Sohela Nazneen
This year, millions of people in South Asia head to the polls. Potential outcomes of elections in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, however, do not bode well for women’s rights or gender equality, says Sohela Nazneen. The road ahead is difficult for women’s and LGBTQ+ struggles, as autocratic leaders consolidate power, and right-wing populists, digital repression, and violence against women and sexual minorities are all on the rise Read more
Akudo McGee
The results of the Polish parliamentary elections suggest that a coalition of the opposition will lead the next government. This is good news for civil society, which faced constant threats under the current Law and Justice (PiS) party. However, Akudo McGee warns that challenges still lie ahead for civil society Read more
Gabriela Patricia García García
Human rights organisations in Turkey face a predicament. In using the law to confront human rights violations by the government, they then experience those violations themselves. Legal mobilisation against democratic backsliding has its limits, argues Gabriela García García Read more
Salah Ben Hammou
Researchers of authoritarian politics and civil-military relations have long examined military rule. However, our understanding of civilian participation in military regimes remains limited and requires greater analytical attention, argues Salah Ben Hammou. Amid last year’s coup resurgence, researchers must move to appreciate the subtle but salient differences among military dictatorships Read more
Soumi Banerjee
Soumi Banerjee and Rishi Jha argue that the rising wave of illiberalism is causing a shift in state-civil society relationships around the world. In contemporary India, the government often targets NGOs, resulting in the partial or complete seizure of operations Read more
Akudo McGee
Enraged by Poland’s new abortion law, thousands of protestors filled the streets in late October. Many protests were organised by liberal civil society organisations, yet, argues Akudo McGee, it is precisely through civil society that the government has been able to exert its anti-liberal agenda Read more
The Loop
Cutting-edge analysis showcasing the work of the political science discipline at its best.
