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2. China: A hard-line autocracy that loses credibility at an international level
- Author:
- Dorothea Krueger
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- The country report of China in the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) 2020 shows little change for the continent-sized Asian country since the last report of 2018. Structural challenges continued to intensify and the CCP’s single-party leadership does not consider democratic transformation as an objective to be pursued. On the contrary, the administration of President Xi Jinping continued to oppress opponents and dissidents while intensifying ideological indoctrination and surveillance. The deprivation of civil liberties, the concentration of power and the lack of political participation are the main reasons for classifying China in the BTI as a hard-line autocracy. At the same time, the BTI warns that China is becoming increasingly isolated from the world’s liberal democracies and loses their confidence. Human rights violations in so-called “re-education camps”, where it is estimated that more than one million Uyghurs are held, caused widespread criticism among Western democracies and lead to even more concern over China’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council elections in October this year.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, United Nations, Authoritarianism, UN Human Rights Council (HRC), Illiberal Democracy, Democratic Decline, and Human Rights Violations
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, and Global Focus
3. Russia: an increasingly repressive autocracy seeking a place on the UN Human Rights Council
- Author:
- Lara María Kovandova
- Publication Date:
- 07-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- The Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) 2020 cautiously points to Vladimir Putin’s forging of an authoritarian-bureaucratic nomenklatura. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have denounced the deteriorating human rights situation in Russia, with freedom of speech and assembly systematically undermined and violated. The recent plebiscite to reform the constitution is the epitome of Mr Putin masquerading the authoritarian regime as a democracy.
- Topic:
- United Nations, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Vladimir Putin, Human Rights Violations, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Latin America, and Global Focus
4. BTI and Cuba: the State of democratic denial
- Author:
- Manuel Cuesta Morúa
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- Compared with other reports on Cuba, the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) has several noticeable advantages. The first is that it is a comprehensive report, embedded in three pillars: economics, politics and governance. The second is that it captures trends, whereas more reports are static. The third is that it considers themes through indicators, which most reports ignore. And as it is issued every two years it makes it possible to know the consistency (or lack, thereof) of the transformation and its rhythm. The following up. Has Cuba been transformed in 14 years (2006-2020)? Reading the report, it can be concluded that it has, whilst a new concept is introduced: that of static transformation –a sample of changes that leave the structures of a society intact.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Governance, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Society, and Human Rights Violations
- Political Geography:
- Cuba, Latin America, and Global Focus
5. Milada Horáková: Defender of Democracy Against Totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia
- Author:
- Greg Ross
- Publication Date:
- 08-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- On the 23rd of August, the City of Buenos Aires observes the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Totalitarianism. The life of Czech activist Milada Horáková is emblematic of the fight against various forms of totalitarianism. Horáková, detained by the Nazis in a concentration camp and later executed by communists in Czechoslovakia, was posthumously awarded the honor of the First Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk by Czech president Václav Havel in 1991. It is the Czech government’s highest recognition of citizens who have dedicated their lives to democratic and humanitarian causes. Horáková’s story was recently highlighted in «Milada», a 2017 Czech-American film distributed by Netflix.
- Topic:
- Authoritarianism, Democracy, State Violence, Violence, Dictatorship, and Totalitarianism
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Czech Republic
6. Dealing with the authoritarian resurgence
- Author:
- Christopher Walker
- Publication Date:
- 09-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- A renewed struggle between democracy and authoritarianism has emerged. The decade-long democratic decline reported by Freedom House has been most dramatic within the ranks of already authoritarian regimes, which have become even more repressive. At the same time, the most influential among them— China, Russia, and Iran—have become more internationalist. In doing so, they have found ways to exploit integration and to broaden their influence in the democratic world. Through the development of the antidemocratic toolkit of simulated NGOs, think tanks, election monitors, and news media, the autocrats are actively seeking to undermine democracy from within.
- Topic:
- Authoritarianism, Democracy, Freedom of Expression, Fascism, Dictatorship, and Totalitarianism
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, and Iran
7. The more things change in Cuba’s external relations, the more they remain the same in its domestic politics
- Author:
- Ted. A Henken
- Publication Date:
- 06-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- As Cuba’s foreign relations undergo epoch-making change, and following President Barack Obama’s historic visit to the island in March, Havana circles the wagons of state doubling down on political centralization under Raúl Castro and los históricos.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Authoritarianism, Freedom of Expression, and Domestic Politics
- Political Geography:
- Cuba and Latin America
8. A Democracy Assembly to Face the New Authoritarian Challenges
- Author:
- Ladan Boroumand
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- Sixteen years after the first World Movement Assembly, the situation has dramatically changed. We no longer have the strong wind of triumphant democracy in our sails. Instead, we are facing a reinvigorated wind of authoritarianism that defies us not only in practice but also ideologically and tests our understanding of our own values, our consistency, and our commitment. During the last wave of democratization, civil society emerged as a recognized and legitimate actor on the international stage. If as civil society actors we are being silenced and made irrelevant in our countries, with the help of democratic governments and the global human-rights community we can use the virtual and international stage to reemerge as strong, relevant actors and impose ourselves as our governments’ interlocutors.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Human Rights, Authoritarianism, and Democracy
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Global Focus
9. Conclusions of the 17th Forum 2000 Conference
- Author:
- Gareth Evans
- Publication Date:
- 10-2013
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- A constantly recurring theme in our discussions has been the extent to which a country’s, or group of countries’, distinctive history and culture impacts on what can be done and how quickly it can be done when it comes to both initiating and sustaining transitions from authoritarianism to democracy, and in particular whether revolutions are likely to consolidate or collapse.
- Topic:
- Authoritarianism, Democracy, Conference, Transition, and Society
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
10. A crisis in the human rights concept in the begining of the 21st century
- Author:
- Yevgeniy Zhovtis
- Publication Date:
- 10-2012
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- Essential human rights principles say that for citizens ‘everything which is not forbidden is allowed’ while for the government ‘everything which is not allowed is forbidden’. But authoritarian states manage to turn these principles upside down both in law and it practice.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Law, Authoritarianism, and Citizenship
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus