Bangladesh's parliament has cancelled or rolled back several reforms introduced after the 2024 student-led uprising. The opposition is concerned that the nation might be backtracking on democratic gains made since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster. The dispute has quickly spilled over beyond parliament and into the streets.
Viktor Orban's defeat in Hungary raises questions about the market for autocratic strongmen. The allure of strongman rule was a predictable response to the missteps that mainstream democratic leaders had made over the previous few decades. Today’s strongmen are facing a rockier future for the same reason.
In many African countries, people have recently lined up to vote, but in many cases, there has been no real choice on offer. Laws and structures that were supposed to promote democratic decisions have been manipulated into compliance checks. In some cases, the ballot box has become a public relations exercise.
Josiah Kalala is working on a case challenging the constitutionality of Zambia's 2025 cyber laws. He is concerned the laws could undermine press freedom in the country. Journalists in Zambia believe the press does not operate freely and 41% had been harassed in the second half of 2025. The current climate of press freedom is uncertain.
Burkina Faso’s ministry of territorial administration and mobility announced the dissolution of 118 NGOs and associations and banned their activities on 15 April 2026. Amnesty International called the move an attack on freedom of association. Many of the organisations had worked in human rights and civil society spaces. Commentators framed the decision as another step away from democracy.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is embattled with uncertainty about its future. The CHP has failed to win a presidential election in the past two decades. Nowadays, it focuses on a new strategy to push for an early or by-election, but a fateful trial and a reported dissent in the party linked to that trial may prove a challenge for Türkiye's oldest party. The party is stuck between a reported feud between Özgür Özel and Ekrem Imamoğlu.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, Access Now, Data Rights, and Human Constanta filed an amicus brief on April 21 to the European Court of Human Rights on the use of spyware to silence journalists, activists, and human rights defenders. The brief was filed in support of a group of cases involving the secret surveillance of Azerbaijani journalists. The spyware can secretly turn a mobile phone into a 24-hour surveillance device.
Military spending has increased in real terms every year for the past decade. The leap in 2024 was the largest in inflation-adjusted terms since the cold war. European members of NATO will spend an additional €300bn per year by the end of the decade. China's military spending grows each year by an amount equivalent to Taiwan's entire annual defence budget.
Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2026 brought together 6,400 participants from around 150 countries. The main themes highlighted at the forum included the Gaza genocide, the Russia-Ukraine war, the U.S.-Israel-Iran tensions, the Strait of Hormuz, energy security, regional peace, free trade, Islamophobia, food security and climate change.