By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Donald J. Trump’s peculiar comments about and relationship with dictators and loonies among foreign leaders have upset a range of observers, from sincere human rights activists to cold-blooded Think Tank Rats. First he welcomed the Philippines’ demagogue and possibly cold-blooded murderer Rodrigo Duterte to Washington. Then […]
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Authoritarianism
Priebus: Trump Could Amend Constitution to Abolish 1st Amendment
TeleSur | – – A constitutional amendment to stem negative coverage of any administration would require a supermajority in both houses of Congress. U.S. President Donald Trumps’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus, announced Sunday that the administration is reviewing the country’s libel laws in a bid to prosecute journalists. Priebus told ABC News’ This Week […]
Press Freedom in Middle East Cratering in Age of Brutal Dictatorships
By Brian Whitaker | ( Al-Bab.com ) | – – Among the 22 countries belonging to the Arab League, 17 are ranked as “bad” or “very bad” in the annual World Press Freedom Index published today by Reporters Without Borders. The eight classified as “bad” are Algeria, Jordan, Iraq, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar and the […]
Turkey’s Erdogan bans Wikipedia, TV Dating Shows, oh, and Fires 4,000
TeleSur | – – With the April 16 referendum having expanded Erdogan’s powers, the AKP leader continues to lead a mass crackdown against his citizens. While a hotly contested referendum earlier this month expanded Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s authoritarian powers — it appears the Justice and Development (AKP) party leader is wasting no time exercising […]
As Leftist Turks Protest, Trump congratulates Erdogan on Authoritarian Turn
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Several hundred Turks demonstrated in Istanbul on Monday in protest at the referendum result on Sunday transforming Turkey into a presidential system and handing vast powers to right wing politician Tayyip Erdogan. In contrast, US president Donald J. Trump called Erdogan to congratulate him on his […]
Turkish Democracy in Trouble, but not Because of Presidential System
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Turkey’s historic referendum on Sunday will move the country from a parliamentary to a presidential system. Many observers are sounding a death knell for Turkish democracy as a result, but the move to presidentialism in and of itself isn’t the problem. Interestingly, Erdogan won with a […]
Turkey’s Referendum on Democracy vs. Illiberal Rule
By Natalie Martin | (The Conversation) | – – When the Turkish government announced its plans to transform itself into an executive presidency, no-one was particularly surprised. This plan, which has been described as “the most radical political change since the modern republic’s foundation in 1923”, is the culmination of a steady drift towards authoritarianism […]
Asian Doctor Violently Pulled Off US Plane by Security Guards
TeleSur | – – While he was allowed back on the flight, the man’s face was bleeding from the force the guards exerted. A viral video has yet again stirred controversy around United Airlines after footage showed security personnel dragging a screaming man off a plane Sunday evening. The flight, from Chicago O’Hare Airport to […]
Strongman: The Bloodstained Rise of Global Populism
By Alfred W. McCoy | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – In 2016, something extraordinary happened in the politics of diverse countries around the world. With surprising speed and simultaneity, a new generation of populist leaders emerged from the margins of nominally democratic nations to win power. In doing so, they gave voice, often in virulent […]