Politics / Democracy

We put the track record of Isaias Afwerki, President of Eritrea – and a liberation fighter turned ruthless dictator – under the spotlight.

Wame Molefhe profiles Botswana, where prosperity has morphed into corruption and inequality. But will the country’s future see it regain the sparkle its diamonds offer to the rich?

So many voices online. Surely that means more diversity and media democracy? Not really, explains Laura Basu.

After decades of denuding privatization policies, the green shoots of a public takeback are finally appearing. Dinyar Godrej on the promise and the threat.

The treatment of Myanmar’s Rohingya people has been seen as a genocide in the making. Parsa Sanjana Sajid visits those trapped on the Bangladeshi border.

Mass starvation is making a comeback as a weapon of war. To tackle this great evil we must stop talking about food and over-population, and engage with the politics, argues Alex de Waal.

Paraguayan democracy may have come a long way since the end of dictatorship, but terror is sweeping its agricultural heartlands where farmers and indigenous communities are resisting attempts to take away what little land they have left.

Inclusive rhetoric by Fiji’s PM is belied by police repression, reports Wame Valentine. And the economy’s in trouble. We profile Fiji today.

Activist Scott Weinstein dances with the terrorist label and finds it a fickle partner.

Mandeep Tiwana sorts through the many cloaks of authoritarianism donned by the political class as repression becomes the rule rather than the exception.

Turkish writer and analyst Hakki Mahfuz summarize the twists and turns that landed Turkey where it is today.

İştar Gözaydın was a professor of law and politics in Turkey. Until her government decided she was a terrorist. She tells her story.

The current clampdown on popular rights mirrors a profound malaise with our system of top-down political representation, argues Richard Swift.

Richard Swift takes aim at Sava Kiir Mayardit and Riek Machar, once friends but now foes at the pinnacle of violent South Sudanese politics.

Australia dropped secrecy rules which were unnecessary, undermined democratic accountability and were likely to have been unconstitutional, writes Kelsi Farrington

This dish may seem a bit challenging at first glance, but is guaranteed to impress your guests!

Is Operation Car Wash the world’s biggest corruption scandal? By Vanessa Baird

Vanessa Baird sets out to see how dictatorship is being rebranded in Latin America’s most populous nation.

The desirability of a basic income depends on what we are expected to give up in return, writes Nick Dowson.

Roberto Savio argues for a revival and re-engagement, before it is too late.

Mark Engler argues for acts of determination and sacrifice.

A pro-democracy campaigner refuses to allow the state to break him, reports Peter Kenworthy.

General elections in Guatemala usually follow a predictable pattern of propaganda, violence and despair, writes Anna Bevan.

Richard Swift examines the history of Utopian thinking that fundamentally re-imagines democracy and equality.