Democracy

Why Taiwan is an International Issue
- September 20, 2017
China works hard to convince the world that any decision about Taiwan is entirely a Chinese domestic affair. This has not, however, always been the official line of the Chinese Communist Party. In 1936, when the Republic of China (ROC) …
By Scott Simon
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Crowded Out by “Big Man” Politics, Kenyan Women Still Struggle in 2017 Elections
- August 21, 2017
by Gabrielle Bardall, PhD, CIPS Research Associate

For all its progressive constitution, high-tech society, and exceptionally resourced Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Kenya is the worst performer in the East African Community (EAC) regarding women in parliament. These failures …
By Gabrielle Bardall
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China’s Republican Flag: A Conundrum for Canada–Taiwan Relations
- July 30, 2017
China’s Republican flag — the French-inspired tricolore representing nationalism, democracy, and peoples’ livelihood in Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People — was the national flag of all of China from 1928 until the founding of the People’s Republic of …
By Scott Simon
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Liberal Interventionism: The Crisis Within
- July 9, 2017
By Katja Lindskov Jacobsen

Center for Military Studies, University of Copenhagen

Liberal interventionism today not only responds to crises in countries experiencing violent conflicts, distress, and disaster. It also responds to a crisis within. This crisis is not simply about …
By CIPS
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Trump’s Genius
- July 9, 2017
For much of the public and the political classes, Donald Trump remains a mystery. The Twitter tirades and legislative fiascos, the constant media feuding, the insults and outrage all seem to reveal a president who is not simply politically inexperienced, …
By Michael C. Williams
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In Memoriam: Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique, murdered 23 April 2016
- April 20, 2017
By Ruth Bradley-St-Cyr

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a …
By CIPS
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#rezist: Protest in Romania
- March 9, 2017
by Teodor Lucian Moga

In the past weeks, Romanians have staged the largest mass protests since the country’s break from Communist rule in 1989. On Sunday, February 27, several thousand protesters gathered in front of the government building in Bucharest’s …
By CIPS
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The Liberal Democratic World Order Is Falling Apart
- January 13, 2017
As a new year opens across the globe, the post-Second-World-War order and the global rule of law are losing out to the rule of individual men. From Russia to China to the EU, authoritarian rule is tightening its grip.

In …
By Errol Mendes
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Between Past and Future: Canada’s Next Role in International Democracy Assistance
- July 29, 2016
by Gerald J. Schmitz

Where can Canada go from here in re-establishing its role as a partner in promoting democracy? Let us focus on four main areas: Parliament’s role, research capacity, stable funding, and healthy democracy at home.
1. Parliament’s Role
…
By CIPS
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Spreading the Vote: Canada and International Democracy Assistance
- July 11, 2016
Part one, and the introduction, to a series of blogs about Canadian democracy assistance around the world.

by Gabrielle Bardall

The commitment to democracy and human rights is at the core of Canadian values. The institutions and processes of Canadian …
By Gabrielle Bardall
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Clarifying the Caretaker Convention
- October 13, 2015
by Philippe Lagassé

What is the caretaker convention? When does a period of caretaker government begin? When does it end?

These questions should be pretty simple to answer. Shortly after the federal election began, the Privy Council Office (PCO) released …
By CIPS
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When we should, and shouldn’t, revoke citizenship
- September 30, 2015
The long federal election campaign has been knocked off course at various stages by the unexpected: revelations from the Duffy trial; the accelerating Syrian refugee crisis; the niqab issue in citizenship ceremonies; and now, courtesy of Monday night’s Munk debate …
By Wesley Wark
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