Armed conflict accounts for the fall, as well as heavy handed interpretations of national security, says an annual study …
democracy
Hong Kong Protesters March for Democracy
New Year rally presses claims for a directly elected leader and greater autonomy from Beijing
Beijing’s Tiananmen Square: Centuries of Chinese History and Protest
The vast plaza at the heart of China’s capital is the most politically sensitive location in the country, and has long attracted protesters seeking to express grievances. TIME charts some key moments.
Q&A: Golden Parasol Author Wendy Law-Yone on Gauging Dictators and Burma’s Reforms
This month, Burma marks 25 years since the student-led 8888 democracy uprising — named after Aug. 8, 1988 — was brutally crushed by its former ruling military junta. That this downtrodden Southeast Asian nation was allowed to …
A Bulgarian Spring? Entrenched Protests Challenge Eastern Europe’s Status Quo
Anti-government street protests are not just a feature of countries abutting the Mediterranean—they’ve now taken root in one on the Black Sea. In February, protesters in Bulgaria, an Eastern European nation of 7 million people, …
The Leadership Crisis at the Heart of China’s Freest City
July 1, officially marked as the day that Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, is unofficially the city’s day of discontent. Ever since 2003, when a landmark protest brought half a million people — more than 7% …
Crackdown: Malaysia Detains Opposition Figures, Raids Newspapers
The uproar over Malaysia’s disputed election shows few signs of abating after the government charged three outspoken opposition figures with sedition, an antiquated and much maligned law primarily used to quell dissent
Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentina’s Disappearer in Chief, Dies at 87
He would never have been cast to play the role of a bloody South American dictator in a Hollywood film. Soft-spoken, deeply religious, rake thin and awkward, his lean face cut horizontally by an incongruously thick walrus …
Must-Reads from Around the World
Cellphones are polluting the world and the Irish coalition government is expected to sign off on draft legislation that will lead to limited abortion in the republic
Must-Reads from Around the World
NGOs say cost-cutting by Western fashion retailers led to the factory disaster in Bangladesh, Russia uses child adoption as a bargaining tool with Ireland’s parliament, and the president of Serbia has apologized for the …
Must-Reads from Around the World
Russia’s most promising citizens are leaving the country, Geneva is no longer the crime-free city it used to be and fugitive Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda has surrendered in Rwanda
Bahrain Bans ‘V for Vendetta’ Masks
The Bahraini government has announed a ban on V for Vendetta or Guy Fawkes masks across the country
Must-Reads from Around the World
China appoints a new governor for Tibet, former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is in exile but wields influence from afar and Israel boycotts the U.N. Human Rights Council review