Tag - democracy

 
 

DEMOCRACY

A Wisconsin resident prepares to vote in the presidential primary election in Superior, Wisconsin, on April 2.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 16, 2024
Can we trust the polls? How emerging technologies affect democracy
In a global election year, all eyes are on the ties between emerging technologies and democracy.
With the rise of populist, anti-democratic political movements and parties, many democracies are increasingly relying on the courts to uphold their constitutional order.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2024
Judgment days for democracy
Populist politics have increasingly strained many countries’ constitutional orders, leading to more instances of courts asserting themselves.
An Albanian communist hangs a banner with Enver Hoxha's image in a public cemetery in Tirana in April 2012 to mark the anniversary of the hard-line Stalinist dictator's death.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2023
When freedom does not bring about justice
From communism to capitalism, Lea Ypi's book,"Free: Coming of Age at the End of History" reflects on Albania's transition to freedom.
Demonstrators march against the Israeli government's judicial reform plan in Tel Aviv on Monday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 28, 2023
When democracy stumbles, we all will suffer
The erosion of democratic norms and principles in one country undermines the value of those norms in others.
 Gerrymandered districts and attacks on voting rights are further threatening American democracy at the state and local levels.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2023
The local threat to American democracy
Through "preemption" measures, ballot and voting restrictions, gerrymandering and other schemes, America continues to be threatened by entrenched minority rule.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2022
Elon Musk and his not-so-hidden agenda
If the information space is destroyed, such as with Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, it will no longer be possible to marshal citizens against the powerful.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2022
Stop calling everything you disagree with ‘anti-democratic’
Democracy itself is not to blame for every wrongheaded or misguided decision made by a freely elected government.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2022
In the land of the free, democracy is under attack
Voters need to recognize the Supreme Court's radical majority for what it is: part of a carefully laid plan to turn the U.S. into a repressive regime.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 6, 2022
Hong Kong in 2047: What to expect over the next 25 years
Twenty-five years ago, at midnight on June 30, 1997, Britain handed over Hong Kong, its colony for 150 years, to China in return for a promise that the region would be given “a high degree of autonomy” and retain its lifestyle for the next 50 years under a “one country, two systems” formula. What lay beyond 2047 was not spelled out.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 21, 2022
Fears of a lurch to dictatorship blight Arab Spring’s last hope
As freedoms shrivel and the economy sputters, unrest threatens to explode across the country once more.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2022
Is the civilian resistance tipping the balance in Myanmar?
'Myanmar has been in a state of civil war for a long time, but until now it has been limited to certain territories and ethnic regions. Now, even the Bamar heartland is in conflict.”
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2022
The other threat to democracy
In recent years, we have watched authoritarian leaders come to power democratically, only to erode constitutional norms and institutions once in office.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2022
American book-banning tradition is as old as the Mayflower
One activist said, 'Why is everyone so upset? Controlling what children read is entirely different from controlling what adults read.”
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2021
China vs. the British Commonwealth
A current situation within the Commonwealth can be summed up in four words, 'the Chinese have arrived,' to which the critic can add four more words, 'the British have departed.'
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2021
An existential threat to humanity: Democracy’s decline
Increased outsourcing of production has contributed to hypernationalism, which in turn is fueling the rise of anti-democratic leaders who exploit people's desperation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2021
Biden’s democracy summit is a South Asian diplomatic flub
As in many parts of the world, including in South Asia, the Biden's Summit for Democracy summit is likely to do more harm than good
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2021
Biden’s democracy summit: Just talk or can it effect change?
Biden's summit comes at a challenging time for democracy. The global monitoring organization Freedom House called this year's report on the state of global freedom “Democracy Under Siege.”
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 8, 2021
Biden's democracy summit: Problematic invite list casts shadow on impact
Rights advocates are questioning whether the virtual Democracy summit can push world leaders who are invited, some accused of harboring authoritarian tendencies, to take meaningful action.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 26, 2021
Illiberalism appeals, even in democratic societies
A growing number of people are alarmed by changes they see in their own country and fear that a tipping point has been reached where some are ready to abandon democracy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2021
Hong Kong’s nonelection is momentous and meaningless
An 'election” devoid of genuine debate or competition is a momentous sign of the lack of genuine democracy Hong Kong can expect in the future. It is also meaningless.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on