Democracy Lab Weekly Brief, November 10, 2014

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Iyad el-Baghdadi explains why, against all odds, he still believes in the Arab Spring.

Srdja Popovic and Slobodan Djinovic offer advice to Western democracy promoters.

Christian Caryl draws lessons from his experiences at the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Mohamed Eljarh reports on the Libyan Supreme Court decision that may do away with the last vestiges of the elected government’s legitimacy.

Brian Levy chides Francis Fukuyama for his pessimism about finding paths toward democratic outcomes.

Asma Ghribi wonders whether the secular party that emerged victorious from Tunisia’s election will consider partnering with the Islamists.

Nick Danforth finds a long-term silver lining in Turkish President Erdogan’s turn toward authoritarianism.

And now for this week’s recommended reads:

Jason Pack asks whether Libya’s escalating conflict really cuts across religious lines.

Kati Marton of the New York Times reports on Hungary’s turn to autocracy.

The Washington Post‘s Erin Cunningham profiles an Egyptian democracy activist who died fighting for the Islamic State.

Peter Pomerantsev takes a look at the Kremlin insider who has done the most to craft the image of Vladimir Putin.

Vera Songwe, writing for the Brookings Institution, looks at what Burkina Faso’s protests can teach us about African democracy.

Writing for the Atlantic Council, Faysal Itani argues that U.S. support for Syrian moderates is actually making them more vulnerable. (In the photo above, a Syrian Kurdish child peeks into a school tent in a Turkish refugee camp.)

On Al Arabiya, Paul Crompton tracks former President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s continuing influence in Yemeni politics.

Jeffrey Smith and an anonymous coauthor enumerate the crimes of Swaziland’s dictatorship after its court imprisons two activists.

In the New York Times, Alison Smale tells stories of East Germans who tried to cross the Berlin wall before it fell. In the Washington Post, Rick Noack explores the divisions between East and West Germany that linger today.