563 results found
Speaking about the domestic challenges that Nepal has been facing on the path towards drafting a new constitution, Nepal's Ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay sought India's support in helping Nepal structure its democracy.
India is commonly — and rightly — considered as a reluctant democracy promoter. But while sceptical about the motives behind Western attempts to promote democracy and about the effects of their democracy promotion efforts, India has since the mid-2000s moved warily to involve itself in “democracy assistance”. This article argues that New Delhi has engaged in these activities in the context of a wider shift in strategy, in parallel with t
Whoever thought that ¿terrorising¿ the people of one¿s own country through dictatorial methods is equivalent to terrorism, as generally understood, is learning a new lesson in Iraq. With the failure to prove that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass-destruction even months after the despot¿s exit, the US is finding that to the average Iraqi, it is not a ¿liberator¿ but an ¿occupier¿.
To mark India's 70th year of Independence, Observer Research Foundation (ORF) has launched an annual survey that will track the state of the ever matu
Pakistan created the Taliban in the first place to capture Afghanistan politically. It is Pakistan's dangerous, anti-Indian ambitions in Afghanistan that are recoiling on it today, with the Pakistani Taliban as an off shoot of the country's chosen tryst with its anti-Indian destiny.
Conflicts between central banks and governments are embedded in the evolving discourse of every democracy. The recent discord between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) is neither the first nor likely to be the last. Institutionally, once a disagreement between the RBI and the MoF crosses the Rubicon, the government has the power to overrule the central bank’s decisions. Moreover, such a structure is not restricte
The emergence of ‘Surveillance capitalism' has tarnished the quality and undermined the principles of democracy all around the world
Gram Sabhas, notwithstanding many challenges, have brought a semblance of deliberative democracy in India
Liberalism is in crisis — but is not irredeemable.
In an age of extremism, terror, global information flows and communication manipulation, subversive international forces seek subtle ways to undermine
The recent decision of the US Supreme Court with respect to the abortion rights of women has led critics to call for reconsideration
Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Berlin organised a conference on "Fragmentation in a Democracy: The Role of Social Movements and the Media". Here is a report.
The election of Trump in 2016 struck yet another blow to an already struggling US-Russia relationship, which has today reached the lowest point since
While the Constitution provides the ECI with a sturdy framework within which to operate, this same edifice has become a handicap to the organisation a
Experts feel that securitising climate change would defeat democracy in developing parts of the world which already have an overwhelming presence of military. Therefore, a counter narrative for securitising climate change is imperative.
There are growing instances to show that this law has been weaponised as a handy tool against political rivals, to suppress dissent and free speech.
India lacks an institutional infrastructure for advancing the cause of democracy as a soft power.
Fixers aka political managers abound because they thrive in an artificially scare economy where votes are a premium
With an increasing number of political parties, the potential of coalition politics is an imminent reality in South Africa as it heads to the polls
Dr. Ashley J. Tellis, Senior Associate Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC, spoke to Rahul Mukand, Junior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, in New Delhi recently. This interview was conducted before the assassination of Benazir Bhutto on December 27, 2007.
The best way for India to promote democracy is through best practices.
Reverberations of post-colonial themes of finding ‘voice’ fuse with the leapfrog of technology for cooperation in the emerging world on achieving sustainable development goals - a report from the Conference on Technology, Innovation and Society at Tangier in June 2019.
The tension between progressive and conservative liberalism may become oppressive, defying the core tenets of liberalism. Only the respect and trust i
Myanmar's path to a disciplined democratic government is paved with obstacles set by the 2008 Constitution.
As India finds itself in the middle of a new cold war between the United States and China, protecting its esteemed democratic values should be at the
For reasons to do with history and strategy, India will not abandon Russia.
The balance between keeping party unity while allowing state leaders autonomy has proven to be a tricky and difficult task
Despite the numerous ups and downs, the judiciary continues to be seen as a last resort for justice by the citizens and a counter-majoritarian institu
For Libya to successfully achieve democratic transition, it will need to overcome the various impediments in its path.
Political polarisation gnaws at American democracy from within as mutual intolerance has drastically increased in the United States.
Given that India is on the path to urbanisation, there is a dire need for governance reforms at the municipal level to ensure that it reaches the qual
This paper analyses historical trends in women’s participation in Indian democracy as voters, contestants, and legislators, using data on state assembly elections between the first one in 1951, and 2019. The paper finds that India is witnessing a strengthening of its democracy as measured in terms of an unprecedented growth in the political participation of women in these three roles. In these 73 years of Indian democracy, the turnout of women
The Indian government should review the provisions of the sedition law, a remnant of the colonial past, as it stifles the expression of dissent.
For Pakistan to become truly democratic, significant revamping of the country's structural scaffolding is necessary.
The “Chinese democracy” as a model of democracy has recently been advanced by China, carving a space for itself in the global democracy discourse.
