Turkey’s authoritarian leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was handed a big defeat recently when his party’s candidate lost a crucial election contest. Is this the beginning of Erdogan’s demise?
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Articles on Authoritarianism
Displaying 161 - 180 of 267 articles
The ruling National Resistance Movement has undermined Uganda’s democracy
Twelve reporters have been killed so far this year and 172 are in jail, according to a new report on press freedom worldwide. The US places 48th of 180 countries ranked, down two spots from 2018.
The role of the military in toppling authoritarian rulers, after intensive popular protests, raises questions about how the AU’s policy against coups should be applied.
A massive protest movement exploded across Nicaragua in April 2018, threatening to topple the country’s authoritarian regime. What happened to Central America’s ‘tropical spring?’
Gabon’s strongman president, Ali Bongo, is barely clinging to power after contested elections, a stroke and a coup attempt. The Bongo family has run this stable central African nation for 52 years.
On the eighth anniversary of the Syrian uprising, scholar Wendy Pearlman writes about the people who risked their lives and raised their voices to fight the oppressive rule of Bashar al-Assad.
Demonstrations against Abdelaziz Bouteflika have opened up a rare space for debate and self-expression – and could signal a change to a more free and involved civil society in Algeria.
Almost one-third of countries around the world are authoritarian regimes with the trappings of democracy. Their bad behavior poses a threat to real democracies, as the United States recently learned.
When an elected leader turns autocratic, the economy tends to suffer. That’s because, in a functioning democracy, economic policy is made jointly, with lawmakers playing a key role.
A coup seems so imminent in Venezuela that people are debating whether Maduro’s overthrow would be good or bad for Venezuelan democracy. But history suggests a coup may be less likely than it seems.
At least a dozen countries are supporting the Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Juan Guaidó, who has declared himself Venezuela’s legitimate leader while President Maduro rejects calls to resign.
Aid has never been just about helping people. It’s also about gaining influence and exercising soft power.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has transformed from a liberal into an authoritarian leader who uses the tools of democracy to attack civil society. Hungarians are protesting in the streets.
We asked experts on ethics, constitutional law and European political history to analyze Trump’s Oval Office address. Here’s what they heard in his speech about ‘crisis’ at the US-Mexico border.
Maduro, who was sworn in for his second term on Jan. 10, has rigged elections, jailed rivals and plunged Venezuela into crisis. But Trump’s proposed ‘military option’ to remove him remains unpopular.
President Trump says an alliance with Saudi Arabia is necessary, despite evidence the country’s crown prince ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
For decades, Bangladesh had a very vibrant – and highly political – rock scene. But the genre is struggling to survive the country’s crackdown on dissent and increasing Islamic conservatism.
Critics say Trump’s defense of Saudi Arabia in the Khashoggi affair betrays American values. But many presidents have cozied up to dictators, ignoring human rights abuses to serve US interests.
Nicaraguan migrants send over US$1 billion home each year. This money has played a changing role in domestic politics – first boosting the Ortega regime and, now, sustaining the uprising against him.
Top contributors
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Professor of Democracy, University of Birmingham
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Chaired professor for Scholarship in the Public Interest in the Department of English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University
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Assistant lecturer, CY Cergy Paris Université
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Executive Director, University of Dayton Human Rights Center, University of Dayton
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Professor of Political Science, Director of Center for Islamic & Arabic Studies, San Diego State University
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Associate Professor, School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin
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Professor of Practice in Diplomacy, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University
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Professor of Management and Organization, University of Southern California
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Associate professor, London Metropolitan University
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Associate Professor, Durham University
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Research Professor, Political Science, Chr. Michelsen Institute
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Associate Professor, Universidad Central de Venezuela
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Extraordinary Professor, Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria
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Professor of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand
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Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Lund University
