Aret Demirci is a political scientist and head of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Istanbul. Kemal Kilicdaroglu was removed as the chairman of the largest opposition party, the CHP, by a court ruling. The opposition's political effectiveness is being placed under state reservation. Turkey is important as a NATO partner and as a buffer state between Russia, the Middle East and Europe. Germany should take a closer look at Turkey.
European governments have taken several actions in recent years that go beyond normal democratic practice. They include canceling an election, banning political parties, blocking access to foreign media and arresting demonstrators for holding signs. The Great Recession in the late 2000s, COVID lockdowns, hollowing out of Europe’s industrial base and the arrival of large numbers of immigrants have fed radical, populist movements on the left and right. European society is under extreme stress.
There is a "growing pattern of transnational repression" linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to the report from the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC). The report outlines a series of policy recommendations intended to strengthen legal protections and improve coordination among democratic governments. The report’s release coincided with renewed bipartisan efforts in Congress to address the issue.
Today's political developments are similar to those of the interwar period, with democracy in retreat, radicalized parties going from strength to strength, ethnic minorities scapegoated, dictators and would-be dictators advancing, economic crisis, the breakdown of a liberal international order, a deadly pandemic, and the Spanish flu. The economic crisis that began in 2008 was branded the “Great Recession” and is a deliberate echo of the Great Depression. Many studies have overstated the extent of the negative democratic trend.
The second round of voting in Peru's presidential election is being counted. The leftist Roberto Sánchez and the rightist Keiko Fujimori are fighting for the presidency. The country is divided between rich and poor areas, with different expectations and expectations.
The internet technology we were told would liberate us is now being used as part of an authoritarian crackdown on rights and freedoms. Centralized systems create chokepoints that attract everyone with an interest in squeezing them: companies looking to extract more value from users, governments looking for compliance from companies, and political movements looking for influence from both. Cory Doctorow’s encapsulates how centralized systems get enshittified.
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The latest revelations about Russian-linked operations in Europe should not surprise us. They are classic Russian “active measures” carried out by their intelligence services. The goal is to discredit our democracies, mislead policies and political groups, and sow discord and disunity within our societies.
Weekly digital edition of SPIEGEL includes e-paper (PDF), digital archive and S+ newsletter. Free access to all S+ articles on SPIEGel.de and in the app (e-paper, digital archive, and newsletter). For more information, visit the website.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu took over the party's leadership and is trying to consolidate it. Ekrem Imamoğlu’s team, represented by former Chair Özgür Özel, insists on not leaving the party to him. The CHP is experiencing the growing pains of being a true opposition party.