Read all posts for ‘authoritarianism’

In Romanian, the word ‘maidan’ means empty, weed-choked field. So it was more than a bit funny  when the word became a household  term across the EU in the past few months. The ‘Euromaidan’ became a symbol of democracy and the fight of the Ukraininan people against the choking weeds […]

Protests, Poverty and Prosperity in Perspective 2012 started with a bang in Bucharest. The usually sedate Romanian capital erupted with protests the likes of which had not been seen for at least a decade. At first glance it seemed that people were angry with new healthcare legislation and the ousting of a […]

‘Ladies and Gentlemen, I am deeply convinced that the day of our success will come, that Warsaw will be like Budapest.’ Jarosław Kaczyński on election night, 9th October 2011 Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the Law and Justice party, the main opposition group in Poland, is well known for his […]

Africa is a young continent, with 65 percent of the continent’s population is under the age of 24, with over 40 percent of the total population below the age of 16, and about 25 percent between the ages 15 and 24. Contrast the population makeup with the leadership of African […]

Democracies handle natural disasters much better than nondemocracies, but still democratic disaster policy is negatively affected by widespread political ignorance. Read more