ADDED 11/21/2020
FROM 11/12/2020 | South China Morning Post
BY Martin Powers
“Let the constitution of a government be what it will, if there is but one man in it exempt from the laws, all the other members must necessarily be at his discretion.” Perhaps we should thank US President Donald Trump for demonstrating the truth of 18th-century French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s insight. Buoyed by “presidential immunity” – […]
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ADDED 09/22/2019
FROM | Brasil Wire
BY Brasil Wire
During a television interview on September 16th, 2019, former Brazilian President Michel Temer twice referred to the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff as a Golpe (Coup). Dilma Rousseff’s former VP, of the conservative MDB party, told interviewers: “People said ‘Temer is a Golpista (Putschist)’ and that I supported the Coup. It was different, I never supported or made […]
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ADDED 06/22/2019
FROM 06/22/2019 | The Week
BY Conor Lynch
Three years ago this weekend, British citizens voted to leave the European Union, and a lot has changed in the world since then. Though the United Kingdom has yet to officially exit the EU — and, after failing to come to an agreement by the initial exit date in March, it’s still unclear when or […]
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ADDED 05/05/2019
FROM 04/25/2019 | Letters and Politics
BY Mitch Jeserich
We are in conversation with historian Michael Joseph Roberto about the history of fascism in the United States during the New Deal era and its connection to corporate America. Guest: Michael Joseph Roberto retired professor of history at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the largest historically black educational institution in the United States. He is also […]
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ADDED 05/04/2019
FROM 05/03/2019 | Los Angeles Times
BY Scott Timberg
Remember “The End of History?” Elizabeth Drummond, who spent the 1990s studying at Georgetown University, recalls Francis Fukuyama’s groundbreaking essay well, which announced “an unabashed victory of economic and political liberalism.” The Soviet Union had just collapsed in a peaceful devolution, Germany was reunified as Champagne popped alongside the crumbling Berlin Wall and democracy seemed […]
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ADDED 04/21/2019
FROM 04/07/2019 | Scroll.IN
BY Chrystie Flournoy Swiney
From India to Poland to America, even historically strong democracies are passing legislation that makes it harder and riskier to engage in peaceful protests. Democracy seemed ascendant after the rivalry between communist and democratic states subsided in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991. As elected governments replaced many toppled totalitarian and authoritarian regimes, the […]
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ADDED 03/23/2019
FROM 03/16/2019 | This is Hell
BY Chuck Mertz, Jerome Roos
Debt repayment is a crucial lever in the process of empowering technocrats at finance ministries and central banks, giving them more authority to act as a ‘responsible debtor.’ In the process, we see that lack of democratic responsiveness, that growing power of technocrats and marginalization of those who seek to respond to more popular demands […]
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ADDED 02/21/2019
FROM 02/21/2019 | HAARETZ
BY Etan Nechin
Netanyahu lost his moral compass years ago, but his electoral deal with Israel’s most extreme racists is a moment of crisis, and a test, for American Jews. Don’t fail it. Benjamin Netanyahu faced media criticism this week for hosting the right-wing prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary who have been accused of being anti-immigrant […]
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ADDED 02/09/2019
FROM 02/05/2019 | The Conversation
BY Richard Carney
Russia’s successful interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election may inspire other countries to do the same. These other countries don’t look threatening. They look like democracies. But they’re not. They’re a special kind of autocratic regime that masquerades as a democracy. And what looks like benevolent conduct by these countries can quickly change into aggressive, […]
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ADDED 02/09/2019
FROM 02/08/2019 | Middle East Eye
BY Andreas Krieg
The self-immolation of a street vendor in Tunisia in December 2010 broke a barrier of fear for Arabs, long muted and intimidated by authoritarian autocrats across the region. Mohamed Bouazizi’s desperate act of protest set in motion a wave of civil societal activism, disobedience, protest and eventually revolution that would ultimately overthrow some of the […]
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ADDED 02/09/2019
FROM 02/19/2018 | The Atlantic
BY JAMES TRAUB
The death of liberalism constitutes the publishing world’s biggest mass funeral since the death of God half a century ago. Some authors, like conservative philosopher Patrick Deneen, of Why Liberalism Failed, have come to bury yesterday’s dogma. Others, like Edward Luce (The Retreat of Western Liberalism), Mark Lilla (The Once and Future Liberal), and Steven Levitsky […]
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ADDED 02/09/2019
FROM 02/07/2019 | Council on Foreign Relations
BY Michelle D. Gavin
The alarming reports out of Tanzania have become commonplace. Current Tanzanian President John Magufuli, who swept into office on a popular anti-corruption platform, has been presiding over a shocking decline in political and civil rights in the country. Civil society leaders, opposition politicians, journalists, and businesspeople feel unsafe on their own soil—and with good reason. […]
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