In The News

Saudi Arabia “Threatens Skype Ban”

March 28, 2013
Skype, WhatsApp and Viber offer an array of free messaging and telephone calls. All are cross-platform internet services with widely popular free plans that reach out to numerous nations. Demanding the right to monitor the applications, the government has given the three companies a week to respond. Reports have emerged that the telecommunications regulator may block the services and may have...

Peace Deal for Turkey

Mohammed Ayoob March 25, 2013
Promised rapprochement between Kurdish rebels and the Turkish government has implications for the Middle East, particularly Syria, Iraq and Iran, nations that also have sizable Kurdish minorities concentrated in contiguous regions. Jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan issued a statement on the Kurdish New Year, calling for an immediate end to hostilities against the Turkish state, without...

Growing Divide in Saudi Arabia Between Rulers, Ruled

Karen Elliott House March 15, 2013
Saudi Arabia has a diverse arsenal for squashing dissent against the repressive regime, ranging from bribes and government jobs to harassment and long jail sentences. Two moderate activists received 10-year prison sentences for supporting a constitutional monarchy and human rights, reports author Karen Elliott House in an opinion essay for the Washington Post. The Arab Spring has spurred activism...

The Kafkaesque Reality of Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws

Samira Shackle March 13, 2013
Blasphemy is a serious crime in Pakistan, but the law sets out no guidance, standards on evidence or safeguards against false accusations. As such, the law is subject to great abuse. Witnesses, police and court officials avoid repeating alleged comments, out of fear of attracting new charges. “The blasphemy law has created and facilitated a culture of vigilantism,” writes Samira Shackle in the...

Tort and Technology

January 24, 2013
Activists can use the US judicial system and the Alien Tort Claims Act to shame all sorts of multinational corporations from cooperating with authoritarian governments that violate international law. For example, a dozen Chinese citizens joined a suit against Cisco Systems, based in California, in 2012 for selling technology that allows the Chinese government to track dissenters online. “The...

Conservative Causes Go Global

Clifford Bob January 16, 2013
Global civil society has long been ideologically diverse and hard fought over many years, as demonstrated with the anti-slavery or suffrage movements. Causes with global stature carry greater prominence than local or national efforts, giving supporters access to more allies, resources and shared strategies. And while conservatives support minimal government in many areas, particularly...

Southern Weekly Reporters Confront China Censors

January 8, 2013
Journalists are often the biggest opponents of censorship and biggest proponents of government reforms. Many observers in China had anticipated new reforms with the transition in leadership. Yet propaganda officials continue to censor reports about corruption, dissent and government’s inability to tackle pressing problems. Former staff members and interns of a newspaper in China have urged the...