Han, Andrea Teti, and Pamela Abbott | – It has been 10 years since nation-wide protests in Tunisia led to the ousting of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his regime. Ben Ali led Tunisia for 23 years. Tunisia’s “Dignity Revolution” marked the first time a long-standing Arab autocrat was removed […]

Elections

Will this month’s Israeli election end the Netanyahu era?

Middle East Monitor

By Ali Abu Hableh | – ( Middle East Monitor) – Due to right-wing domination, Israelis find themselves approaching the General Election this month with little real electoral choice. The various right-wing parties reflect the fragmentation on the right and the minor differences between them in terms of government priorities. Only Haredi Jews appear to […]

Corruption

Trump’s acquittal is a sign of ‘constitutional rot’ – partisanship overriding principles

The Conversation

By John E. Finn | – The Senate’s decision to acquit former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial may have been a victory for Trump, but it is a clear sign that democracy in the U.S. is in poor health. As a constitutional scholar, I believe the United States – the world’s first […]

Democracy

America’s Transition Away from Democracy and the World’s Wave of De-Democratization

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The twentieth century was in the eyes of some observers an uneven but steady march to democracy. Those who study transitions from authoritarian governments to democracy have defined a successful transition as characterized by two elections in a row, where all parties agree on the rules of the game, and […]