Freedom at Issue

Slamming the Door on Press Freedom in Bahrain

by Courtney C. Radsch

Senior Program Manager for the Global Freedom of Expression Campaign

 I was supposed to be in Bahrain this past weekend to lead an international freedom of expression mission with representatives of several prominent advocacy groups,  including the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, the Committee to Protect Journalists, PEN International, Index on Censorship, and Reporters Without Borders. However, after approving our mission in early April, and even offering to arrange meetings with relevant officials, Bahrain’s Ministry of Human Rights and Social Development decided to deny permission for the joint mission just days before we were to depart, meaning our organizations had already incurred travel and other expenses. The letter we received cited “new guidelines” that prohibit more than one organization from visiting at a time, and assured us that this was “merely an organizational matter.” But given that this is the second time this year that Freedom House has been denied entry to Bahrain, the ministry’s explanation seems rather dubious.

Nancy Okail Discusses Egypt's NGO Crackdown

Nancy Okail, director of Freedom House’s Egypt office in Cairo, is one of dozens of activists being prosecuted by the Egyptian authorities as part of a crackdown on independent civil society groups in the country.  She previously worked for the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, and Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation, serving under the same minister—Fayza Aboul Naga—who has played a prominent role in the current campaign against nongovernmental organizations.

Independent Media’s Growing Vulnerability in Central and Eastern Europe

Read the original piece here.

Hungary’s descent into the Partly Free category in Freedom House’s just-released annual assessment of global media independence should set off alarms for those who believed the country’s press freedom was firmly established.

Continue reading "Independent Media’s Growing Vulnerability in Central and Eastern Europe" »

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Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Christopher Walker , Civil Society, Freedom House, Hungary, Internet Freedom, Media Freedom, Ukraine

May 02, 2012

Press Freedom Report: Middle East Gains Amid Global Stagnation

For much of the past decade, global press freedom has been in retreat. This may seem counterintuitive in an era marked by the constant development and refinement of new communication technologies. Yet even as the internet, blogs, microblogs, mobile-telephone videos, and other forms of new media are reshaping the information landscape, governments are finding new and more sophisticated ways to control news coverage and manipulate political discourse.

Continue reading "Press Freedom Report: Middle East Gains Amid Global Stagnation" »

Posted at 05:22 PM in Freedom of Expression, Press Freedom, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Arch Puddington, Freedom House, Middle East and North Africa, Press Freedom

April 27, 2012

Parting Thoughts from Paula Schriefer

Paula Schriefer, Freedom House’s vice president for global programs, recently addressed a gathering of colleagues as she prepared to bring her 18-year career with the organization to a close. The following is an adaptation of her remarks:

Continue reading "Parting Thoughts from Paula Schriefer" »

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Technorati Tags: Democracy, Freedom House, Human Rights, Paula Schriefer, United Nations

April 13, 2012

The Dangers of Victor’s Justice in Côte d’Ivoire

by Jeffrey Smith
Program Officer, Africa


Côte d’Ivoire was once a promising model of economic prosperity and stability for West Africa, but in the last decade alone it has fallen prey to two civil wars, untold human misery, and large-scale impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations. The complex problems currently besetting the country are linked to the failure of its leaders to both commit to and successfully foster genuine democratic principles and practices.

Continue reading "The Dangers of Victor’s Justice in Côte d’Ivoire" »

Posted at 01:35 PM in Civil Society, Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Rule of Law, Sub-Saharan Africa

April 09, 2012

Kupchan’s Multipolar Confusion

by Tyler Roylance
Staff Editor

Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, argued in a New York Times opinion piece yesterday that the United States and Europe must learn to share the world with multiple “new forms of governance and capitalism,” and recognize that “the era of Western primacy” is coming to an end. It is certainly correct that “non-Western” developing nations are playing an increasingly important role in world diplomacy and the global economy, but the terms and categories he uses to describe this phenomenon lead him to provide some rather poor advice.

Continue reading "Kupchan’s Multipolar Confusion" »

Posted at 04:31 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Charles Kupchan, Civil Society, democracy, Democratic Governance, Freedom House, New York Times, U.S. Foreign Policy

April 04, 2012

The Great China Exception

by Arch Puddington

Vice President for Research

The magazine Commentary once published an article titled, “Has There Ever Been Anything Like the Soviet Union?” The piece appeared during the last decades of the Cold War, and the title was meant to convey the message that in the long and sordid annals of despotism, the USSR was unique—in the completeness of its totalitarian scheme, in the staying power of its mechanisms of control, in its global reach, and in its determination to assemble a terrifying arsenal even as its domestic economy lay in ruins. Eventually, of course, the Soviet Union succumbed, but for over 70 years it survived and even thrived as a model of anti-freedom that inspired regimes ranging from East Germany to North Korea.

Continue reading "The Great China Exception" »

Posted at 01:25 PM in Asia-Pacific | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Asia-Pacific, China, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Religious Freedom, Uighur

April 03, 2012

Keeping Burma’s Elections in Perspective

by Rachel Jacobs
Research Analyst, Countries at the Crossroads

Burma’s parliamentary by-elections on Sunday were seen as a “make or break” moment for the reform process that has taken place over the last two years. The country, long ruled by one of the world’s most repressive authoritarian regimes, inaugurated a new parliament and a nominally civilian government in early 2011, though both are still dominated by the military and its allies. The authorities have since taken a series of other steps, such as the release of some political prisoners that were designed to improve relations with democratic powers including the United States. The international community in turn has sought to engage the new leadership and encourage further reforms.

Continue reading "Keeping Burma’s Elections in Perspective" »

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Technorati Tags: Burma, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House

March 29, 2012

South Africa: Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Future

by Karl Beck
Southern Africa Projects Director


After a smooth start in the early post-apartheid period, South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is increasingly afflicted by contradictions between its idealistic principles and the baser behaviors of many of its officeholders. These behaviors currently include threats to institute tighter controls over the judiciary and the ANC’s civil society critics, especially the independent media. A discernable trend toward intolerance of judicial brakes on executive power, and also toward a general aversion to any criticism of executive policies and actions, raises troubling questions about the future of democratic governance in South Africa.

Continue reading "South Africa: Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Future " »

Posted at 03:55 PM in Civil Society, Africa, Rule of Law | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Rule of Law, Sub-Saharan Africa

March 28, 2012

Belarus: Economics May Succeed Where Diplomacy Has Failed

 

by Katherin Machalek
Research Analyst, Nations in Transit

Last week, the authorities in Belarus executed two young men who had been convicted of an April 2011 subway bombing in Minsk. While the deeply flawed trial and the swift, primitive nature of the men’s deaths may have disturbed the international community, they were not unusual for Belarus, which has consistently hovered close to the worst possible ratings on issues like the rule of law in Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World and Nations in Transit reports.

Continue reading "Belarus: Economics May Succeed Where Diplomacy Has Failed" »

Posted at 12:12 PM in Central and Eastern Europe , Eurasia, Rule of Law | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Belarus, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Rule of Law

March 22, 2012

For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution

by Husain Abdulla*

On February 14, 2011, large numbers of peaceful protesters turned out across Bahrain to demand fundamental changes to the island kingdom’s political system. Exasperated with the autocratic rule of the al-Khalifa family, they called for free and fair parliamentary elections, an end to the gerrymandering and other tactics that politically marginalize certain groups (particularly Shia Muslims, who form a majority of the electorate), and the immediate release of all political prisoners. However, security forces overseen by Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa—an uncle of the king who has served as prime minister since 1971—brutally crushed the protest movement, arresting, injuring, and killing many innocent citizens. As a result, more than 13 months after the protests began, the existing obstacles to Bahraini democracy remain largely intact.

