Menu Close

Articles on Authoritarianism

Displaying 81 - 100 of 265 articles

Supporters of incumbent president Adama Barrow’s National Peoples Party (NPP) during a campaign rally in Banjul in November 2021. Photo by Guy Peterson/AFP via Getty Images

Why The Gambia should fast-track gender quotas for women

Temporary measures such as legislative gender quotas can increase women’s access to political participation.
A man gets vaccinated at the recent launch by President Cyril Ramaphosa of a vaccination campaign. in Katlehong, Gauteng Province. GCIS/Flickr

Human rights and COVID restrictions: what South Africans are willing to give up

Most adults were prepared to sacrifice their rights to ensure the safety and health of all during the pandemic, averaging 74%.
An activist holds up a defaced portrait of Myanmar Gen. Min Aung Hlaing during a rally against the military coup in Jakarta, Indonesia in April 2021, as the ASEAN summit was being held. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Hopeful signs: How some southeast Asian nations are snubbing Myanmar’s military leader

Will the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN, start taking tougher stances against authoritarian and military regimes? Its recent treatment of Myanmar’s military ruler is promising.
Security fences stand near the U.S. Capitol on January 5, 2022. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

How democracy gets eroded – lessons from a Nixon expert

The January 6, 2021, Capitol riot happened a year ago. But the attempt to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power was just one part of a larger, and more long-term, attempt to undo US democracy.
The militarisation of the Zimbabwean government raises serious questions about who really wields political power - President Emmerson Mnangagwa or army leaders. Mujahid Safodien/AFP via Getty Images

Shadow states are the biggest threat to democracy in Africa: fresh reports detail how

The extent of democracy capture varies markedly between countries. It’s much higher in states such as Zimbabwe, where the government has never changed hands.
President Vladimir Putin addresses his United Russia party at its June 2021 convention, where members convened to choose candidates and draft a strategy for the country’s upcoming election. Grigory Sysoyev\TASS via Getty Images

Vladimir Putin plans to win Russia’s parliamentary election no matter how unpopular his party is

Despite a 27% approval rating, Putin’s United Russia party can maintain its legislative majority in September through manipulation and fraud, says an expert on Russian elections.
Many religious groups often get labeled as cults. David Howells/Corbis via Getty Images

What is a cult?

A religion scholar explains why the label of ‘cult’ gets in the way of understanding new religions and political movements.
King Mswati III of eSwatini, Africa’s last absolute monarch, is facing growing demands for democracy and rule of law. EPA-EFE/Yeshiel Panchia

Africans want consensual democracy – why is that reality so hard to accept?

There is more support for democracy among African people than is often recognised. Yet this can be undermined by election rigging and is lower in countries like Lesotho, Mozambique and South Africa.
A soldier stands guard in front of the Brazilian national flag on Army Day in Sao Paulo, 18 April 2019. Miguel Schincariol/AFP

Brazil: the road to Jair Bolsonaro’s militarised democracy

Don’t be fooled by the recent resignation of three members of the military in Brazil – the country is heading down an increasingly militarised path.
Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele promised voters change. Instead, he seems to be reviving El Salvador’s authoritarian past. Camilo Freedman/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

El Salvador’s façade of democracy crumbles as president purges his political opponents

El Salvador ‘is inching back toward its authoritarian past’ after President Nayib Bukele fired five supreme court justices and the attorney general – essentially the only checks on his power.

Top contributors

More