The IDEA/oD Democracy support project

The challenge of accommodating and promoting the rights of ethnic, religious and other minorities tends to emerge whenever a formerly authoritarian country begins to move towards democracy. It is faced today as the middle east and north Africa embarks on its own democratic transition. The region could be aided in the endeavour by learning lessons from earlier experience in countries such as Indonesia, says Mark Salter.

Do the supposedly civilised values of human rights and responsible citizenry become exclusionary, used to divide rather than unite? Is religion a partner of liberty? On the day the British parliament considers a bill proposing the banning of headscarves in public places, Robin Llewellyn reviews Jonathan Sacks' ‘The Great Partnership: God, Science, and the Search for Meaning’

The great battles waged on behalf of democracy in the 20th century have ended in crisis, proposes the painter and novelist Maxim Kantor. Shares in ‘democracy’ have crashed, while globalisation has led to the rise of a new super-rich lumpen elite which does not even notice that the world is on fire.

The task of building a democratic and inclusive Libya with working institutions must overcome the international community’s key flaw as well as the Gaddafi regime’s legacy, says Vidar Helgesen.

The authorities’ destruction of a building and precious archive of human-rights workers in Baku is an act of mindless cruelty that damages Azerbaijan itself, says Thomas de Waal.

A divisive period in Georgian politics has pitted a range of forces - the opposition, the Orthodox church, the media, and civil society - against Mikheil Saakashvili’s government. The disputes carry important messages for the future of democracy in the country, says Ghia Nodia.

A huge gathering in central Cairo on 29 July 2011 is a measure of the fluid state of Egypt’s political transformation, says Vidar Helgesen.

The successive presidencies of Néstor and Cristina Kirchner are marked by a determined effort to put the state and its capacity for co-option and patronage at the centre of Argentina’s political landscape. The fate of the human-rights group the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo casts light on how this ambition is being realised, says Celia Szusterman   

The coordinated bomb-attacks on London’s transport network on 7 July 2005 (“7/7”) left dozens dead and hundreds wounded, and marked the lives of millions in the city and beyond. The political, intellectual and security issues raised by the event were extensively discussed on openDemocracy in the ensuing months. A retrospect of unforgettable days, by David Hayes.

(This article was first published on 7 July 2010)

The persecution and resistance of Iranian campaigners for democracy are part of an enduring experience that is personal and familial as well as national, says Nasrin Alavi.

A bitter dispute among Iran’s political leaders involves issues of theology, economic policy, foreign affairs, and even accusations of occultism. But at its heart is the regime’s fear of the people, says Nasrin Alavi.

The movement sparked by Iran's fraudulent election of 2009 is history. The potential exists now for a bolder and clearer opposition to emerge, says Nazenin Ansari.


The military-political deadlock in Libya between supporters and opponents of the Gaddafi regime leaves a pervasive uncertainty over the country’s future. But even greater challenges will follow this conflict, says Alison Pargeter.

The waves of change in the Arab world have women at the centre. But how will they fare as revolt turns towards a new political and social settlement? Rada Ivekovic considers the emerging balance.

Tehran’s ruling elite proclaims Iran’s revolutionary experience as the inspiration for the Arab insurrections, yet seeks to crush demonstrators at home. Iran’s citizens can see through the lies, says Nasrin Alavi.

The popular revolts in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the middle east are driven by a profound democratic impulse. This represents both learning and test for international democracy actors, says Vidar Helgesen.

The democratic mobilisations in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and elsewhere are lighting a beacon across the middle east and north Africa. The way ahead lies through peaceful protest against extremism and authoritarianism, say Foulath Hadid & Mishana Hosseinioun.

The homegrown insurrection of a friendless people in Tunisia carries a profound lesson in the understanding of democracy-solidarity in the world as it is becoming, says Goran Fejic.

A bitter contest over the future of Iran is taking place amid censorship, intimidation, exhaustion and - not least - the degradation of language. It is a difficult moment that raises essential issues of responsibility, says Nasrin Alavi.

The international bailout of Ireland’s economy is another epic moment in the crisis of the eurozone. Angela Merkel’s government in Berlin is, as ever, at the heart of events. Katinka Barysch maps the political logic that guides Germany’s current strategy.