Continue reading "For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution" »

Posted at 03:57 PM in Civil Society, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Bahrain, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Saudi Arabia

March 21, 2012

Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes

On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

Continue reading "Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes" »

Posted at 11:37 AM in Civil Society, Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Central and Eastern Europe , Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Media Freedom, Putin, Russia, U.S. Foreign Policy

March 20, 2012

Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

Continue reading "Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity" »

Posted at 12:38 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Americas, Asia-Pacific, Bashar al-Assad, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, emails, Freedom House, Middle East and North Africa, Syria

March 19, 2012

The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Continue reading "The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition" »

Posted at 02:21 PM in Civil Society, Elections, Freedom of Expression, Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Russia

March 15, 2012

Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

Continue reading "Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN" »

Posted at 02:42 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Hadeel Kouki, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Syria, United Nations

March 14, 2012

From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Continue reading "From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Iran, Middle East and North Africa , United Nations

March 13, 2012

Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

Continue reading "Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense

March 07, 2012

Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

Continue reading "Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality" »

Posted at 11:18 AM in Civil Society, Elections, Eurasia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House , Turkmenistan

March 06, 2012

The Global Reach of China's Censors

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research

Continue reading "The Global Reach of China's Censors" »

Posted at 12:09 PM in Civil Society, Press Freedom, Asia-Pacific, China, Internet Freedom | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Internet Freedom, Media Freedom

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Regions

• Africa
• Americas
• Asia-Pacific
• Central and Eastern Europe
• China
• Eurasia
• Middle East and North Africa
• Russia
• United States
• Western Europe

Topics

• Arab Spring
• Civil Society
• Elections
• Freedom of Expression
• Isolationism
• Press Freedom
• Religious Freedom
• Corruption
• Freedom of Association
• Minority Rights
• Modern Authoritarianism
• Internet Freedom
• Rule of Law
• Women's Rights

For much of the past decade, global press freedom has been in retreat. This may seem counterintuitive in an era marked by the constant development and refinement of new communication technologies. Yet even as the internet, blogs, microblogs, mobile-telephone videos, and other forms of new media are reshaping the information landscape, governments are finding new and more sophisticated ways to control news coverage and manipulate political discourse.

Paula Schriefer, Freedom House’s vice president for global programs, recently addressed a gathering of colleagues as she prepared to bring her 18-year career with the organization to a close. The following is an adaptation of her remarks:

Continue reading "Parting Thoughts from Paula Schriefer" »

Posted at 11:58 AM | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Democracy, Freedom House, Human Rights, Paula Schriefer, United Nations

April 13, 2012

The Dangers of Victor’s Justice in Côte d’Ivoire

by Jeffrey Smith
Program Officer, Africa


Côte d’Ivoire was once a promising model of economic prosperity and stability for West Africa, but in the last decade alone it has fallen prey to two civil wars, untold human misery, and large-scale impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations. The complex problems currently besetting the country are linked to the failure of its leaders to both commit to and successfully foster genuine democratic principles and practices.

Continue reading "The Dangers of Victor’s Justice in Côte d’Ivoire" »

Posted at 01:35 PM in Civil Society, Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Rule of Law, Sub-Saharan Africa

April 09, 2012

Kupchan’s Multipolar Confusion

by Tyler Roylance
Staff Editor

Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, argued in a New York Times opinion piece yesterday that the United States and Europe must learn to share the world with multiple “new forms of governance and capitalism,” and recognize that “the era of Western primacy” is coming to an end. It is certainly correct that “non-Western” developing nations are playing an increasingly important role in world diplomacy and the global economy, but the terms and categories he uses to describe this phenomenon lead him to provide some rather poor advice.

Continue reading "Kupchan’s Multipolar Confusion" »

Posted at 04:31 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Charles Kupchan, Civil Society, democracy, Democratic Governance, Freedom House, New York Times, U.S. Foreign Policy

April 04, 2012

The Great China Exception

by Arch Puddington

Vice President for Research

The magazine Commentary once published an article titled, “Has There Ever Been Anything Like the Soviet Union?” The piece appeared during the last decades of the Cold War, and the title was meant to convey the message that in the long and sordid annals of despotism, the USSR was unique—in the completeness of its totalitarian scheme, in the staying power of its mechanisms of control, in its global reach, and in its determination to assemble a terrifying arsenal even as its domestic economy lay in ruins. Eventually, of course, the Soviet Union succumbed, but for over 70 years it survived and even thrived as a model of anti-freedom that inspired regimes ranging from East Germany to North Korea.

Continue reading "The Great China Exception" »

Posted at 01:25 PM in Asia-Pacific | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Asia-Pacific, China, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Religious Freedom, Uighur

April 03, 2012

Keeping Burma’s Elections in Perspective

by Rachel Jacobs
Research Analyst, Countries at the Crossroads

Burma’s parliamentary by-elections on Sunday were seen as a “make or break” moment for the reform process that has taken place over the last two years. The country, long ruled by one of the world’s most repressive authoritarian regimes, inaugurated a new parliament and a nominally civilian government in early 2011, though both are still dominated by the military and its allies. The authorities have since taken a series of other steps, such as the release of some political prisoners that were designed to improve relations with democratic powers including the United States. The international community in turn has sought to engage the new leadership and encourage further reforms.

Continue reading "Keeping Burma’s Elections in Perspective" »

Posted at 01:20 PM in Civil Society, Elections, Asia-Pacific | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Burma, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House

March 29, 2012

South Africa: Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Future

by Karl Beck
Southern Africa Projects Director


After a smooth start in the early post-apartheid period, South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is increasingly afflicted by contradictions between its idealistic principles and the baser behaviors of many of its officeholders. These behaviors currently include threats to institute tighter controls over the judiciary and the ANC’s civil society critics, especially the independent media. A discernable trend toward intolerance of judicial brakes on executive power, and also toward a general aversion to any criticism of executive policies and actions, raises troubling questions about the future of democratic governance in South Africa.

Continue reading "South Africa: Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Future " »

Posted at 03:55 PM in Civil Society, Africa, Rule of Law | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Rule of Law, Sub-Saharan Africa

March 28, 2012

Belarus: Economics May Succeed Where Diplomacy Has Failed

 

by Katherin Machalek
Research Analyst, Nations in Transit

Last week, the authorities in Belarus executed two young men who had been convicted of an April 2011 subway bombing in Minsk. While the deeply flawed trial and the swift, primitive nature of the men’s deaths may have disturbed the international community, they were not unusual for Belarus, which has consistently hovered close to the worst possible ratings on issues like the rule of law in Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World and Nations in Transit reports.

Continue reading "Belarus: Economics May Succeed Where Diplomacy Has Failed" »

Posted at 12:12 PM in Central and Eastern Europe , Eurasia, Rule of Law | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Belarus, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Rule of Law

March 22, 2012

For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution

by Husain Abdulla*

On February 14, 2011, large numbers of peaceful protesters turned out across Bahrain to demand fundamental changes to the island kingdom’s political system. Exasperated with the autocratic rule of the al-Khalifa family, they called for free and fair parliamentary elections, an end to the gerrymandering and other tactics that politically marginalize certain groups (particularly Shia Muslims, who form a majority of the electorate), and the immediate release of all political prisoners. However, security forces overseen by Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa—an uncle of the king who has served as prime minister since 1971—brutally crushed the protest movement, arresting, injuring, and killing many innocent citizens. As a result, more than 13 months after the protests began, the existing obstacles to Bahraini democracy remain largely intact.

