America’s right-wing radicals - US veterans against democracy

By storming the Capitol, hundreds of supporters of former US President Donald Trump aimed to prevent the Senate and House of Representatives from officially confirming Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential elections. Some 15 per cent of those involved were former members of the US military or police. This shocking statistic prompts an important question: Why are the very people who have sworn an oath to protect the nation’s democracy attacking it?

Democracy under pressure

Right-wing extremist attacks on politicians are endangering Germany's democracy - it's better to talk than to fight, say these three initiatives. Kristina Krömer in Dresden wants to keep Germany's democracy alive - and resilient. She regularly sits on the tram with her team and encourages people to take part in political discussions. Sometimes they get ignored, sometimes they succeed in creating respectful debates.

Coming of age under Putin - Young people fight for a better Russia

 

Masha and Ilya were born just as Putin came to power. Today, they are fighting for a free future. But as they struggle for democracy and justice, these two young adults repeatedly risk exactly that - their freedom.

Taiwan - Democracy and the digital world

 

For Taiwanese Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang, democracy is itself a technology. This film shines a light on Taiwan’s political history, as well as the country’s contemporary experience of democracy.

Can Myanmar’s pro-democracy activists endure military pressure?

 People across Myanmar are continuing to endure a state of emergency that has now been extended for six months by military coup leaders who are upping the ante against their opponents.

State media reported on August 1 that the ruling State Administration Council (SAC) approved a request by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to maintain a state of emergency until February 2023 –  which would be two years since the military unseated the democratically-elected National League for Democracy government.

Is democracy dead in Myanmar?

 

It has been one year since the military coup in Myanmar. The army seized power, claiming fraud in a democratic election won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Suu Kyi and members of her party were detained and the military declared a year of national emergency.

Since then, the country has been in turmoil. Millions took to the streets in protest, calling for the military to give up power. Security forces responded with brutal violence and arrests. Human rights groups accuse them of crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, deprivation of liberty, disappearances, and rape. More than 10,000 protesters have been detained and more than 1,000 killed, according to activists.

Democracy vs hypocrisy: Biden’s ‘Summit for Democracy’

 

US President Joe Biden had been in office for a few days when he announced that he would hold a virtual “Summit for Democracy” to “push back authoritarianism’s advance” worldwide.

But after the world watched the disregard for rule of law, expansion of executive power and mistrust of elections spread throughout the United States, the question is: What moral authority does Washington have to lecture the rest of the world about democracy?

Why are autocrats popular? - Assault on democracy

 

A wave of authoritarianism is churning from East to West and assailing civil society. Autocrats are threatening democracy, while their regimes portray NGOs as Trojan horses for foreign interference.

How Democracy Dies

 

A look at Hungary and Myanmar and how they expose some of democracy’s different vulnerabilities.

Where once tanks would roll into the streets to silence dissent, today, authoritarian rule is often imposed much more subtly, yet just as effectively.

We travel to Hungary, described as the European Union’s first outright dictatorship, where radio journalist Mihail describes how, in an act of media suppression, the government has suspended his radio licence. It was the beginning, he says, of wider attempts to control the media. Csaba Lukacs, an independent journalist, supports this claim; he risks jail for distributing his newspaper.

Can the world still look to the US for leadership on democracy?

 

The United States often calls itself the world’s greatest democracy, defending freedom, equality and justice for all.

However, some are questioning America’s moral authority after Donald Trump supporters besieged the US Capitol on Wednesday in anger at Joe Biden’s certification as the next president.

Adversaries such as Iran say the chaos proved the failure of Western democracy.

Belarus: Telegramming the uprisings

 

Powered by activists and journalists on Telegram, Belarusian protesters complete a month on the streets.

It has been just over a month since the biggest demonstrations in Belarus's history began to sweep the country, and the protests have persisted despite disproportionate state violence. The engine driving those protests can be found online - on the messaging app, Telegram.

Hong Kong: Endgame

 

Will a new Chinese government national security law finally spell an end to Hong Kong's cherished autonomy?

At 11pm on June 30, 2020, a new national security law came into effect in Hong Kong - just an hour before the 23rd anniversary of Britain's handover of the city to China.

