Democracy

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
China, Democracy, Human Rights
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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
Defence and Intelligence, Democracy, Russia, Technology
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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
Defence and Intelligence, Democracy, Russia, Technology
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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
Democracy, Fragile States, Human Rights, Latin America
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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
Democracy, Fragile States, International Development, Middle East, Women
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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
Democracy, Fragile States, International Development, Middle East, Women
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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
Democracy, Gender, Human Rights, Women
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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
Democracy, Europe, Theory
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Blue Wave Swamps Taiwan Elections
- November 28, 2018
Taiwan’s mid-term elections on 24 November brought a renewed “blue wave” to the island democracy. In this case, the blues are the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, KMT) and allies who favour rapprochement with China. The greens are the …
By Scott Simon
Asia, Democracy, Gender, Human Rights, International Relations
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How Do You Make Donald Trump Laugh? Democrats Should Think About It.
- November 23, 2018
By Jeremy Kinsman

Many times in the past two years, people have told me they’ve never seen Donald Trump laugh.

So, what would it take?

A sure bet would be if — after the mid-term elections that bore very ominous …
By CIPS
Democracy, USA
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Lest We Forget Why We Fought World War I
- November 7, 2018
Lauchlan T. Munro

School of International Development and Global Studies

On Remembrance Day, I think of my two grandfathers and my two great uncles who served in the Canadian army in World War I. I remember their sacrifice. But I …
By CIPS
Canadian Foreign Policy, Commonwealth, Democracy, International Relations
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Khashoggi Murder Case a Test for Despots Everywhere
- October 18, 2018
The disappearance and possible murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi is an important test case for despots everywhere. Can they get away with interrogating, kidnapping, and even assassinating their critics in other countries?

Khashoggi, a resident of the United …
By Roland Paris
Democracy, Human Rights, International Law, Middle East
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