In the past, scholars tended to believe that the internet was an effective tool to challenge authoritarian regimes and facilitate the development of civil society. However, as an expert that has been investigating the issue for a number of years, I disagree with this widely held belief.
The FIFA World Cup highlighted the rift between internationally oriented elites and average Brazilians.
Old tricks die hard in the European Union’s “rogue state,” but the West must acknowledge its hand in fueling the political culture in Hungary.
As unrest in Syria slid into a civil war, Stephen and CARA were at the forefront of attempts to help Syrian intellectuals escape the violence so they could one day return to rebuild their country.
When every conflict is taken in terms of good vs. evil, no progress can be made and corruption becomes more of a nuance than a lack of accountability.
When oppositions win by significant margin, the tendency is for sweeping changes. The previous regime’s leaders are investigated, arrested and prosecuted for corruption. Policies are thrown out the window and new constitutions are drafted. Myanmar has taken a different path.
Romania’s fight against corruption is showing encouraging signs of progress, but the bitter medicine of reform marks a traumatic period for the country.
If there is no single truth, lies can become powerful tools in an election.
The European Union must do more to tackle endemic corruption and the lack of media pluralism in central and eastern Europe.
In her new book Everyday Ambassador (Atria Paperback), Kate Otto lays out a program for young people seeking to make a difference.
It is an important job of the media to use their best judgement when reporting on every false alarm, sniffle or sneeze that is heard across the globe. The real danger of Ebola is in the panic it can cause, both in West Africa and elsewhere.
In 1997, after trial proceedings lasting over three years, Berlin’s High Criminal Court convicted four individuals of murdering Iranian dissidents in a Berlin restaurant—and more significantly—explicitly found the murders were ordered at the highest levels of government in Tehran. The historic judgment culminated in an unprecedented diplomatic shift between Iran and Europe: Every EU member […]
Photo Credit: www.worldcancerday.org February 4 marks World Cancer Day, a time when the entire global community — regardless of nationality, profession, ethnicity, or any other form of identity — collectively remembers those whom cancer has impacted or claimed. Yet it is also a day when we’ll celebrate the miraculous accomplishments in cancer research and care […]
The struggle to establish and maintain stable democracies continues the world over. As I have said many times before, no one ever said democracy is easy or simple, but it provides the best opportunities for freedom and prosperity (also see Churchill’s view of democracy in my “about the author” script). But as of now, how […]
The First Drop of Water in a Probable Waterfall: Global expansion of cancer surveillance is an urgent concern that should be prominent on the global health and development agendas, and should be added to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s). I’m sanguine that the unprecedented momentum given to chronic diseases since the United Nations 2011 High […]