From Cuba to Myanmar, the military as entrepreneurial enemies of democracy
Heavily dependent on tourism, the Cuban economy has been hit hard by the pandemic’s restrictions on travel. The loss of Canadian tourists is a particularly…
How Dick Cheney’s daughter became a hero
The Prince of darkness. Thus was Dick Cheney, one of the most unpopular figures in the history of American politics, known when he was George…
The China dilemma—global warming or human rights?
If anything scares China’s formidable president, Xi Jinping, it’s probably democracy. The idea of the Chinese people choosing their own president must be nightmarish to…
Survey of Western powers points toward citizens’ assemblies
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center of the four major Western powers turned up some interesting if not altogether surprising results. The goal…
Democracy and mass delusion
I have always been intrigued by people’s tendency to believe what they want to believe rather than what the facts are telling them, to believe…
Murdoch challenged
The most powerful man in the Anglosphere is, I submit, Rupert Murdoch, the world’s most influential media mogul. Yes, even more powerful than the president…
What I learned from Trump
Up until four years ago I assumed that democracy was not only strong, it was invincible. At least in the Anglosphere. Why wouldn’t I? During…
Democracy embarrassed
As a committed democrat, I would dearly love to be able to convince doubters of democracy’s superiority by pointing to its leaders. And in the…
Calling all democrats
Every Canadian concerned about the quality of democracy in this country frets about the inability of our electoral system to do the thing it exists…
The sun sets on Hong Kong
Once an enterprise Canadians went to war for, the British Empire is now in disgrace. And no wonder. It owns many sins. The Atlantic slave…