Authoritarianism

By Brian Whitaker | ( Al-Bab.com) Writing about conflicts in the Middle East for the New York Times yesterday, columnist Thomas Friedman talked of “the power that is lost to a society like Syria or Iraq that needs an iron fist to make its many into one, and when that fist is removed, how the […]

Authoritarianism

Cop Arrests Nurse For Doing Her Job (TYT Video)

contributors

Cenk Uygur, Ana Kasparian and Maytha Alhassen | (The Young Turks Video Report) | – – “A police officer in Salt Lake City arrested a nurse because she refused to break the law. Cenk Uygur, Ana Kasparian and Maytha Alhassen of The Young Turks, break it down.” TYT: “Cop Arrests Nurse For Doing Her Job […]

Authoritarianism

Trump’s Organized Chaos: Channeling the Dictators – And Their Lieutenants

contributors

By Shalom Goldman | (Informed Comment) | – – When Donald Trump was vying for the Republic nomination, and even more so after he won the nomination and was running for office, some of his most alarmed critics compared him to Adolf Hitler. These claims were not restricted to the American fringe (in all of […]

Authoritarianism

Resisting? 5 Lessons on Authoritarian Regimes from Latin America

contributors

By Cheryl Duckworth | (Informed Comment) | – – Daily headlines suggest we could soon be experiencing a genuine constitutional crisis. We’ve learned that White House lawyers are exploring if the President can pardon himself and fire the Special Prosecutor looking into the Russia issue, so there is no better moment than now to consider […]

Authoritarianism

Turkish Legislators hold Sit-in to protest Creeping Dictatorship

contributors

TeleSur | – – Under the changes, lawmakers can also vote to ban for three sessions fellow parliamentarians who use expressions such as “Kurdistan” or “Kurdish provinces.” Turkey’s main opposition staged a sit-in late Wednesday to protest proposed changes to parliamentary procedures which they say will restrict lawmakers’ ability to challenge President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling […]

Authoritarianism

Morocco’s Rif Revolt: Only a Democratic Response is Sufficient

contributors

By Hsain Ilahiane | (Informed Comment) | – – Since October 2016, the Berbers (Imazighen) of the Rif, a region on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco, have been carrying out one of the most sustained and largest demonstrations of public discontent and rage in Morocco since the protests of the Arab Spring in 2011. Reminiscent […]

Authoritarianism

One Year Later: Why the Purges in Turkey Were Always in the Pipeline

contributors

By Sarphan Uzunoglu. | ( GlobalVoices.org ) | – – When it comes to Turkey, representatives of European Union countries—aided and abetted by Turkish liberals who got the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) wrong to begin with—are in a state of denial and shock. Their distress is rooted in the idea that prior to […]

Authoritarianism

The Dangerous Unreality of Trumpland rests on a Totalitarian Foundation

contributors

By Dan Dinello | (Informed Comment) | – – Like the Black Lodge in David Lynch’s revival of Twin Peaks, reality is twisted into strange, absurd forms in the world of Trump. He tirelessly assaults common sense with exaggerations, blatant lies, insulting tweets, and willful ignorance. Though his chip-off-the-old-liar son Donald Jr. got caught red-handed […]

Authoritarianism

Turkey: Erdogan Marks Coup anniversary with more Crackdowns

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey commemorated on Saturday the anniversary of the failed coup in that country. The coup attempt was genuinely unpopular. Erdogan blames it on the Gulen movement, a shadowy cult-like organization that for years was allied with Erdogan. But in the aftermath, Erdogan […]