On the EDP wire, we post and discuss a range of issues that emanate from our research and that are important to us. Here you will find – in English or German – opinion pieces, book reviews, conference reports, and important announcements. Are you interested in becoming a guest contributor? Get in contact with us!
Most Recent EDP WIRE Posts
This Wire is part of our EDP Wire Series featuring the contributions of our joint EDP policy paper. Once a week, you are invited to read a new article on one of the key issues that democracy promotion is currently …
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In this week’s contribution, Solveig looks at the way democracy is currently (not) being promoted in the post-soviet space. She argues that particularly three developments are worth noting: increasing contestation between the transatlantic community and Russia, a declining willingness by EU and US to push for democratic reforms, but also positive democratic progress in some parts of the region.
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This week Annika focusses on the second of two key actors on the world stage with regard to democracy promotion policies: the United States of America and their present administration’s democracy promotion policies. She argues that US democracy promotionis in a jam especially since Trump represents a low point for US credibility on the matter of democracy.
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This week, Sonja turns to the European Union as one of the key actors on the world stage with regard to democracy promotion. Sonja argues that democracy promotion in the EU currently faces four main challenges: a loss of credibility, a lack of effectiveness, lacking willingness, and competition with regional powers’ counterveiling of European democracy promotion policies.
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In her contribution to the EDP policy paper, Tina looks at a specific strategy of international governance assistance that some consider a promising alternative to the direct and explicit promotion of democracy and discusses whether democracy promotion through so called “functional cooperation” might be a solution to the current malaise
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In this Wire, the authors discuss whether populist parties deliver one of the core demands that their supporters press for.
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In this weeks contribution, Annika and Jonas zoom in on one particularly noticeable phenomenon – the global spread of shrinking spaces for civil society actors – and discuss how this affects international civil society support
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In his contribution to the EDP policy paper, Johannes focuses on rebuting the alarming notion of a global democratic rollback. He shows us that there is no general rise in autocratic regimes, but worrying developments indeed with regard to the quality of democratic regimes world-wide in terms of political rights and civil liberties
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Tina Freyburg and Lisa Garbe analyze the relationship between state ownership of Internet service providers (ISP), regime type, and presence of violence in seeking to explain why internet shutdowns occur in certain situations, focusing on election periods in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Annika, Jonas, and Solveig take stock of the key challenges and trends in international democracy promotion in this weeks contribution. They introduce the overall question that informed the EDP policy report, suggest a reconceptualisation of democracy promotion research, and give a short overview over the coming contributions.
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