Early this year, I spoke with journalist Shailendra Singh, on the effects that the 2006 coup d’etat in Fiji had on media freedoms there. In our online exchange, Singh highlighted the perseverance of his colleagues– many Fijian journalists publish anonymously through online outlets and regional blogs to escape the overt government pressure on publishing. Fiji…
DetailsOften overlooked, Pakistan’s income tax collection could play a pivotal role in shaping the country’s economic and political development by empowering the central government and reducing its need for foreign aid. A rare New York Times article on Pakistan– focusing on something other than the United States’ fight with the Taliban and Al Qaeda– turned…
DetailsLast month’s parliamentary elections in Slovakia signaled the country’s ongoing normalization and integration into the European fold since its formal accession into the EU more than six years ago. This last election was not marred by intimidation and irregularities that so often have accompanied countries transitioning into democracy. Indeed like many new member states from…
DetailsThe political financing scandal that has rocked the French government in recent weeks does little to dispel the notion that France suffers from “rotten politics.” Although President Sarkozy continues to deny the allegations that he and his party took illicit cash contributions from a wealthy conservative benefactor, critics have already started to deride his government…
DetailsThis post continues the Commons’ recent focus on Access to Information regimes from around the world. Today, the spotlight is on South Africa. Headlines in Johannesburg this morning read: Over R1.5 Billion was wasted by Your Government this Year! That’s quite a claim and it’s coming from the leading opposition party coalition, the Democratic Alliance…
DetailsOur recently published Global Integrity Report: United Arab Emirates revealed things good, bad, and a little weird in the Gulf state. Here’s what we learned. For the second time in the history of the Global Integrity Report, a country scorecard has returned a negative implementation gap. This is a measure of the gap between the…
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