Continue reading "For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution" »

Posted at 03:57 PM in Civil Society, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Bahrain, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Saudi Arabia

March 21, 2012

Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes

On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

Continue reading "Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes" »

Posted at 11:37 AM in Civil Society, Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Central and Eastern Europe , Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Media Freedom, Putin, Russia, U.S. Foreign Policy

March 20, 2012

Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

Continue reading "Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity" »

Posted at 12:38 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Americas, Asia-Pacific, Bashar al-Assad, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, emails, Freedom House, Middle East and North Africa, Syria

March 19, 2012

The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Continue reading "The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition" »

Posted at 02:21 PM in Civil Society, Elections, Freedom of Expression, Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Russia

March 15, 2012

Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

Continue reading "Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN" »

Posted at 02:42 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Hadeel Kouki, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Syria, United Nations

March 14, 2012

From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Continue reading "From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Iran, Middle East and North Africa , United Nations

March 13, 2012

Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

Continue reading "Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense

March 07, 2012

Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

Continue reading "Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality" »

Posted at 11:18 AM in Civil Society, Elections, Eurasia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House , Turkmenistan

March 06, 2012

The Global Reach of China's Censors

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research

Continue reading "The Global Reach of China's Censors" »

Posted at 12:09 PM in Civil Society, Press Freedom, Asia-Pacific, China, Internet Freedom | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Internet Freedom, Media Freedom

« Previous | Next »

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Regions

• Africa
• Americas
• Asia-Pacific
• Central and Eastern Europe
• China
• Eurasia
• Middle East and North Africa
• Russia
• United States
• Western Europe

Topics

• Arab Spring
• Civil Society
• Elections
• Freedom of Expression
• Isolationism
• Press Freedom
• Religious Freedom
• Corruption
• Freedom of Association
• Minority Rights
• Modern Authoritarianism
• Internet Freedom
• Rule of Law
• Women's Rights

by Jeffrey Smith
Program Officer, Africa


Côte d’Ivoire was once a promising model of economic prosperity and stability for West Africa, but in the last decade alone it has fallen prey to two civil wars, untold human misery, and large-scale impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations. The complex problems currently besetting the country are linked to the failure of its leaders to both commit to and successfully foster genuine democratic principles and practices.

by Tyler Roylance
Staff Editor

Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, argued in a New York Times opinion piece yesterday that the United States and Europe must learn to share the world with multiple “new forms of governance and capitalism,” and recognize that “the era of Western primacy” is coming to an end. It is certainly correct that “non-Western” developing nations are playing an increasingly important role in world diplomacy and the global economy, but the terms and categories he uses to describe this phenomenon lead him to provide some rather poor advice.

by Arch Puddington

Vice President for Research

The magazine Commentary once published an article titled, “Has There Ever Been Anything Like the Soviet Union?” The piece appeared during the last decades of the Cold War, and the title was meant to convey the message that in the long and sordid annals of despotism, the USSR was unique—in the completeness of its totalitarian scheme, in the staying power of its mechanisms of control, in its global reach, and in its determination to assemble a terrifying arsenal even as its domestic economy lay in ruins. Eventually, of course, the Soviet Union succumbed, but for over 70 years it survived and even thrived as a model of anti-freedom that inspired regimes ranging from East Germany to North Korea.

Continue reading "The Great China Exception" »

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Technorati Tags: Asia-Pacific, China, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Religious Freedom, Uighur

April 03, 2012

Keeping Burma’s Elections in Perspective

by Rachel Jacobs
Research Analyst, Countries at the Crossroads

Burma’s parliamentary by-elections on Sunday were seen as a “make or break” moment for the reform process that has taken place over the last two years. The country, long ruled by one of the world’s most repressive authoritarian regimes, inaugurated a new parliament and a nominally civilian government in early 2011, though both are still dominated by the military and its allies. The authorities have since taken a series of other steps, such as the release of some political prisoners that were designed to improve relations with democratic powers including the United States. The international community in turn has sought to engage the new leadership and encourage further reforms.

Continue reading "Keeping Burma’s Elections in Perspective" »

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Technorati Tags: Burma, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House

March 29, 2012

South Africa: Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Future

by Karl Beck
Southern Africa Projects Director


After a smooth start in the early post-apartheid period, South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is increasingly afflicted by contradictions between its idealistic principles and the baser behaviors of many of its officeholders. These behaviors currently include threats to institute tighter controls over the judiciary and the ANC’s civil society critics, especially the independent media. A discernable trend toward intolerance of judicial brakes on executive power, and also toward a general aversion to any criticism of executive policies and actions, raises troubling questions about the future of democratic governance in South Africa.

Continue reading "South Africa: Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Future " »

Posted at 03:55 PM in Civil Society, Africa, Rule of Law | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Rule of Law, Sub-Saharan Africa

March 28, 2012

Belarus: Economics May Succeed Where Diplomacy Has Failed

 

by Katherin Machalek
Research Analyst, Nations in Transit

Last week, the authorities in Belarus executed two young men who had been convicted of an April 2011 subway bombing in Minsk. While the deeply flawed trial and the swift, primitive nature of the men’s deaths may have disturbed the international community, they were not unusual for Belarus, which has consistently hovered close to the worst possible ratings on issues like the rule of law in Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World and Nations in Transit reports.

Continue reading "Belarus: Economics May Succeed Where Diplomacy Has Failed" »

Posted at 12:12 PM in Central and Eastern Europe , Eurasia, Rule of Law | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Belarus, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Rule of Law

March 22, 2012

For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution

by Husain Abdulla*

On February 14, 2011, large numbers of peaceful protesters turned out across Bahrain to demand fundamental changes to the island kingdom’s political system. Exasperated with the autocratic rule of the al-Khalifa family, they called for free and fair parliamentary elections, an end to the gerrymandering and other tactics that politically marginalize certain groups (particularly Shia Muslims, who form a majority of the electorate), and the immediate release of all political prisoners. However, security forces overseen by Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa—an uncle of the king who has served as prime minister since 1971—brutally crushed the protest movement, arresting, injuring, and killing many innocent citizens. As a result, more than 13 months after the protests began, the existing obstacles to Bahraini democracy remain largely intact.

Continue reading "For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution" »

Posted at 03:57 PM in Civil Society, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Bahrain, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Saudi Arabia

March 21, 2012

Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes

On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

Continue reading "Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes" »

Posted at 11:37 AM in Civil Society, Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Central and Eastern Europe , Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Media Freedom, Putin, Russia, U.S. Foreign Policy

March 20, 2012

Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

Continue reading "Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity" »

Posted at 12:38 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Americas, Asia-Pacific, Bashar al-Assad, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, emails, Freedom House, Middle East and North Africa, Syria

March 19, 2012

The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Continue reading "The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition" »

Posted at 02:21 PM in Civil Society, Elections, Freedom of Expression, Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Russia

March 15, 2012

Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

Continue reading "Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN" »

Posted at 02:42 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Hadeel Kouki, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Syria, United Nations

March 14, 2012

From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Continue reading "From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Iran, Middle East and North Africa , United Nations

March 13, 2012

Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

Continue reading "Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense

March 07, 2012

Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

Continue reading "Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality" »

Posted at 11:18 AM in Civil Society, Elections, Eurasia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House , Turkmenistan

March 06, 2012

The Global Reach of China's Censors

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research

Continue reading "The Global Reach of China's Censors" »

Posted at 12:09 PM in Civil Society, Press Freedom, Asia-Pacific, China, Internet Freedom | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Internet Freedom, Media Freedom

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Regions

• Africa
• Americas
• Asia-Pacific
• Central and Eastern Europe
• China
• Eurasia
• Middle East and North Africa
• Russia
• United States
• Western Europe

