Why comedy of well-crafted theater scripts has unfolded within FDC which used to be regarded as one of the best COMMENT | MICHAEL WOIRA | In the world of politics, what we learn in theory often doesn’t match up with what actually happens in practice. Speaking as someone who studied political …
Read More »To protect democracy, revive local journalism
The absence of credible information allows for misinformation that undermines the democratic process COMMENT | LAURA TYSON & LENNY MENDONCA | The Washington Post’s famous slogan, “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” is sadly coming true in many parts of the United States. The digital age has shattered newspapers’ business model, turning many …
Read More »The real threat to liberalism
Why democracy crusaders should worry less about Putin and more about its home front, the West THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the liberal democracies of the West have been on a “moral” crusade against President Vladmir Putin. According to them, Putin is a tyrant, …
Read More »Meet the secular mujahedeen
The transformation of democracy from a political form to a religious movement THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Last week, I had an encounter with a democracy jihadist called Jeffrey Smith during a debate on Twitter (X) Spaces. The next day, he took to Twitter (X) accusing me of supporting despotism …
Read More »The axis of denial
To escape politics of denial, we cannot just cling to multi-party democracy but build social consensus COMMENT | SLAVOJ ZIZEK | The wife of a drunkard is in bed with her lover when her husband unexpectedly stumbles in and climbs under the sheets. “Darling, I’m so drunk that I see six …
Read More »Can democracy survive the Polycrisis?
Saving the world from artificial intelligence, climate change, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine COMMENT | GEORGE SOROS | We are living in troubled times. Too much is happening too fast. People are confused. The Columbia University economic historian Adam Tooze has, indeed, popularised a word for it. He calls it …
Read More »AI, Democracy, and the global order
AI will substantially impact fundamental rights and freedoms, relationships, and dearly held beliefs COMMENT | MANUEL MUNIZ & SAMIR SARAN | Future historians may well mark the second half of March 2023 as the moment when the era of artificial intelligence truly began. In the space of just two weeks, the …
Read More »DGF exits Uganda
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Democracy Governance Facility-DGF has formally exited Uganda after nearly 12 years. DGF, a multi-donor Fund was established in 2011 to properly coordinate donor assistance and activities in Uganda. The Fund has seven members including Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, and the …
Read More »Media freedom and democracy
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | In July 2022, BBC Africa Eye released a documentary on gang activity in northwestern Nigeria. The programme, The Bandit Warlords of Zamfara, examined the raids on villages, abductions and murders that have plagued swaths of the country. Notably, it included interviews with so-called bandits, who …
Read More »Mexican president accuses U.S. of meddling in internal affairs
Mexico city, Mexico | Xinhua | Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday accused the U.S. State Department of “interfering” in the internal affairs of other countries. “There is currently more democracy in Mexico than in the United States,” the Mexican president said at his regular daily press conference. On …
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