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Ethnic identity and related political grievances pre-dominated at the ballot box on October 2, as before, but other political voices broke through. While final, certified results in some of the races are pending, NDI staff in Sarajevo and Banja Luka below go through the outcomes and offer key take-aways of what the elections signal for the democratization agenda in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Results
This March, nations of the world joined together to launch the “Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse,” including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, Sweden, and the Republic of Korea, to work together to address technology-facilitated ge
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) condemns the arrest of Maria Ressa, chief executive officer of Rappler, and the continued efforts by the Philippine government to quell press freedom. Shortly after 5:00 pm Manila time today, Ressa was arrested by government officials on “cyber libel” charges.
Dr. Eva Busza is the Regional Director for Eurasia at NDI. Previous appointments include Vice President, Policy and Sector Collaboration at the Council of Ontario Universities, Vice President, Research and Programs at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and Director of Policy and Strategic Planning for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. She started her professional career at NDI working on global democracy and governance programs.
The twin crises of our time – environmental degradation and democratic backsliding – are governance failures. They are the outcome of governments’ inability to deliver on urgent, complex problems.
For political systems to be representative, all parts of society must be included. When young people are disenfranchised or disengaged from political processes, a significant portion of the population has little or no voice or influence in decisions that directly affect their lives. As a result, young people are increasingly getting frustrated and turning away from formal political participation.
While public attention regarding COVID-19 has been focused on the health crisis and its economic repercussions, autocrats are moving quickly to Machiavelli’s maxim -- “never waste an opportunity offered by a good crisis.” Around the world, anti-democratic leaders are using the pandemic as a means of tipping (or skipping) elections, settling scores with political adversaries and channeling public funds to personal accounts.
Amidst a once-in-a-generation pandemic, another global threat has intensified and permeated across borders and boundaries: one of sustaining a liberal world order against illiberal influences. This trend is evidenced by consecutive years of decline in global freedom.