Topics

• Arab Spring
• Civil Society
• Elections
• Freedom of Expression
• Isolationism
• Press Freedom
• Religious Freedom
• Corruption
• Freedom of Association
• Minority Rights
• Modern Authoritarianism
• Internet Freedom
• Rule of Law
• Women's Rights

by Rachel Jacobs
Research Analyst, Countries at the Crossroads

Burma’s parliamentary by-elections on Sunday were seen as a “make or break” moment for the reform process that has taken place over the last two years. The country, long ruled by one of the world’s most repressive authoritarian regimes, inaugurated a new parliament and a nominally civilian government in early 2011, though both are still dominated by the military and its allies. The authorities have since taken a series of other steps, such as the release of some political prisoners that were designed to improve relations with democratic powers including the United States. The international community in turn has sought to engage the new leadership and encourage further reforms.

by Karl Beck
Southern Africa Projects Director


After a smooth start in the early post-apartheid period, South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is increasingly afflicted by contradictions between its idealistic principles and the baser behaviors of many of its officeholders. These behaviors currently include threats to institute tighter controls over the judiciary and the ANC’s civil society critics, especially the independent media. A discernable trend toward intolerance of judicial brakes on executive power, and also toward a general aversion to any criticism of executive policies and actions, raises troubling questions about the future of democratic governance in South Africa.

 

by Katherin Machalek
Research Analyst, Nations in Transit

Last week, the authorities in Belarus executed two young men who had been convicted of an April 2011 subway bombing in Minsk. While the deeply flawed trial and the swift, primitive nature of the men’s deaths may have disturbed the international community, they were not unusual for Belarus, which has consistently hovered close to the worst possible ratings on issues like the rule of law in Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World and Nations in Transit reports.

by Husain Abdulla*

On February 14, 2011, large numbers of peaceful protesters turned out across Bahrain to demand fundamental changes to the island kingdom’s political system. Exasperated with the autocratic rule of the al-Khalifa family, they called for free and fair parliamentary elections, an end to the gerrymandering and other tactics that politically marginalize certain groups (particularly Shia Muslims, who form a majority of the electorate), and the immediate release of all political prisoners. However, security forces overseen by Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa—an uncle of the king who has served as prime minister since 1971—brutally crushed the protest movement, arresting, injuring, and killing many innocent citizens. As a result, more than 13 months after the protests began, the existing obstacles to Bahraini democracy remain largely intact.

Continue reading "For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution" »

Posted at 03:57 PM in Civil Society, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Bahrain, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Saudi Arabia

March 21, 2012

Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes

On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

Continue reading "Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes" »

Posted at 11:37 AM in Civil Society, Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Central and Eastern Europe , Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Media Freedom, Putin, Russia, U.S. Foreign Policy

March 20, 2012

Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

Continue reading "Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity" »

Posted at 12:38 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Americas, Asia-Pacific, Bashar al-Assad, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, emails, Freedom House, Middle East and North Africa, Syria

March 19, 2012

The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Continue reading "The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition" »

Posted at 02:21 PM in Civil Society, Elections, Freedom of Expression, Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Russia

March 15, 2012

Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

Continue reading "Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN" »

Posted at 02:42 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Hadeel Kouki, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Syria, United Nations

March 14, 2012

From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Continue reading "From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Iran, Middle East and North Africa , United Nations

March 13, 2012

Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

Continue reading "Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense

March 07, 2012

Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

Continue reading "Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality" »

Posted at 11:18 AM in Civil Society, Elections, Eurasia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House , Turkmenistan

March 06, 2012

The Global Reach of China's Censors

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research

Continue reading "The Global Reach of China's Censors" »

Posted at 12:09 PM in Civil Society, Press Freedom, Asia-Pacific, China, Internet Freedom | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Internet Freedom, Media Freedom

« Previous | Next »

On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research

Press Freedom Report: Middle East Gains Amid Global Stagnation

For much of the past decade, global press freedom has been in retreat. This may seem counterintuitive in an era marked by the constant development and refinement of new communication technologies. Yet even as the internet, blogs, microblogs, mobile-telephone videos, and other forms of new media are reshaping the information landscape, governments are finding new and more sophisticated ways to control news coverage and manipulate political discourse.

Parting Thoughts from Paula Schriefer

Paula Schriefer, Freedom House’s vice president for global programs, recently addressed a gathering of colleagues as she prepared to bring her 18-year career with the organization to a close. The following is an adaptation of her remarks:

Continue reading "Parting Thoughts from Paula Schriefer" »

Posted at 11:58 AM | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Democracy, Freedom House, Human Rights, Paula Schriefer, United Nations

April 13, 2012

The Dangers of Victor’s Justice in Côte d’Ivoire

by Jeffrey Smith
Program Officer, Africa


Côte d’Ivoire was once a promising model of economic prosperity and stability for West Africa, but in the last decade alone it has fallen prey to two civil wars, untold human misery, and large-scale impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations. The complex problems currently besetting the country are linked to the failure of its leaders to both commit to and successfully foster genuine democratic principles and practices.

Continue reading "The Dangers of Victor’s Justice in Côte d’Ivoire" »

Posted at 01:35 PM in Civil Society, Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Rule of Law, Sub-Saharan Africa

April 09, 2012

Kupchan’s Multipolar Confusion

by Tyler Roylance
Staff Editor

Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, argued in a New York Times opinion piece yesterday that the United States and Europe must learn to share the world with multiple “new forms of governance and capitalism,” and recognize that “the era of Western primacy” is coming to an end. It is certainly correct that “non-Western” developing nations are playing an increasingly important role in world diplomacy and the global economy, but the terms and categories he uses to describe this phenomenon lead him to provide some rather poor advice.

Continue reading "Kupchan’s Multipolar Confusion" »

Posted at 04:31 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Charles Kupchan, Civil Society, democracy, Democratic Governance, Freedom House, New York Times, U.S. Foreign Policy

April 04, 2012

The Great China Exception

by Arch Puddington

Vice President for Research

The magazine Commentary once published an article titled, “Has There Ever Been Anything Like the Soviet Union?” The piece appeared during the last decades of the Cold War, and the title was meant to convey the message that in the long and sordid annals of despotism, the USSR was unique—in the completeness of its totalitarian scheme, in the staying power of its mechanisms of control, in its global reach, and in its determination to assemble a terrifying arsenal even as its domestic economy lay in ruins. Eventually, of course, the Soviet Union succumbed, but for over 70 years it survived and even thrived as a model of anti-freedom that inspired regimes ranging from East Germany to North Korea.

Continue reading "The Great China Exception" »

Posted at 01:25 PM in Asia-Pacific | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Asia-Pacific, China, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Religious Freedom, Uighur

April 03, 2012

Keeping Burma’s Elections in Perspective

by Rachel Jacobs
Research Analyst, Countries at the Crossroads

Burma’s parliamentary by-elections on Sunday were seen as a “make or break” moment for the reform process that has taken place over the last two years. The country, long ruled by one of the world’s most repressive authoritarian regimes, inaugurated a new parliament and a nominally civilian government in early 2011, though both are still dominated by the military and its allies. The authorities have since taken a series of other steps, such as the release of some political prisoners that were designed to improve relations with democratic powers including the United States. The international community in turn has sought to engage the new leadership and encourage further reforms.

Continue reading "Keeping Burma’s Elections in Perspective" »

Posted at 01:20 PM in Civil Society, Elections, Asia-Pacific | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Burma, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House

March 29, 2012

South Africa: Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Future

by Karl Beck
Southern Africa Projects Director


After a smooth start in the early post-apartheid period, South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is increasingly afflicted by contradictions between its idealistic principles and the baser behaviors of many of its officeholders. These behaviors currently include threats to institute tighter controls over the judiciary and the ANC’s civil society critics, especially the independent media. A discernable trend toward intolerance of judicial brakes on executive power, and also toward a general aversion to any criticism of executive policies and actions, raises troubling questions about the future of democratic governance in South Africa.

