Democracy Lab Weekly Brief, April 27, 2015
To keep up with Democracy Lab in real time, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Josh Cohen warns that a new law passed by the Ukrainian parliament — which honors nationalist groups that participated in the Holocaust — is a dangerous mistake. In light of last week’s horrific migrant boat sinking in the Mediterranean, Mohamed Eljarh gives us ...
To keep up with Democracy Lab in real time, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Josh Cohen warns that a new law passed by the Ukrainian parliament — which honors nationalist groups that participated in the Holocaust — is a dangerous mistake.
In light of last week’s horrific migrant boat sinking in the Mediterranean, Mohamed Eljarh gives us the view from Libya, ground zero in the migrant crisis.
Hazel Haddon reports on how the allegedly secular Egyptian government continues to wield draconian blasphemy laws against dissenters.
Michael Meyer-Resende and Omar Ould Hammady make the case for Libya’s constitutional assembly, one of the few remaining institutions with the potential to bridge the country’s growing divides.
Elliott Prasse-Freeman explains how escalating farmers’ protests over land seizures in Burma are challenging the terms of the country’s elite-driven transition.
And now for this week’s recommended reads:
In a must-read paper for the Carnegie Endowment, Thomas Carothers and Oren Samet-Marram describe a “new global marketplace of political change” in which Western democratic powers play an increasingly limited role.
The Washington Post’s Jackson Diehl profiles Egyptian activist and Democracy Lab contributor Maikel Nabil Sanad, whose fate embodies the failings of his country’s post-revolutionary course.
Democracy Digest offers a helpful round-up of analysis and commentary about Ukraine’s existential struggle with Russia. (In the photo, Ukrainian servicemen take a break near Donetsk.)
Writing for the Huffington Post, Jeffrey Sachs argues that modern public policy should focus on happiness and wellbeing, not just raw economic growth.
In al Jazeera, Claudia Gazzini and Issandr El Amrani insist that lifting the U.N. arms embargo on Libya in order to boost the fight against ISIS would be a grave error.
Writing for Project Syndicate, Alfred Stepan and Richa Maheshwari challenge the argument that Lee Kuan Yew’s successful battle against corruption in Singapore owed anything to his authoritarian style of governance.
And finally, if you’re in D.C. tomorrow, check out an event at the Atlantic Council to mark the release of a new report by Faisal Itani, which argues that the United States should help Syrian nationalists compete with the Nusra Front for control of the insurgency.
Photo credit: OLEKSANDR RATUSHNIAK/AFP/Getty Images
More from Foreign Policy
Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America
The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.
The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense
If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.
Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War
Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.
How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests
And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.
Sign up for Morning Brief
Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter with what’s coming up around the world today. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
