Democracy Lab Weekly Brief, August 8, 2016

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Democracy Lab is proud to present Tunisia: In Sun and Shadow, an in-depth investigation of Tunisia’s remarkable but fragile democracy — the only one to come out of the Arab Spring five years ago.

Today, read Christian Caryl’s introduction to the project, a take on the country’s continued failure to tackle gender violence, an account of a lawless border town, a story about a musical tradition under pressure, and a deep dive into what the popular Islamist Ennahda party is up to.

And stay tuned in the coming days — more stories in the series will be published on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Also in Democracy Lab:

Richard Horsey argues that Burma’s new democratic government should be given its due credit.

Sarah Kendzior underscores the damage Donald Trump will do to American democracy — even if he loses.

Cenk Sidar urges policymakers to use new technologies to make democracy work better for everyone.

And now for this week’s recommended reads:

In Latin America Goes Global, Christopher Sabatini makes the case for free trade based on the Latin American experience.

In the “Democracy Digest” blog, Marc Plattner considers whether nationalism can ever be beneficial for democracy.

Antonio Sampaio argues in “IISS Voices” that Olympic host city Rio de Janeiro faces an accelerating process of urban decay.

In the “War on the Rocks” blog, William Armstrong examines the widening chasm between Turkey and the West in the wake of July’s botched coup attempt.

In Project Syndicate, Jean Pisani-Ferry defends the role of trusted experts in democracy.

In the Forward, Lev Golinkin contends that Ukraine is rehabilitating wartime leaders who committed atrocities against Jews — with the support of its Jewish community.

In the Global Anticorruption Blog, Rick Messick points to a new paper by Elmarie van der Schyff which examines how civil society can push for better enforcement of anti-corruption legislation.

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace features a roundup review of Sarah Bush’s new book, The Taming of Democracy Assistance: Why Democracy Promotion Does Not Confront Dictators.

And finally, if you read our recent stories about Zimbabwe’s #ThisFlag protest movement (one critical, one optimistic), you may be interested in an August 17 event at the Atlantic Council in Washington D.C. which will feature the movement’s founder, Pastor Evan Mawarire.

In the photo, Tunisians demonstrate against a proposed bill to grant amnesty to people accused of corruption in Tunis on July 25.

Photo credit: FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images