Continue reading "South Africa: Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Future " »

Posted at 03:55 PM in Civil Society, Africa, Rule of Law | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Rule of Law, Sub-Saharan Africa

March 28, 2012

Belarus: Economics May Succeed Where Diplomacy Has Failed

 

by Katherin Machalek
Research Analyst, Nations in Transit

Last week, the authorities in Belarus executed two young men who had been convicted of an April 2011 subway bombing in Minsk. While the deeply flawed trial and the swift, primitive nature of the men’s deaths may have disturbed the international community, they were not unusual for Belarus, which has consistently hovered close to the worst possible ratings on issues like the rule of law in Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World and Nations in Transit reports.

Continue reading "Belarus: Economics May Succeed Where Diplomacy Has Failed" »

Posted at 12:12 PM in Central and Eastern Europe , Eurasia, Rule of Law | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Belarus, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Rule of Law

March 22, 2012

For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution

by Husain Abdulla*

On February 14, 2011, large numbers of peaceful protesters turned out across Bahrain to demand fundamental changes to the island kingdom’s political system. Exasperated with the autocratic rule of the al-Khalifa family, they called for free and fair parliamentary elections, an end to the gerrymandering and other tactics that politically marginalize certain groups (particularly Shia Muslims, who form a majority of the electorate), and the immediate release of all political prisoners. However, security forces overseen by Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa—an uncle of the king who has served as prime minister since 1971—brutally crushed the protest movement, arresting, injuring, and killing many innocent citizens. As a result, more than 13 months after the protests began, the existing obstacles to Bahraini democracy remain largely intact.

Continue reading "For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution" »

Posted at 03:57 PM in Civil Society, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Bahrain, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Saudi Arabia

March 21, 2012

Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes

On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

Continue reading "Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes" »

Posted at 11:37 AM in Civil Society, Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Central and Eastern Europe , Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Media Freedom, Putin, Russia, U.S. Foreign Policy

March 20, 2012

Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

Continue reading "Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity" »

Posted at 12:38 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Americas, Asia-Pacific, Bashar al-Assad, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, emails, Freedom House, Middle East and North Africa, Syria

March 19, 2012

The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Continue reading "The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition" »

Posted at 02:21 PM in Civil Society, Elections, Freedom of Expression, Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Russia

March 15, 2012

Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

Continue reading "Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN" »

Posted at 02:42 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Hadeel Kouki, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Syria, United Nations

March 14, 2012

From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Continue reading "From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Iran, Middle East and North Africa , United Nations

March 13, 2012

Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

Continue reading "Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense

March 07, 2012

Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

Continue reading "Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality" »

Posted at 11:18 AM in Civil Society, Elections, Eurasia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House , Turkmenistan

March 06, 2012

The Global Reach of China's Censors

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research

Continue reading "The Global Reach of China's Censors" »

Posted at 12:09 PM in Civil Society, Press Freedom, Asia-Pacific, China, Internet Freedom | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Internet Freedom, Media Freedom

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Regions

• Africa
• Americas
• Asia-Pacific
• Central and Eastern Europe
• China
• Eurasia
• Middle East and North Africa
• Russia
• United States
• Western Europe

Topics

• Arab Spring
• Civil Society
• Elections
• Freedom of Expression
• Isolationism
• Press Freedom
• Religious Freedom
• Corruption
• Freedom of Association
• Minority Rights
• Modern Authoritarianism
• Internet Freedom
• Rule of Law
• Women's Rights

by Jeffrey Smith
Program Officer, Africa


Côte d’Ivoire was once a promising model of economic prosperity and stability for West Africa, but in the last decade alone it has fallen prey to two civil wars, untold human misery, and large-scale impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations. The complex problems currently besetting the country are linked to the failure of its leaders to both commit to and successfully foster genuine democratic principles and practices.

by Tyler Roylance
Staff Editor

Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, argued in a New York Times opinion piece yesterday that the United States and Europe must learn to share the world with multiple “new forms of governance and capitalism,” and recognize that “the era of Western primacy” is coming to an end. It is certainly correct that “non-Western” developing nations are playing an increasingly important role in world diplomacy and the global economy, but the terms and categories he uses to describe this phenomenon lead him to provide some rather poor advice.

by Arch Puddington

Vice President for Research

The magazine Commentary once published an article titled, “Has There Ever Been Anything Like the Soviet Union?” The piece appeared during the last decades of the Cold War, and the title was meant to convey the message that in the long and sordid annals of despotism, the USSR was unique—in the completeness of its totalitarian scheme, in the staying power of its mechanisms of control, in its global reach, and in its determination to assemble a terrifying arsenal even as its domestic economy lay in ruins. Eventually, of course, the Soviet Union succumbed, but for over 70 years it survived and even thrived as a model of anti-freedom that inspired regimes ranging from East Germany to North Korea.

Continue reading "The Great China Exception" »

Posted at 01:25 PM in Asia-Pacific | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Asia-Pacific, China, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Religious Freedom, Uighur

April 03, 2012

Keeping Burma’s Elections in Perspective

by Rachel Jacobs
Research Analyst, Countries at the Crossroads

Burma’s parliamentary by-elections on Sunday were seen as a “make or break” moment for the reform process that has taken place over the last two years. The country, long ruled by one of the world’s most repressive authoritarian regimes, inaugurated a new parliament and a nominally civilian government in early 2011, though both are still dominated by the military and its allies. The authorities have since taken a series of other steps, such as the release of some political prisoners that were designed to improve relations with democratic powers including the United States. The international community in turn has sought to engage the new leadership and encourage further reforms.

Continue reading "Keeping Burma’s Elections in Perspective" »

Posted at 01:20 PM in Civil Society, Elections, Asia-Pacific | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Burma, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House

March 29, 2012

South Africa: Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Future

by Karl Beck
Southern Africa Projects Director


After a smooth start in the early post-apartheid period, South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is increasingly afflicted by contradictions between its idealistic principles and the baser behaviors of many of its officeholders. These behaviors currently include threats to institute tighter controls over the judiciary and the ANC’s civil society critics, especially the independent media. A discernable trend toward intolerance of judicial brakes on executive power, and also toward a general aversion to any criticism of executive policies and actions, raises troubling questions about the future of democratic governance in South Africa.

Continue reading "South Africa: Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Future " »

Posted at 03:55 PM in Civil Society, Africa, Rule of Law | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Rule of Law, Sub-Saharan Africa

March 28, 2012

Belarus: Economics May Succeed Where Diplomacy Has Failed

 

by Katherin Machalek
Research Analyst, Nations in Transit

Last week, the authorities in Belarus executed two young men who had been convicted of an April 2011 subway bombing in Minsk. While the deeply flawed trial and the swift, primitive nature of the men’s deaths may have disturbed the international community, they were not unusual for Belarus, which has consistently hovered close to the worst possible ratings on issues like the rule of law in Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World and Nations in Transit reports.

Continue reading "Belarus: Economics May Succeed Where Diplomacy Has Failed" »

Posted at 12:12 PM in Central and Eastern Europe , Eurasia, Rule of Law | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Belarus, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Rule of Law

March 22, 2012

For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution

by Husain Abdulla*

On February 14, 2011, large numbers of peaceful protesters turned out across Bahrain to demand fundamental changes to the island kingdom’s political system. Exasperated with the autocratic rule of the al-Khalifa family, they called for free and fair parliamentary elections, an end to the gerrymandering and other tactics that politically marginalize certain groups (particularly Shia Muslims, who form a majority of the electorate), and the immediate release of all political prisoners. However, security forces overseen by Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa—an uncle of the king who has served as prime minister since 1971—brutally crushed the protest movement, arresting, injuring, and killing many innocent citizens. As a result, more than 13 months after the protests began, the existing obstacles to Bahraini democracy remain largely intact.

