Our curated library is packed full of knowledge, know-how and best practices in the fields of democracy and culture.
Read the latest on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other critical world events in our library of democratic content. Gathered from trusted international sources, the curated library brings you a rich resource of articles, opinion pieces and more on democracy and culture to keep you updated.
Take a look at curated library below and search by keyword (i.e. Ukraine or authoritarianism) or format (i.e. article or report) and find a tailored list of resources on the topics you're most interested in.
Politicians should take citizens’ assemblies seriously
“Citizens’ assemblies are often promoted as a way to reverse the decline in trust in democracy, which has been precipitous in most of the developed world over the past decade or so...politicians, a common complaint runs, have no understanding of, or interest in, the lives and concerns of ordinary people. Citizens’ assemblies can help remedy that” (Leaders, 2020).
Facebook Has Been a Disaster for the World
“Facebook has been incredibly lucrative for its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, who ranks among the wealthiest men in the world. But it’s been a disaster for the world itself, a powerful vector for paranoia, propaganda and conspiracy-theorizing as well as authoritarian crackdowns and vicious attacks on the free press. Wherever it goes, chaos and destabilization follow” (Jamelle Bouie, 2020).
With Freedom at Stake, Courts Are Collapsing
“The rise of right-wing populist leaders in several countries has brought immense attention to the use of executive power, in popular debate and among constitutional scholars across presidential and parliamentary systems. Along with the rise of executive power, there has been a corresponding but less studied phenomenon: the decline in judicial power” (Madhav Khosla, 2020).
Reform the Police? Guess Who Funds My State's Officials
“But in the end, even here, it was essentially business as usual in a State Capitol where police unions have long wielded enormous power. The measures that passed this year were either noncontroversial or so diluted as to have little if any immediate impact” (Miriam Pawel, 2020).
The Pandemic Was Supposed to Be Great for Strongmen. What Happened?
“The protests in Belarus should force us to rethink the relationship between the pandemic and authoritarianism. Does the virus infect our societies with authoritarian governance or, alternatively, can it strengthen democratic immunity?” (Ivan Krastev, 2020).
Mark Zuckerberg is the Most Powerful Unelected Man in America
“Facebook wins in every direction. Its size and power creates instability, the answer to which, according to Facebook, is to give the company additional authority” (Charlie Warzel, 2020).
Which Past is Prologue?
“Although the damage is difficult to measure, the United States has lost much of its moral authority...will the coming decades bring a new Cold War, with China cast as the Soviet Union and the rest of the world picking sides or trying to find a middle ground?” (Margaret MacMillan, 2020).
The Age of Zombie Democracies
More and more autocrats are “forced to rely on ever starker forms of repression: they still hold periodic elections...but they do not even pretend that these empty rituals are free or fair. The result has been the proliferation of what might be called “zombie democracies”—the living dead of electoral political systems” (Kenneth Roth, 2021).
Washington's Democracy Dilemma
“A democracy summit is not a democracy strategy. Translating Biden’s rhetorical emphasis on democracy support into a meaningful plank of his foreign policy will require his team to grapple head-on with several thorny dilemmas” (Brown and Carothers, 2021).
New Report On Covid-19 And Democracy Calls For Urgent Measures By Governments And Civil Society
A new report, ‘Global Democracy and COVID-19: Upgrading International Support’, highlights how some governments are using the public health crisis to further curtail democratic activities and provides recommendations for policymakers and civil society to counteract the negative impacts of Covid-19 on democracy.
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