How America’s pursuit of global primacy undermines democracy at home and international law abroad THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | I argued in this column last week that America’s pursuit of global primacy (hegemony) is increasingly becoming a liability to Europe’s security and economic prosperity. Germany is the biggest loser in …
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Philosophers have understood how demagogues come to power in free and fair elections, only to overthrow democracy and establish tyrannical rule COMMENT | JASON STANLEY | Like others, since late Tuesday night (November 5), my phone has been blaring with text messages asking how this could have happened (as some of …
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Our civil society needs to challenge those in power or who seek it to ensure good governance and accountability FROM THE ARCHIVES -2006 | Dr. Joe Oloka-Onyango | Most government officials react negatively to critical statements made by civil society actors and academics. They accuse us of being armchair politicians, meaning …
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A progressive tax system would redistributes incomes to the poor while preserving incentives for the rich COMMENT | KAUSHIK BASU | While there are many ways to measure economic inequality, key metrics consistently show that disparities are getting worse. According to a recent United Nations report, 71% of the world’s population …
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In a functioning democracy, the Government derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed COMMENT | PETER NYANZI | Public debate is raging over whether or not the government should allow public demonstrations against the marauding monster of corruption in Uganda to go on. Well, it’s not my intention …
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As democracies wrestle with problems they once seemed to manage, authoritarians watch with satisfaction COMMENT | CHRIS PATTEN | The most compelling argument for liberal democracy is that it empowers citizens to choose their own leaders, effectively placing the country’s present and future in voters’ hands. The system is underpinned by …
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Global analysis by the Chicago Center on Democracy reveals the more unequal, the greater the risk COMMENT | SUSAN STOKES | With November’s election in the United States fast approaching, Democrats continue to debate whether to campaign on the economy or the future of democracy. In fact, our research at the …
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New survey shows shift away from democratic culture COVER STORY | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandans are growing increasingly more uninterested in elections and elected leaders and, they see little hope in the opposition providing better leadership than the current one of President Yoweri Museveni. That is the general view based on findings …
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Rising authoritarianism, conflict, and threats to press freedom are driving journalists to flee their countries COMMENT | ANTONIO ZAPPULLA | “Foreign agent,” “undesirable,” “extremist.” For thousands of independent journalists trying to live and work in Russia, these words can be life-changing. In April, Ilya Barabanov, the BBC’s Russian correspondent, was …
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Why the masters of the digital revolution’s attention game typically produce more noise than enlightenment COMMENT | CARSTEN BROSDA | Sometimes, the fulfillment of a promise feels like punishment. When the radio was invented more than 100 years ago, the German playwright Bertolt Brecht observed that its full potential could be …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price