Continue reading "For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution" »

Posted at 03:57 PM in Civil Society, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Bahrain, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Saudi Arabia

March 21, 2012

Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes

On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

Continue reading "Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes" »

Posted at 11:37 AM in Civil Society, Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Central and Eastern Europe , Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Media Freedom, Putin, Russia, U.S. Foreign Policy

March 20, 2012

Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

Continue reading "Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity" »

Posted at 12:38 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Americas, Asia-Pacific, Bashar al-Assad, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, emails, Freedom House, Middle East and North Africa, Syria

March 19, 2012

The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Continue reading "The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition" »

Posted at 02:21 PM in Civil Society, Elections, Freedom of Expression, Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Russia

March 15, 2012

Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

Continue reading "Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN" »

Posted at 02:42 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Hadeel Kouki, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Syria, United Nations

March 14, 2012

From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Continue reading "From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Iran, Middle East and North Africa , United Nations

March 13, 2012

Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

Continue reading "Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense

March 07, 2012

Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

Continue reading "Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality" »

Posted at 11:18 AM in Civil Society, Elections, Eurasia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House , Turkmenistan

March 06, 2012

The Global Reach of China's Censors

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research

Continue reading "The Global Reach of China's Censors" »

Posted at 12:09 PM in Civil Society, Press Freedom, Asia-Pacific, China, Internet Freedom | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Internet Freedom, Media Freedom

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Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Regions

• Africa
• Americas
• Asia-Pacific
• Central and Eastern Europe
• China
• Eurasia
• Middle East and North Africa
• Russia
• United States
• Western Europe

Topics

• Arab Spring
• Civil Society
• Elections
• Freedom of Expression
• Isolationism
• Press Freedom
• Religious Freedom
• Corruption
• Freedom of Association
• Minority Rights
• Modern Authoritarianism
• Internet Freedom
• Rule of Law
• Women's Rights

by Rachel Jacobs
Research Analyst, Countries at the Crossroads

Burma’s parliamentary by-elections on Sunday were seen as a “make or break” moment for the reform process that has taken place over the last two years. The country, long ruled by one of the world’s most repressive authoritarian regimes, inaugurated a new parliament and a nominally civilian government in early 2011, though both are still dominated by the military and its allies. The authorities have since taken a series of other steps, such as the release of some political prisoners that were designed to improve relations with democratic powers including the United States. The international community in turn has sought to engage the new leadership and encourage further reforms.

by Karl Beck
Southern Africa Projects Director


After a smooth start in the early post-apartheid period, South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is increasingly afflicted by contradictions between its idealistic principles and the baser behaviors of many of its officeholders. These behaviors currently include threats to institute tighter controls over the judiciary and the ANC’s civil society critics, especially the independent media. A discernable trend toward intolerance of judicial brakes on executive power, and also toward a general aversion to any criticism of executive policies and actions, raises troubling questions about the future of democratic governance in South Africa.

 

by Katherin Machalek
Research Analyst, Nations in Transit

Last week, the authorities in Belarus executed two young men who had been convicted of an April 2011 subway bombing in Minsk. While the deeply flawed trial and the swift, primitive nature of the men’s deaths may have disturbed the international community, they were not unusual for Belarus, which has consistently hovered close to the worst possible ratings on issues like the rule of law in Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World and Nations in Transit reports.

by Husain Abdulla*

On February 14, 2011, large numbers of peaceful protesters turned out across Bahrain to demand fundamental changes to the island kingdom’s political system. Exasperated with the autocratic rule of the al-Khalifa family, they called for free and fair parliamentary elections, an end to the gerrymandering and other tactics that politically marginalize certain groups (particularly Shia Muslims, who form a majority of the electorate), and the immediate release of all political prisoners. However, security forces overseen by Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa—an uncle of the king who has served as prime minister since 1971—brutally crushed the protest movement, arresting, injuring, and killing many innocent citizens. As a result, more than 13 months after the protests began, the existing obstacles to Bahraini democracy remain largely intact.

Continue reading "For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution" »

Posted at 03:57 PM in Civil Society, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Bahrain, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Saudi Arabia

March 21, 2012

Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes

On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

Continue reading "Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes" »

Posted at 11:37 AM in Civil Society, Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Central and Eastern Europe , Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Media Freedom, Putin, Russia, U.S. Foreign Policy

March 20, 2012

Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

Continue reading "Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity" »

Posted at 12:38 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Americas, Asia-Pacific, Bashar al-Assad, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, emails, Freedom House, Middle East and North Africa, Syria

March 19, 2012

The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Continue reading "The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition" »

Posted at 02:21 PM in Civil Society, Elections, Freedom of Expression, Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Russia

March 15, 2012

Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

Continue reading "Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN" »

Posted at 02:42 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Hadeel Kouki, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Syria, United Nations

March 14, 2012

From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Continue reading "From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Iran, Middle East and North Africa , United Nations

March 13, 2012

Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

Continue reading "Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense

March 07, 2012

Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

Continue reading "Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality" »

Posted at 11:18 AM in Civil Society, Elections, Eurasia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House , Turkmenistan

March 06, 2012

The Global Reach of China's Censors

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research

Continue reading "The Global Reach of China's Censors" »

Posted at 12:09 PM in Civil Society, Press Freedom, Asia-Pacific, China, Internet Freedom | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Internet Freedom, Media Freedom

« Previous | Next »

On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research

The Dangers of Victor’s Justice in Côte d’Ivoire

by Jeffrey Smith
Program Officer, Africa


Côte d’Ivoire was once a promising model of economic prosperity and stability for West Africa, but in the last decade alone it has fallen prey to two civil wars, untold human misery, and large-scale impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations. The complex problems currently besetting the country are linked to the failure of its leaders to both commit to and successfully foster genuine democratic principles and practices.

Kupchan’s Multipolar Confusion

by Tyler Roylance
Staff Editor

Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, argued in a New York Times opinion piece yesterday that the United States and Europe must learn to share the world with multiple “new forms of governance and capitalism,” and recognize that “the era of Western primacy” is coming to an end. It is certainly correct that “non-Western” developing nations are playing an increasingly important role in world diplomacy and the global economy, but the terms and categories he uses to describe this phenomenon lead him to provide some rather poor advice.

The Great China Exception

by Arch Puddington

Vice President for Research

The magazine Commentary once published an article titled, “Has There Ever Been Anything Like the Soviet Union?” The piece appeared during the last decades of the Cold War, and the title was meant to convey the message that in the long and sordid annals of despotism, the USSR was unique—in the completeness of its totalitarian scheme, in the staying power of its mechanisms of control, in its global reach, and in its determination to assemble a terrifying arsenal even as its domestic economy lay in ruins. Eventually, of course, the Soviet Union succumbed, but for over 70 years it survived and even thrived as a model of anti-freedom that inspired regimes ranging from East Germany to North Korea.

Continue reading "The Great China Exception" »

Posted at 01:25 PM in Asia-Pacific | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Asia-Pacific, China, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Religious Freedom, Uighur

April 03, 2012

Keeping Burma’s Elections in Perspective

by Rachel Jacobs
Research Analyst, Countries at the Crossroads

Burma’s parliamentary by-elections on Sunday were seen as a “make or break” moment for the reform process that has taken place over the last two years. The country, long ruled by one of the world’s most repressive authoritarian regimes, inaugurated a new parliament and a nominally civilian government in early 2011, though both are still dominated by the military and its allies. The authorities have since taken a series of other steps, such as the release of some political prisoners that were designed to improve relations with democratic powers including the United States. The international community in turn has sought to engage the new leadership and encourage further reforms.

