Is China more democratic than Russia?

Ivan Krastev 12 March 2013

On paper, Russia’s political system is an impressive reproduction of Western representative democracy, while the Chinese system remains an unreconstructed autocracy. The reality of the situation is much more complex, says Ivan Krastev.

Le système éducatif tchadien en pleine décadence

Kagbe Rachel 13 November 2012

91% de recalés à l’examen du baccalauréat 2012 au Tchad pour seulement 9% d’admis. Réorganiser le baccalauréat n’est pas la solution. Il faut revoir le système éducatif et sensibiliser les différents acteurs à une prise de conscience.

Education in Chad: in a state of decline

Kagbe Rachel 13 November 2012

This year in Chad only 9% of students passed their high school leaving exams. Reorganising these exams is not the solution. We need to re-examine the whole education system, encouraging all those involved to wake up and take stock, says Kagbe Rachel.

Watching the watchers

Philip Monaghan 24 June 2012

Lack of co-operation on supervision of sovereign credit raters is undermining Rio+20’s pursuit of new Sustainable Development Goals

Humanitarian work: from intention to action

Nick van Praag 17 March 2012

The performance of humanitarian agencies in meeting the needs of their presumed beneficiaries needs systematic improvement. The consistent practice of accountability must guide the change, says Nick van Praag.

Cinema, citizenship and the promise of the internet: a personal view from the Third World

Salik Shah 21 February 2012

Piracy is typically portrayed as the vice of only those who wish to steal media for the sake of self-indulgent entertainment. But 'file sharing' is also, for some, the only means of gaining access to educational material or information censored by oppressive governments, let alone revolutionary inspiration

The 'Democratic Recession' has turned into a modern zeitgeist of democratic reform

Robert Battison 21 December 2011

It is no coincidence that the wave of protests comes in the wake of a 'democratic recession'. People are increasingly demanding democracy in the Arab world, and also in the west.

Chinese companies under scrutiny in Zimbabwe

Andrew Mambondiyani 14 December 2011
Ten years into the Look East policy, Zimbabwe is showing itself to be a not-so-satisfied customer of Chinese investment.

The material stakes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo elections

Pete Jones 5 December 2011

Private interest, not public voice, governs the immediate future of the DRC - the Democratic Republic of the Congo

SOS from a Congolese peacebuilder: rescue the young democracy of DR Congo!

Flory Kazingufu 2 December 2011
There are concrete steps the Congolese political establishment can take to avert post-election violence, if external pressure helps to engender the necessary political will.

Armed conflict, land grabs and big business: Colombia’s deadly pact

Kyla Sankey 16 November 2011
The recent assassination of Colombian marxist insurgent group leader Alfonso Cano has been hailed internationally as an advance towards peace, giving Colombia a boost down the path to becoming the latest emerging market of Latin America. A closer look at the history and nature of Colombia's nearly 50 year-long armed struggle, however, tells us otherwise.

Resisting corruption: recent progress in Indonesia and Kenya

Shaazka Beyerle 19 November 2010
People power may be well-suited to a systemic approach to curbing corruption. Political will can be thwarted, because too many office-holders have a stake in the crooked status quo. Those benefiting from graft are much less likely to stand against it than those suffering from it.

Measuring corruption in Iraq: between perceptions and reality

Ali Al-Mawlawi 25 October 2010
The findings of the Corruption Perceptions Index are widely anticipated by governments whose credibility is at stake. But are they always reliable?

The Poet and the Tsar

Olga Sherwood 23 August 2010
When Putin sat down to tea with artists and musicians before a charity concert last month, he could not have expected difficult questions, writes Olga Sherwood. He had not counted on DDT's Yury Shevchuk, who found the courage to stand out from the crowd and launch a memorable and principled criticism of the current political course. The article was first published on July 1st, 2010

Lawfair

Andy Hull 30 July 2010
Court scrutiny of the British security services is to be welcomed; we can't debate properly our security needs without openness.

This week's editor

Heather McRobie


Niki Seth-Smith is a freelance journalist and co-editor of OurKingdom.

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European Union stars in Paris. Flickr/notarim. Some rights reserved.

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