Senegal’s internet shutdowns are another sign of a democracy in peril: Protestors gather in Madrid to demand justice and democracy in Senegal. Photo by Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images Senegal’s government began blocking several digital platforms – including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and YouTube – in certain areas on 1 June. Days later, it …
Timor-Leste election offers an extraordinary lesson in how to build a stable democracy: After a spirited election campaign, the people of Timor-Leste voted for a new parliament on May 21. The vote was free, fair and largely uneventful. The results were accepted. This is a remarkable accomplishment for democracy. With roughly 40% of the vote …
Media freedom and democracy: Africans in four countries weigh up thorny questions about state control: Democracy cannot survive without free media. Getty Images In July 2022, BBC Africa Eye released a documentary on gang activity in northwestern Nigeria. The programme, The Bandit Warlords of Zamfara, examined the raids on villages, abductions and murders that have …
South Africans are fed up with their prospects, and their democracy, according to latest social attitudes survey: 29 years of democracy has left its mark. Rather battered and frayed South African flag billowing in the wind against a cloud-strewn sky. The mood among South Africans has soured. The latest findings from the representative survey that’s …
India: Rahul Gandhi’s defamation trial highlights drift away from democracy under Narendra Modi: Rahul Gandhi, India’s most prominent opposition leader and the principal adversary of the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, was recently disqualified as a member of parliament. This came after Gandhi was found guilty of defamation for comment he made about Modi’s surname …
Is democracy on the ballot in west Africa? What the latest data tells us: An armed soldier at a polling station during the counting of votes in March 2018 in Freetown. Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images Democracy indices compiled by respected organisations have suggested that around the world, there’s an increase in authoritarianism or democratic …
Israel protests: Netanyahu delays judicial reforms over fears of ‘civil war’ – but deep fault-lines threaten future of democracy: Despite Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to delay the planned judicial reforms that have so destabilised Israeli society, the country’s crisis of democracy is far from over. Protests at Netanyahu’s plan, which have rocked Israel for weeks, redoubled …
Does democracy fuel corruption? Most Ghanaians don’t think so: The High Court in Accra, Ghana's capital. Strengthening the judiciary would ensure a better democratic outcome. MyLoupe/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Does democracy breed corruption – particularly in developing countries? There are strong advocates of the theory. And strong detractors. Some studies conclude that democracy …
Iran: unions and civil rights groups demand democracy and social justice: Women, life, freedom: protests against the oppression of Iranian women in Iran in Ottowa, Canada, September 2022. Taymaz Valley/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA Forty-four years after Iranians rose up against their hated monarch in February 1979, a group of 20 organisations engaged in long-term social …
Why the 2024 election cycle could result in more threats to US democracy: Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock “I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution.” These were the words of former US president Donald Trump during an address to the annual Conservative Political Action …
Mexico protests: fears for democracy prompt mass demonstrations: Electoral reforms proposed by the Mexican government have sparked huge protests across the country. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in more than 100 towns and cities in opposition to legislation passed by the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The reform will slash …
Election observers are important for democracy – but few voters know what they do: Members of a European Union election observation team speak to voters in Zimbabwe. Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images Election observers keep watch over polls throughout the world. Their job is to support efforts to improve electoral quality and to provide transparency. …
Invisible Trillions review: global capitalism operates beyond the rule of law and threatens democracy: Achieving greater transparency and accountability in democratic governance and in capitalist economics must occur simultaneously. shutterstock Secrecy has become as important for corporations as transparent and taxable profits used to be, according to Raymond W. Baker in his new book Invisible …
The body choosing Kenya’s election commission is being overhauled – how this could strengthen democracy: William Ruto is sworn-in as Kenya's president in September 2022. Former President Uhuru Kenyatta looks on. Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images Kenya has new rules for choosing the people who run its elections. President William Ruto has signed into law …
Ukraine recap: supply of German and US tanks to make Kyiv ‘a real punching fist of democracy’: For the past several days the focus of war news has been squarely on Germany’s Olaf Scholz. The chancellor has been battling with his conscience over whether to accede to Volodymyr Zelensky’s plea to supply Ukraine with his …
Brazil’s military is supposed to safeguard democracy – yet its threat of intervention hangs over politics: The sacking of the three buildings comprising the seat of government in Brasilia on January 8 was a reminder of an unresolved tension in the heart of the Brazilian state: the role of the armed forces. As in many …
Brazil: swift and robust response to the insurrection highlights the strength of democracy: Brazil’s state institutions, including the recently installed government of Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, have reacted swiftly in the wake of the riots in Brasilia last weekend. Hundreds of rioters have already been arrested and the state governor of the federal district …
West Africa has experienced a wave of coups – superficial democracy is to blame: A small group of protesters holds Russia and Burkina flags as they protest against the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images West Africa has seen coups and military takeovers in three countries in 2022. Like …