Political change is happening all the time in China, though the government is not leading the charge. Rather, the Chinese people are advancing political change through advocacy by nongovernmental organizations, communication via the Internet, and political protest.
Isobel Coleman hosts Joshua Kurlantzick, Fellow for Southeast Asia, Council on Foreign Relations, for a discussion about the political and economic transition of Thailand and Indonesia as part of a Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative series on Realizing Democracy: Lessons from Transitioning Countries.
Isobel Coleman, CFR's senior fellow and director of the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy initiative, discusses transitions to democracy and market economies, as part of CFR's Academic Conference Call series.
Reza Aslan discusses the connection between women's empowerment and economics, as part of the Council on Foreign Relations' roundtable series on religion and the Middle East.
This meeting was cosponsored by the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initative.
President Obama met with President Sall from Senegal, President Banda from Malawi, President Koroma from Sierra Leone, and Prime Minister Neves from Cape Verde on March 28, 2013. The four presidents discussed the progress their countries have made in democracy and economic development.
Secretary of State John Kerry and Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan gave these remarks on March 13, 2013. They discussed Libya's revolution and recently appointed government, U. S. and Libyan coordination regarding the embassy attack at Benghazi, and the new Ambassador to Libya Deborah Jones.
Ed Husain hosts Bernard Haykel in a discussion of the convergences and divergences in Gulf governments' policies toward the Arab Spring, both domestically and regionally.
Ed Husain leads a wide-ranging discussion with AbdulMawgoud Dardery of the political challenges facing Egypt and the Freedom and Justice Party's vision for the country's future.
Its economy is in terrible condition and state authority is apparently breaking down. It's time to contemplate an intervention by Egypt's military, says CFR's Steven Cook.
"Last September's terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi left the unmistakable impression of a country teetering on a knife-edge. Yet despite its struggles, Libya is hardly on the brink of anarchy."
Ash Jain and David F. Gordon discuss the merits of a D10 composed of like-minded and capable democracies from around the world as a mechanism to pursue shared democratic interests and deepen strategic cooperation to face the challenges of today's world.
In the next decade, China will continue to rise, not fade. Its leaders will consolidate the one-party model and, in the process, challenge the West's smug certainty about political development and the inevitable march toward electoral democracy.
Li is far too confident in the benefits of Chinese authoritarianism. So far, what has held China back is not any lack of demand for democracy, but a lack of supply.
Joshua Kurlantzick examines how emerging democratic powers like India and Brazil have thus far avoided a leadership in democracy promotion commensurate with their new global statuses
Meghan L. O'Sullivan says, "No single proposal is going to smooth over the acute political division in Egypt. Yet a deal over a constitutional review holds the prospect of at least breaking the impasse."
Joshua Kurlantzick shares an excerpt from his new book, Democracy in Retreat, which revolves around a disturbing thesis: that after a steady increase in the number of democracies in the world for nearly a century, autocratic rule is on the march.
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
Special operations play a critical role in how the United States confronts irregular threats, but to have long-term strategic impact, the author argues, numerous shortfalls must be addressed.
The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.
Two experts argue that despite myriad development strategies, only one can succeed in alleviating poverty in India: the overall growth of the country's economy. More