Democracy

COVID-19 Forces a Rethink of an Old Debate
- May 18, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a test of the preparedness of countries’ public health and governance systems. As countries diverge in their strategies to fight the epidemic, we have more and more opportunities for learning about what works and …
By Begench Yazlyyev and Lauchlan T. Munro
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Tunisie: Élection de Kais Saïed. Quel projet pour quelle réalité politico-juridique?
- December 13, 2019
Constitutionaliste de formation, Kais Saïed a remporté haut la main les élections présidentielles tunisiennes en récoltant 72% de l’ensemble des votants (57%). L’exercice électoral était digne d’une grande démocratie comme en témoignent les observateurs nationaux et internationaux. Cependant, de nombreuses …
By Jabeur Fathally
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Le Canada et le développement démocratique dans le monde
- November 25, 2019
Le Canada affiche un maigre bilan en matière de soutien à la démocratie dans le monde. Ce blogue suggère quelques pistes pour corriger le tir, tel qu’adopter un plan d’action

À plusieurs reprises, tant au Canada qu’à l’étranger, l’ancienne ministre …
By Stéphanie Bacher
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Autocrats use feminism to undermine democracy
- October 30, 2019
More women are being elected in autocratic regimes, but this is part of a democratic facade. The definition of democracy needs to change.

Fake news, disinformation, foreign influence in elections: We’re starting to understand the ways bad actors attack …
By Gabrielle Bardall
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30 Years After Tiananmen: Democracy More Urgent than Ever
- May 30, 2019
In early May, US State Department Director of Policy Planning Kiron Skinner was rebuked in China’s English-language media for characterizing US–China relations as a “clash of civilizations.” Skinner’s rhetoric reflects a Cold War mentality that overlooks centuries of mutual contact …
By Scott Simon
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Cyber Interference in the Federal Election? Part 1
- April 12, 2019
“We judge it very likely that Canadian voters will encounter some form of foreign cyber interference related to the 2019 federal election.” So says the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canada’s equivalent to America’s NSA and Britain’s GCHQ, in a …
By Paul Robinson
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Cyber Interference in the Federal Election? Part 2
- April 12, 2019
Part 1 of this blog dealt with the fairly generic alarms raised by the CSE regarding election tampering by foreign cyber threats. As far as the specific threat to Canada is concerned, CSE says the following:

“Since the 2015 federal …
By Paul Robinson
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“Nothing to Lose”: The Daily Struggles of Venezuelans
- February 5, 2019
By Rosana Lezama Sanchez

Venezuelan emigrants always talk about how much they miss the country they left behind. I returned to Caracas in August of 2018, but I too miss Venezuela. The Venezuela that I grew up in was certainly …
By CIPS
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A Nation in Transition: Afghan Perspectives on Society, Politics, and Economics, 2004 and 2018, Part 1
- January 23, 2019
The survey of the Afghan people, undertaken by the Asia Foundation every year since 2004, is an important barometer, tracking opinions on social, political, economic, and security conditions in their country. The survey findings provide a longitudinal picture of how …
By Nipa Banerjee
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A Nation in Transition: Afghan Perspectives on Society, Politics, and Economics, 2004 and 2018, Part 2
- January 23, 2019
In Part 1 of this blog, we looked at some results from the Asia Foundation’s annual survey of the Afghan people, comparing the results from 2004 and 2018 on such issues as national mood, fear for personal safety, and satisfaction …
By Nipa Banerjee
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Democracy’s Promise Unfulfilled while Violence against Women in Politics Persists
- December 10, 2018
In October 2018, the Office for the High Commissioner on Human Rights’ Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls presented a report to the UN General Assembly recognizing violence against women in politics (VAWP) as a human rights violation …
By Gabrielle Bardall
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The Alt-Right Gets its Own University
- December 6, 2018
Early in September, a new institution of higher learning opened its doors in Europe. In itself, this is not usually a particularly noteworthy event. But this is no run-of-the-mill college, nor are its founders conventional academics. The school in question …
By Michael C. Williams
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