Continue reading "Keeping Burma’s Elections in Perspective" »

Posted at 01:20 PM in Civil Society, Elections, Asia-Pacific | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Burma, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House

March 29, 2012

South Africa: Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Future

by Karl Beck
Southern Africa Projects Director


After a smooth start in the early post-apartheid period, South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is increasingly afflicted by contradictions between its idealistic principles and the baser behaviors of many of its officeholders. These behaviors currently include threats to institute tighter controls over the judiciary and the ANC’s civil society critics, especially the independent media. A discernable trend toward intolerance of judicial brakes on executive power, and also toward a general aversion to any criticism of executive policies and actions, raises troubling questions about the future of democratic governance in South Africa.

Continue reading "South Africa: Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Future " »

Posted at 03:55 PM in Civil Society, Africa, Rule of Law | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Rule of Law, Sub-Saharan Africa

March 28, 2012

Belarus: Economics May Succeed Where Diplomacy Has Failed

 

by Katherin Machalek
Research Analyst, Nations in Transit

Last week, the authorities in Belarus executed two young men who had been convicted of an April 2011 subway bombing in Minsk. While the deeply flawed trial and the swift, primitive nature of the men’s deaths may have disturbed the international community, they were not unusual for Belarus, which has consistently hovered close to the worst possible ratings on issues like the rule of law in Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World and Nations in Transit reports.

Continue reading "Belarus: Economics May Succeed Where Diplomacy Has Failed" »

Posted at 12:12 PM in Central and Eastern Europe , Eurasia, Rule of Law | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Belarus, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Rule of Law

March 22, 2012

For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution

by Husain Abdulla*

On February 14, 2011, large numbers of peaceful protesters turned out across Bahrain to demand fundamental changes to the island kingdom’s political system. Exasperated with the autocratic rule of the al-Khalifa family, they called for free and fair parliamentary elections, an end to the gerrymandering and other tactics that politically marginalize certain groups (particularly Shia Muslims, who form a majority of the electorate), and the immediate release of all political prisoners. However, security forces overseen by Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa—an uncle of the king who has served as prime minister since 1971—brutally crushed the protest movement, arresting, injuring, and killing many innocent citizens. As a result, more than 13 months after the protests began, the existing obstacles to Bahraini democracy remain largely intact.

Continue reading "For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution" »

Posted at 03:57 PM in Civil Society, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Bahrain, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Saudi Arabia

March 21, 2012

Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes

On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

Continue reading "Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes" »

Posted at 11:37 AM in Civil Society, Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Central and Eastern Europe , Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Media Freedom, Putin, Russia, U.S. Foreign Policy

March 20, 2012

Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

Continue reading "Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity" »

Posted at 12:38 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Americas, Asia-Pacific, Bashar al-Assad, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, emails, Freedom House, Middle East and North Africa, Syria

March 19, 2012

The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Continue reading "The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition" »

Posted at 02:21 PM in Civil Society, Elections, Freedom of Expression, Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Russia

March 15, 2012

Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

Continue reading "Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN" »

Posted at 02:42 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Hadeel Kouki, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Syria, United Nations

March 14, 2012

From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Continue reading "From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Iran, Middle East and North Africa , United Nations

March 13, 2012

Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

Continue reading "Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense

March 07, 2012

Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

Continue reading "Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality" »

Posted at 11:18 AM in Civil Society, Elections, Eurasia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House , Turkmenistan

March 06, 2012

The Global Reach of China's Censors

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research

Continue reading "The Global Reach of China's Censors" »

Posted at 12:09 PM in Civil Society, Press Freedom, Asia-Pacific, China, Internet Freedom | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Internet Freedom, Media Freedom

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Regions

• Africa
• Americas
• Asia-Pacific
• Central and Eastern Europe
• China
• Eurasia
• Middle East and North Africa
• Russia
• United States
• Western Europe

Topics

• Arab Spring
• Civil Society
• Elections
• Freedom of Expression
• Isolationism
• Press Freedom
• Religious Freedom
• Corruption
• Freedom of Association
• Minority Rights
• Modern Authoritarianism
• Internet Freedom
• Rule of Law
• Women's Rights

by Rachel Jacobs
Research Analyst, Countries at the Crossroads

Burma’s parliamentary by-elections on Sunday were seen as a “make or break” moment for the reform process that has taken place over the last two years. The country, long ruled by one of the world’s most repressive authoritarian regimes, inaugurated a new parliament and a nominally civilian government in early 2011, though both are still dominated by the military and its allies. The authorities have since taken a series of other steps, such as the release of some political prisoners that were designed to improve relations with democratic powers including the United States. The international community in turn has sought to engage the new leadership and encourage further reforms.

by Karl Beck
Southern Africa Projects Director


After a smooth start in the early post-apartheid period, South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is increasingly afflicted by contradictions between its idealistic principles and the baser behaviors of many of its officeholders. These behaviors currently include threats to institute tighter controls over the judiciary and the ANC’s civil society critics, especially the independent media. A discernable trend toward intolerance of judicial brakes on executive power, and also toward a general aversion to any criticism of executive policies and actions, raises troubling questions about the future of democratic governance in South Africa.

 

by Katherin Machalek
Research Analyst, Nations in Transit

Last week, the authorities in Belarus executed two young men who had been convicted of an April 2011 subway bombing in Minsk. While the deeply flawed trial and the swift, primitive nature of the men’s deaths may have disturbed the international community, they were not unusual for Belarus, which has consistently hovered close to the worst possible ratings on issues like the rule of law in Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World and Nations in Transit reports.

by Husain Abdulla*

On February 14, 2011, large numbers of peaceful protesters turned out across Bahrain to demand fundamental changes to the island kingdom’s political system. Exasperated with the autocratic rule of the al-Khalifa family, they called for free and fair parliamentary elections, an end to the gerrymandering and other tactics that politically marginalize certain groups (particularly Shia Muslims, who form a majority of the electorate), and the immediate release of all political prisoners. However, security forces overseen by Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa—an uncle of the king who has served as prime minister since 1971—brutally crushed the protest movement, arresting, injuring, and killing many innocent citizens. As a result, more than 13 months after the protests began, the existing obstacles to Bahraini democracy remain largely intact.

Continue reading "For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution" »

Posted at 03:57 PM in Civil Society, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Bahrain, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Saudi Arabia

March 21, 2012

Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes

On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

Continue reading "Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes" »

Posted at 11:37 AM in Civil Society, Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Central and Eastern Europe , Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Media Freedom, Putin, Russia, U.S. Foreign Policy

March 20, 2012

Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

Continue reading "Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity" »

Posted at 12:38 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Americas, Asia-Pacific, Bashar al-Assad, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, emails, Freedom House, Middle East and North Africa, Syria

March 19, 2012

The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Continue reading "The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition" »

Posted at 02:21 PM in Civil Society, Elections, Freedom of Expression, Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Russia

March 15, 2012

Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

Continue reading "Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN" »

Posted at 02:42 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Hadeel Kouki, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Syria, United Nations

March 14, 2012

From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Continue reading "From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Iran, Middle East and North Africa , United Nations

March 13, 2012

Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

Continue reading "Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense

March 07, 2012

Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

Continue reading "Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality" »

Posted at 11:18 AM in Civil Society, Elections, Eurasia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House , Turkmenistan

March 06, 2012

The Global Reach of China's Censors

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research

Continue reading "The Global Reach of China's Censors" »

Posted at 12:09 PM in Civil Society, Press Freedom, Asia-Pacific, China, Internet Freedom | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Internet Freedom, Media Freedom

« Previous | Next »

On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research

Keeping Burma’s Elections in Perspective

by Rachel Jacobs
Research Analyst, Countries at the Crossroads

Burma’s parliamentary by-elections on Sunday were seen as a “make or break” moment for the reform process that has taken place over the last two years. The country, long ruled by one of the world’s most repressive authoritarian regimes, inaugurated a new parliament and a nominally civilian government in early 2011, though both are still dominated by the military and its allies. The authorities have since taken a series of other steps, such as the release of some political prisoners that were designed to improve relations with democratic powers including the United States. The international community in turn has sought to engage the new leadership and encourage further reforms.

