On September 15, 2012, a protest in Sydney by Salafi Muslims against an ‘anti-Islam’ film ended in violent confrontations with police.
Jamie Kennedy/flickr
One Nation has built on the racism of its original anti-Asian platform by linking Australia’s secular society to its Christian origins and presenting Islam as incompatible with this way of life.
Italians voted “No” by a convincing margin in the referendum on constitutional change.
In a climate of widespread discontent with Italy’s political establishment, a new election might wipe out most of the parties in the current government coalition.
To understand whether the referendum will plunge Italy into a crisis, we need to unpack the problem in its three essential components: the reform; the Renzi’s factor; and the country’s economy.
After 1992, the transformation of the Italian left was slow and subtle, but by no means less detrimental to the quality of the country’s democratic system.
Global media systems cannot effectively contribute to social progress until opportunities are more widely shared.
Internet.org by Facebook/Facebook
Global media systems cannot effectively contribute to social progress until opportunities not just for access, but also for active participation, are more widely shared.
A portrait of US President-elect Donald Trump guards a residential backyard in Iowa, complete with lights and security cameras.
Tony Webster/flickr
The better-to-do and the established of civil and political society have become complacent and deaf to ‘those at the bottom’. The working class has gone over to the right-wing populists.
A disempowering judgment by the Special Court for Sierra Leone should not blind us to how local activists still made use of its symbolic power.
Steve Evans/flickr
How are we to understand why people in different parts of the world continue to demand and participate in transitional justice institutions and processes in spite of the shortcomings?
Donald Trump descends the escalator at Trump Tower to announce he will run for president.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Donald Trump is the latest example of populism’s return to the global political landscape. Nine scholars from seven countries examine the link between populism and democracy.
Donald Trump is often described as a populist leader.
Reuters/Carlo Allegri
In this special The Conversation project, scholars and commentators from around the world examine the rise of populism, and its implications, now and into the future.
Silvio Berlusconi’s rise to power, hand in hand with his monopoly of mainstream media, made the Internet the favourite harbour for nonaligned audiences and dissident voices.
Protestants hold a Sunday service in the open air in Jakarta. Their efforts to erect their own church buildings have been blocked by hardline Muslim groups.
Cherian George
This article is part of the Democracy Futures series, a joint global initiative with the Sydney Democracy Network. The project aims to stimulate fresh thinking about the many challenges facing democracies…
Democracy today contains within itself impulses towards both inclusion and exclusion. Spinoza’s thinking on aristocracy should alert us to how democratic rule by the people can be hollowed out.
Australia needs to recapture the urgency felt in the early 20th century about achieving an honourable and just settlement with Indigenous people.
Takver/flickr
What if, then, come November 8, millions of Americans cast a different vote? What if, come November 8, Americans decide to take the road less travelled?
The Labour elite doesn’t think Jeremy Corbyn has what it takes to make it in Westminster.
UK Parliament/flickr
Labour reformers toyed with the image of democratic participation without realising what it would actually lead to – a democratic debate. But the next step is not to backpedal against democracy.
Professor of Comparative Political Science and Democracy Research at the Humboldt University Berlin; Associate of the Sydney Democracy Network, University of Sydney; Director of Research Unit Democracy: Structures, Performance, Challenges, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.