Everyone in Tanzania, including the government, was caught off guard when protests broke out on election day – 29 October. The polls had long been
Tag: Authoritarianism
As governments across East and Southeast Asia tighten restrictions on activism and association, civic space is rapidly shrinking. Leah Lin, founder of the Asia Citizen
In one of its most important facets, Sudan’s war is a war against the revolution that began in December 2018 and endures in the daily
Could Musk’s authoritarian streak trace back to his Canadian grandfather? Before Joshua Haldeman brought his family to South Africa, he made waves as part of
Yao Lin is a social and political philosopher. His latest book is ‘Empty Talks‘ (in Chinese). This article first appeared in International Feminist Journal of
August’s anti-government protests highlight the growth of a subculture of street protest that echoes the anti-Suharto activism of the 1990s. In opposing the new form
In this episode, Matt is joined by journalist Talia Lavin to discuss her book, Wild Faith: How the Christian Right is Taking Over America, one
From New Lines Magazine Emboldened by an ultraconservative state agenda and the war in Ukraine, radical nationalists are cautiously welcomed by the government In a
From Foreign Policy In a carefully choreographed ceremony on July 11 in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, 30 members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) symbolically burned their weapons. This
Tanzanian rights campaigner Maria Sarungi-Tsehai and Mary Kambo of the Kenya Human Rights Commission join New Lines’ Kwangu Liwewe on the podcast to discuss the
From Himal Southasian After Pakistan’s military “win” in the May 2025 confrontation with India, the army under Asim Munir as field marshal has even greater
Brazil is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women and LGBTQ+ people: we have some of the highest rates of femicide
Shahrukh Alam, a lawyer practicing in India’s Supreme Court, dissects how the country’s law and order machinery has been turned against its Muslim citizens in
I have been blogging on and off, at various websites, since 2006, and much of that time I’ve tried to follow one region or another
On 25 June this year, India marks 50 years since former prime minister Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency in India. This was the third time that
Development economist Amirullah Khan explains the social indicators that show the stark deprivation of the majority of India’s Muslims, especially in education and employment. He talks
Following the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, the Islamic Republic has initiated a new wave of widespread repression. Under the guise of “national security”
What is new about the authoritarianism that we are currently witnessing? It is useful to situate this authoritarianism within, and to see it as an
Though often declared dead, the discourse around ‘Asian values’ has had many lives. Authoritarian regimes have deployed culturalist arguments against liberal democracy since the 1990s,
The region’s close political and economic links to Beijing loom large in explanations of why it remains in the democratic doldrums. But overemphasis on the
I now know that Africa has been in search for a progressive hero since the passage of the great ones – Nkrumah, Lumumba, Nasser, Nyerere,
In late March, tens of thousands of students in Indonesia took to the streets to protest against the controversial army law reform. Critics say President
On 28 March, in downtown Jakarta, across from the Sarinah department store, an unlikely group of protesters gathered holding signs and making speeches. The crowd
This article was prepared by a Georgian anti-authoritarian in exile in communication with local collectives in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, and Zugdidi. Georgians themselves refer to the
The chorus of authoritarian propaganda against democratic protests should concern us all. When Greta Thunberg, a student activist against climate change, tweeted a “toolkit” comprising
From New Lines Magazine As Latin American dictators marginalize and jail protesters, the leaders rely on backing from prominent but obtuse individuals and organizations What
African evangelicals align themselves with the American right and there are many parallels between American and African evangelicals that may explain why the latter support