Tag Archives: democracy

Vladimir Putin: Accidental Democrat

Russia's Paradoxical Route to Democracy

‘’I am responsible only to God and history’’, these Putinistic words were repeatedly uttered by Spanish dictator Fransico Franco. For decades, Franco held his country in a dictatorial stranglehold. Yet, starting in the late 70s, La Transición Española moved the country from a fascist dictatorship into a full-fledged liberal democracy within a matter of years. Four thousand
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Democracy in the Stans: a myth or a future prospect?

The case of Central Asia's "island of democracy", Kyrgyzstan

The Stans is a geographical region of Central Asia consisting of 5 post-Soviet republics, who share a nomadic past and mostly Turkic-based languages. After the demise of communist rule, Central Asian republics became darlings of Western NGOs, funds, and sponsors. However, numerous attempts of outsiders to promote democracy in the region didn’t yield expected results,
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