Authoritarian Turn

In this GIGA Talk we will discuss how shrinking civic space is playing out in various parts of Asia and what can be done in the face of it. We will address the contours of the phenomenon, its recent manifestations in Mainland China, Thailand and the Philippines, and possible strategies for those affected in different ways by it.

The GIGA Talk will present the results of a GIGA research project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), which for the first time documents comprehensive data about new, old inequalities based on a unique survey of more than 1,000 Cubans in Cuba. Causes as well as perspectives and possible countermeasures will then be discussed.

From 16 to 18 May, the fourth and final IDCAR network conference will take place in Hamburg. It will bring together 25 members from the (inter)national partner institutions and the GIGA’s IDCAR scholars.

How can activists mobilise under pervasive monitoring? This lecture explores how tactical fluidity reshapes political imagination, centring the GenZ 212 case as a rehearsal for futures beyond systemic constraint.

With Maduro‘s arrest by US forces, Trump’s sanctions on President Petro, and crucial elections ahead, Colombia faces unprecedented challenges. This GIGA Talk examines how the peace process, drug trafficking, and US–Venezuela tensions will shape Colombia‘s political future and Germany‘s engagement with the country.

The consequences of the US administration’s military intervention in Venezuela to capture former president Nicolás Maduro, and Trump’s pledge to “run” the country indefinitely via interim president Delcy Rodríguez while the US secures the country’s oil resources, are reverberating regionally and globally. This roundtable brings together GIGA experts on Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East to discuss these events, their drivers, as well as their worldwide implications.

A panel of experts discussed the risks of democratic backsliding in Indonesia under President Prabowo Subianto, the sources of resistance and the implications for Germany’s strategic choices. Read on to learn more about the highlights of the discussion.

This GIGA Talk explores how people and politicians across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East view today’s major conflicts — perspectives often missing from European media. Our panelists discuss how history, regional dynamics, and strategic priorities shape these diverse interpretations of events.

The 2024 BRICS Summit stands out for two reasons: first, its setting in Russia provides a stage for authoritarian and democratic leaders alike to push their agendas and, second, the organisation’s recent expansion raises salient questions about the future of the global order and the functioning of BRICS itself.

Journalism seeks to be impartial in the sense of “both sides being heard.” When democratic media report on authoritarian regimes, this allows autocracies to spread propaganda and influence what people think of them. Media reporting on non-democratic states must avoid reproducing regime narratives and disinformation. Video recording now online.

This GIGA Forum discusses the recent wave of military coups in Africa in light of their implications for democracy in the region and for European foreign policy.

Under the banner of countering disinformation, autocratising governments in Asia have recently stifled civil society by either exploiting existing information laws or passing new ones. This contributes to the erosion of civil rights, restriction of information flows, and the deepening of autocratic rule.

Verónica Zubillaga, PhD, will give a lecture based on the analysis of ethnographic data. She will discuss the concepts of collaborative governance and criminal governance to understand how social control functions locally in an authoritarian context where a political, economic, and humanitarian crisis has restricted the resources and scope of government.

In this GIGA Forum, experts on conflict-ridden countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East will discuss how and to what extent the pandemic has exacerbated conflict in the Global South.

Video now online!

Prof. Dr. Gerard McCarthy will provide an overview of his recently released book Outsourcing the Polity: Non-State Welfare, Inequality, and Resistance in Myanmar (Cornell University Press 2023).

This online lecture series by internationally renowned experts gives an overview of developments since the invasion in 2003, discusses how they have shaped Iraqi society, and provide an outlook on possible future pathways.

This GIGA Forum sheds light on the often-overlooked domestic transitions occurring since the invasion in 2003, and the role of Iraqi civil society in shaping them. Video now online!

Conflicts, authoritarian resurgence, mass forced displacement, and economic crisis are impacting countries across the Middle East and North Africa. These have led many to depict this as the onset of an Arab winter. This talk by Maha Yahya will unpack some of the political and socioeconomic challenges.

Two years after the 2021 military coup, Myanmar is back under closed military rule, armed conflicts between the military and ethnic armed organisations are escalating, and international isolation is again increasing. In this GIGA Talk, we will discuss the current situation with renowned experts and policymakers.

This GIGA Forum addresses the root causes of the protests in Iran and their significance at the domestic, regional, and international levels. Video now online!

As protests and human rights violations prevail in Iran, the Islamic Republic continues to orient itself towards the east, stepping up its relations with China, Russia, and India. This GIGA Talk seeks to shed light on this key strategic turn.

The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is widely regarded as being set to be one of the most important political events of the year. Xi Jinping is expected to secure a third term as state president. In this GIGA Forum, experts will discuss the political and economic implications hereof. Video of event now online!

Brazil, one of Global South’s largest democracies, is heading for the decisive second round of its presidential elections on Sunday 30 October. However, incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly threatened not to accept the vote if he should lose. At this GIGA Talk, we will discuss the consequences for Brazil and its relationship with Europe. Video now online!

Many people fear rigged elections, when, on 2 October 2022, more than 150 million Brazilians are called to vote. President Jair Bolsonaro, seeking re-election, has repeatedly impugned the voting system. At this GIGA Forum, experts explore flawed, corrupt, or failed elections in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Video of event now online!

The research workshop brought together scholars working on the nexus of legitimation, protest, and repression in autocracies, with a regional focus on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It was held in the context of the research project “Justifying Repression in Authoritarian Regimes of the Arab World.”

In this event series we look back on the events of the Arab Spring in its broader regional and international context. This event series started on 15 April and ended on 1 July 2021. Video of the events available.

People in the Middle East have been demonstrating for months now. Anger is targeted at their governments, who often react very harshly to these protests. Are we witnessing historic upheaval? Natalie Amiri (ARD Iran expert), Björn Blaschke (Head of the ARD Radio Studio in Cairo), Dr. André Bank (Senior Research Fellow and Middle East expert at the GIGA), and moderator Julia-Niharika Sen (NDR foreign affairs broadcast “Weltbilder”) will discuss this issue.

In the last few years civic activism has intensified across the globe. It is also changing shape as new forms of civil society activity proliferate. The emerging activism is varied in nature, and complex in its implications for global democracy. It involves large-scale protest, but also less contentious community mobilisation – and is taking on multiple ideological agendas. This joint GIGA/Carnegie Foundation event will discuss the innovative forms of participation emerging in democratic and authoritarian contexts.

Solidarität und Gegen-Solidarität ist das Oberthema der diesjährigen CrossArea Jahrestagung. Um der transregionalen und cross-regional vergleichenden Perspektive von CrossArea gerecht zu werden, sollen solche Beiträge im Mittelpunkt stehen, die die Verständnisse und Dynamiken von Solidarität und Gegen-Solidarität aus verschiedenen Teilen der Welt adressieren.

In this GIGA Talk we will discuss how shrinking civic space is playing out in various parts of Asia and what can be done in the face of it. We will address the contours of the phenomenon, its recent manifestations in Mainland China, Thailand and the Philippines, and possible strategies for those affected in different ways by it.

The GIGA Talk will present the results of a GIGA research project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), which for the first time documents comprehensive data about new, old inequalities based on a unique survey of more than 1,000 Cubans in Cuba. Causes as well as perspectives and possible countermeasures will then be discussed.

From 16 to 18 May, the fourth and final IDCAR network conference will take place in Hamburg. It will bring together 25 members from the (inter)national partner institutions and the GIGA’s IDCAR scholars.