South Africa: Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Future

by Karl Beck
Southern Africa Projects Director


After a smooth start in the early post-apartheid period, South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is increasingly afflicted by contradictions between its idealistic principles and the baser behaviors of many of its officeholders. These behaviors currently include threats to institute tighter controls over the judiciary and the ANC’s civil society critics, especially the independent media. A discernable trend toward intolerance of judicial brakes on executive power, and also toward a general aversion to any criticism of executive policies and actions, raises troubling questions about the future of democratic governance in South Africa.

Belarus: Economics May Succeed Where Diplomacy Has Failed

 

by Katherin Machalek
Research Analyst, Nations in Transit

Last week, the authorities in Belarus executed two young men who had been convicted of an April 2011 subway bombing in Minsk. While the deeply flawed trial and the swift, primitive nature of the men’s deaths may have disturbed the international community, they were not unusual for Belarus, which has consistently hovered close to the worst possible ratings on issues like the rule of law in Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World and Nations in Transit reports.

For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution

by Husain Abdulla*

On February 14, 2011, large numbers of peaceful protesters turned out across Bahrain to demand fundamental changes to the island kingdom’s political system. Exasperated with the autocratic rule of the al-Khalifa family, they called for free and fair parliamentary elections, an end to the gerrymandering and other tactics that politically marginalize certain groups (particularly Shia Muslims, who form a majority of the electorate), and the immediate release of all political prisoners. However, security forces overseen by Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa—an uncle of the king who has served as prime minister since 1971—brutally crushed the protest movement, arresting, injuring, and killing many innocent citizens. As a result, more than 13 months after the protests began, the existing obstacles to Bahraini democracy remain largely intact.

Continue reading "For Bahrain, the Saudi Solution Means No Solution" »

Posted at 03:57 PM in Civil Society, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Bahrain, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Saudi Arabia

March 21, 2012

Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes

On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

Continue reading "Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes" »

Posted at 11:37 AM in Civil Society, Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Central and Eastern Europe , Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Media Freedom, Putin, Russia, U.S. Foreign Policy

March 20, 2012

Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

Continue reading "Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity" »

Posted at 12:38 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Americas, Asia-Pacific, Bashar al-Assad, Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, emails, Freedom House, Middle East and North Africa, Syria

March 19, 2012

The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Continue reading "The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition" »

Posted at 02:21 PM in Civil Society, Elections, Freedom of Expression, Russia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Elections, Freedom House, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Russia

March 15, 2012

Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

Continue reading "Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN" »

Posted at 02:42 PM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Hadeel Kouki, Human Rights Defense, Middle East and North Africa, Rule of Law, Syria, United Nations

March 14, 2012

From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Continue reading "From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Freedom of Expression, Modern Authoritarianism, Middle East and North Africa | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense, Iran, Middle East and North Africa , United Nations

March 13, 2012

Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

Continue reading "Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century" »

Posted at 10:46 AM in Civil Society, Modern Authoritarianism | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Democratic Governance, Freedom House, Human Rights Defense

March 07, 2012

Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

Continue reading "Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality" »

Posted at 11:18 AM in Civil Society, Elections, Eurasia | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia, Civil Society, Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom House , Turkmenistan

March 06, 2012

The Global Reach of China's Censors

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research

Continue reading "The Global Reach of China's Censors" »

Posted at 12:09 PM in Civil Society, Press Freedom, Asia-Pacific, China, Internet Freedom | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

Technorati Tags: Civil Society, Freedom House, Freedom of Expression, Internet Freedom, Media Freedom

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On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research

Russia 2012: Increased Repression, Rampant Corruption, Assisting Rogue Regimes

On March 21, David J. Kramer, President of Freedom House, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about human rights abuses in Russia.  Below are excerpts from his testimony at the hearing. The full testimony can be read here.       

Syria and the Authoritarian Fraternity

 

The release of some 3,000 e-mail messages believed to be from the personal accounts of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and members of his inner circle has shined a light on the cynicism and deceit of the dictatorial regime in Damascus. Assad is revealed to mock his own countrymen as well as the reforms he promised in response to the antigovernment protests that began a year ago. In the e-mails, he refers to these reforms as “rubbish laws of parties, elections, media.” That he offered them at all, of course, would seem to fly in the face of his long-standing assertion that the uprising is an assault by foreign-backed terrorists, as opposed to a legitimate demand for political change by Syrian citizens.

The Road Ahead for the Russian Opposition

by Katherine Brooks*

On March 5, the day after Vladimir Putin won a new term in the Russian presidential election, around 20,000 members of the country’s broad-based opposition movement gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square to protest what organizers deemed an unfair and illegitimate vote that was marred by electoral fraud. The demonstration ended with nearly 250 arrests in Moscow alone, as a number of the protesters refused to leave the park in an act of civil disobedience.

Activist Speaks About Syrian Atrocities at the UN

Hadeel Kouki is a young Syrian activist who was detained and tortured by Bashar al-Assad’s regime for demanding her basic human rights. At the most recent session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, she spoke on behalf of Freedom House about her treatment by the regime and called on the Human Rights Council to take action to stop ongoing atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its people.

Watch Hadeel Kouki's testimony, starting at 1:35:16, or click here.

From Bad to Worse: The Human Rights Situation in Iran

by Nicholas Bowen*

Despite the recent focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the country’s deteriorating human rights situation has been the subject of mounting international concern for a number of years. The conservative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who first took power in 2005, has harmed Iranians’ interests through its divisive factional infighting, economic ineptitude, and deepening confrontation with both the democratic world and Iran’s Arab rivals. But a newly published United Nations report has highlighted the extent to which the regime’s policies have also degraded the country’s already poor human rights conditions during Ahmadinejad’s tenure.

Flacking for Dictators in the 21st Century

Back in the 1980s, a Washington attorney named Paul Reichler generated some controversy when he signed on to represent the Sandinistas in various legal conflicts with the American government. Having led a successful guerrilla war against the longtime dictator, Anastasio Somoza, the Sandinistas had quickly moved to consolidate a system akin to a Marxist one-party state. From day one, the Sandinistas embraced an anti-Yankee rhetoric and committed themselves to the anti-imperialist struggle in the Americas. The United States responded by working to undermine Sandinista rule through, among other things, supporting the insurgent movement known as the contras.

Turkmenistan’s Sham Election Reinforces a Cult of Personality

by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick*

At a meeting of cultural workers on February 26, following his landslide reelection victory on February 12, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the Era of Might and Happinesshas officially begun in Turkmenistan. Thus ends the Era of Great Renewal, as the Turkmen leader dubbed the first five years of his reign. That in turn was preceded by the Golden Age of the late president for life, Saparmurat Niyazov. Evidently, no more reform is needed, and the people are supposed to be happy with what they have.

The Global Reach of China's Censors

by Arch Puddington
Vice President for Research