A supersurveillance society and its impact on democracy
The coronavirus pandemic has given rise to stronger authoritarianism, populism and nationalism, threatening to harm rights-based systems.
'Democracy in China: The Coming Crisis' review: Democracy is in China's best interest
As the pro-democracy movement has roiled Hong Kong and people worldwide lament China’s lack of transparency surrounding the coronavirus outbreak, it seems like auspicious timing for Jiwei Ci’s new book, “Democracy in China: The Coming Crisis.”
Keep a tight rein on virus-tracking tools
Tools that democracies need to fight a pandemic are not appropriate when it’s over.
Democracy is on the march worldwide, not in retreat
Mass protests in country after country show how powerful the demand for social equality remains
2020 Tokyo Olympics: Democracy in the spotlight
Democracies must accept they are in a contest of political ideas, especially in Asia.
'The Democracy of Suffering': Wit, erudition and philosophical change
Todd Dufresne's "The Democracy of Suffering" argues that, if we are to understand the Anthropocene, then philosophy itself needs a radical overhaul.
Low voter turnout in Upper House election may reflect an indifference to democracy
In May 1993, general elections were held in Cambodia. Voter turnout was 89.56 percent. People who don't have democracy want it — very badly. Traumatized by 30 years of war, genocide, dictatorship, hunger — just about every evil into which a state can sink — ...
Thousands of Hong Kong civil servants rallied on Friday night to support protesters and urge authorities to rebuild confidence in the government as escalating protests rock the Asian financial hub. The rally is the first time government employees have promoted a demonstration in Hong Kong. ...
Hong Kongers fearful of China's grasp look longingly toward 'democratic beacon' Taiwan
For Hong Kong resident Yung Xiu Kwan, 67, a proposed extradition law that would allow people in the former British colony to be sent to mainland China for trial was the final straw. Yung is packing her bags and leaving the China-ruled city to set ...
Are democratic principles at risk of being undermined?
Is democracy dying? Certainly authoritarianism is rising. A generation ago, it was the opposite — authoritarianism seemed moribund, democracy on the cusp of new life. Sekai magazine (April) sums up the gloomier mood now gaining ground. "We cannot," it says, "take democracy for granted." This ...
Democracy in a self-contradictory trap
Bellwether for stumbling African democracy: Nigeria goes to the polls
When Nigerians go to the polls on Saturday, there'll be much more at stake than the presidency and seats in the parliament of Africa's most populous nation. Democracy is on the back foot in Africa, and a credible and widely accepted outcome will go some ...
