Viewing Authoritarianism

ADDED 02/22/2019

Neo-Nazis and the Far Right Are On the March in Ukraine

FROM  | The Nation

BY Lev Golinkin

ive years ago, Ukraine’s Maidan uprising ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, to the cheers and support of the West. Politicians and analysts in the United States and Europe not only celebrated the uprising as a triumph of democracy, but denied reports of Maidan’s ultranationalism, smearing those who warned about the dark side of the uprising as Moscow puppets […]

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ADDED 02/21/2019

Netanyahu Now Endorses Jewish Fascism. U.S. Jews, Cut Your Ties With Him Now

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 02/21/2019

Heavy Metal Confronts Its Nazi Problem

FROM 02/19/2019 | The New Yorker

BY Colin Moynihan

The world is on fire,” Ben Hutcherson told an audience in Brooklyn, last month, before a set by his band, Glacial Tomb. He added, “At least we can all burn together.” Over the next thirty minutes, the band, which Hutcherson describes as playing “blackened, sludgy death metal,” roared through a half-dozen songs, replete with thundering drums […]

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ADDED 02/13/2019

Manchester: Yellow Vest protesters face off with anti fascism and anti racism protesters

FROM 02/10/2019 | Manchester Evening News

BY Helen Johnson

James Goddard(Image: M.E.N.)1 of 12 A Stand up to Racism supporter sticks two fingers up to a Yellow Vest protest in Piccadilly Gardens(Image: Joel Goodman)2 of 12 Anti-fascists block a Yellow Vest protest on Market Street(Image: Joel Goodman)3 of 12 A man flashes a TRUMP 2020 shirt at anti-fascists during a ‘Yellow Vest’ protest in Manchester City Centre(Image: Joel Goodman)4 of 12 A […]

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ADDED 02/09/2019

Not one more drop of blood spilled

FROM 02/02/2019 | BrasilWire

BY Brian Meier

Indigenous people and their supporters protest in 51 cities around the World against the neo-fascist Bolsonaro administration’s dismantling of reservations, cultural and land rights and his supporters’ genocidal threats. January 31 was marked by protests for Brazilian Indigenous rights in cities across Brazil as people took to the streets to protest a new wave of […]

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ADDED 02/09/2019

Autocracies that look like democracies are a threat across the globe

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

Russia normalises torture in case against anti-fascists

FROM 02/09/2019 | Red Pepper

BY Gabriel Levy

Evidence that anti-fascist activists were tortured by Russian federal security officers is “really disturbing”, president Vladimir Putin told the Kremlin’s own human rights council in December. He promised to “look into it”. But ten of the young activists in question remain in detention awaiting trial in the “Network” case, charged with organising a terrorist group and illegal possession […]

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ADDED 02/09/2019

Cop Suspended After Anti-Fascists Expose His Affinity For White Nationalist Group

FROM 02/06/2019 | HuffPost

BY Christopher Mathias

A Virginia police sergeant has been suspended after his apparent affinity for a neo-pagan white nationalist group was exposed by local anti-fascist activists. Sgt. Robert Stamm, 36, was placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday, according to a statement from the Virginia Division of Capitol Police, the law enforcement agency tasked with policing the state Capitol […]

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ADDED 02/09/2019

Authoritarianism 2.0: How Saudi Arabia and the UAE are silencing dissent

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

Selfishness Is Killing Liberalism

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

Meet Fellow Worker Gritty, the Anti-Fascist Mascot

FROM 02/08/2019 | Truthout

BY Drew Hallowell

By now you have probably heard about Gritty, the mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team who has become nothing less than a phenomenon since debuting last September. Gritty has quickly become an NHL all-star and symbol of everything Philly, but there is much more to the orange, wide-eyed monster. Look no further than a resolution introduced by members […]

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ADDED 02/09/2019

Lessons from Tanzania’s Authoritarian Turn

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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