The legislation, which sparked an immediate international backlash, has significantly tightened Beijing's grip on Hong Kong and has stifled the huge protests that began sweeping the territory a year ago.

Is democracy dead in Hong Kong?

Activists decry 'climate of fear' a month after China imposed national security law.

It has been an eventful month since China's government imposed a national security law on Hong Kong.

China's leaders say it is essential to curb months of disruptive protests, but critics say it is the death knell of democracy in one of the most vibrant cities in the world.

Police have detained student activists; 12 democratic candidates have been disqualified from a now postponed Legislative Council election; and despite going into exile, activists overseas such as Nathan Law now face wanted notices if they return to Hong Kong.

Trump v California

The struggle between President Trump and the state of California, and what it means for the 2020 presidential race.

The state of California's progressive stance on issues from climate change to immigration has long epitomised liberal opposition to President Donald Trump.

He in turn portrays those values as a betrayal of the US heartland and his supporters in the Republican Party

China: Truth In A Pandemic

When the coronavirus outbreak began, what really went on in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the heart of the pandemic?

It is frightening and deadly - and now it has gone global.

The COVID-19 pandemic is claiming lives around the world, terrifying populations, forcing entire countries into lockdown.

But back when it all began, what really went on in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the heart of the outbreak?

With people desperate for information, 101 East investigates the cover-ups and missteps by Chinese authorities that have sparked criticism of the government rarely seen in China.

Is Big Tech the New Empire? - Maria Ressa and Christopher Wylie

The Cambridge Analytica whistle-blower and Filipino journalist discuss Facebook, fake news, and information warfare.

In this episode of Studio B: Unscripted award-winning Filipino journalist Maria Ressa and Cambridge Analytica whistle-blower Christopher Wylie discuss the weaponisation of information and how social media threatens democracy around the world.

In 2012, Ressa set up the digital news platform, Rappler, now particularly known for its tough scrutiny of the Duterte administration and his controversial "war on drugs". She is currently facing charges of fraud, tax evasion and cyber-liber, in what she says are politically motivated prosecutions.

Is big money eroding trust in US elections?

With the concentration of wealth in the hands of few, we explore the role of money in US politics.

In the last United States presidential election cycle in 2016, more than $2bn was raised and spent by the top two candidates, and some experts estimate that the 2020 elections will be even more expensive.

Can the tough decisions facing Americans - funding healthcare and higher education, managing the titans of Silicon Valley, taxing the wealthy - be dealt with fairly when politicians have traditionally been funded by the same corporations and wealthy individuals that government is meant to regulate?

Hungary: Europe's Bad Boy

We investigate why Hungary, under its authoritarian leader Viktor Orban, has repeatedly clashed with the European Union.

In his youth, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was hailed as a champion of freedom, a key figure in the generation of pro-democracy activists who stood up to the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War.

These days he is routinely characterised as an authoritarian, far-right nationalist figure, a demagogue whose migrant-bashing agenda poses a significant threat to Western democratic norms.

It happened in Tiananmen Square

Al Jazeera revisits the events of June 1989 through the stories of those present.

In 1989, hundreds of thousands of people flooded onto the streets of Beijing and into Tiananmen Square demanding democracy, freedom of speech and an end to corruption.

After a seven week standoff, the government called in the troops and a bloody battle ensued.

The number of deaths is not known. The Chinese Red Cross initially issued a statement saying that 2,600 people had been killed but rapidly retracted that. The Chinese government claimed that 241 people died, including 23 soldiers.

Between hope and fear: Press and politics in Ethiopia one year on

Has Abiy kept his promises? A look at the Ethiopian media, one year into the Abiy Ahmed era.

It's been one year since East Africa's most populous country - Ethiopia - experienced a political transformation; a change in leadership, after years of social unrest and demonstrations.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn unexpectedly resigned, leading to the appointment of Abiy Ahmed, a representative of the country's largest ethnic group, the Oromos.

The reforms came swiftly. Abiy packed his cabinet with a record number of women, he promised to address the social tensions among Ethiopia's multiple ethnic groups, and he forged an historic agreement to end the 20-year standoff with neighbouring Eritrea.