Democracy Lab Weekly Brief, September 29, 2014
To catch Democracy Lab in real time, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Rachel Williamson explains why Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s plan to formalize Egypt’s black market economy may not have the desired effect. Emily Parker reports on Putin’s latest effort to bring the hitherto unruly Russian Internet under state control. Brian Levy argues ...
To catch Democracy Lab in real time, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Rachel Williamson explains why Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s plan to formalize Egypt’s black market economy may not have the desired effect.
Emily Parker reports on Putin’s latest effort to bring the hitherto unruly Russian Internet under state control.
Brian Levy argues that democracy promoters should eschew revolutionary change in favor of gradual reform.
Mohamed Eljarh analyzes the ominous knock-on effects from the assassination of two teenage activists in Libya.
Juan Nagel looks at how Venezuela’s admission to the U.N. Security Council membership is likely to change the group’s balance of power.
And in our third Lab Report on Turkey, Vanessa H. Larson charts the decline of press freedom in Turkey.
And now for this week’s recommended reads:
Writing for Politico, Hisham Melhem announces the death of Arab civilization as country after country succumbs to the lure of extremism.
In World Affairs, Mariana Budjeryn rebuts the notion that the West should be blamed for Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Reuters’ Rita Katz points out that air strikes do nothing to stop the thriving online community that supports Islamic State.
In the New York Times, Ibrahim Sharqieh explains what the rebel ouster of Yemen’s democratically elected leadership means for the country’s chances at peace.
Christoph Reuter of Der Spiegel offers a vivid reportage from the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo, where residents struggle to survive a vicious war. (In the photo above, Turkish protesters clash with police near Suruc after the government decided to close its border to Kurdish refugees.)
Atlantic Council’s Karim Mezran censures the Libyan House of Representatives for failing to bring the country together in the midst of crisis.
On Human Rights Watch, Param-Preet Singh and John Sifton urge the United Nations to intervene in North Korea in the wake of yet another investigation into the many rights abuses taking place within its borders.
In the Atlantic, Amie Ferris-Rotman looks at how the war in eastern Ukraine has thrown the Jewish community there into chaos.
On Huffington Post, Daniel Wagner assesses the extent of continuing Burmese military control over the government in the wake of its successful move to ban to Aung San Suu Kyi’s presidential candidacy.
International Crisis Group warns that Venezuela’s crisis isn’t over just because protesters have left the streets.
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