The International Forum for Democratic Studies @NEDemocracy is a leading center for thought & analysis on #democracy around the world. ned.org/ideas
Joined April 2013
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Jun 5
🛜 The 88-day total internet shutdown in 🇮🇷 is over, but access remains heavily impeded. Iran’s internet controls provide yet another example of authoritarian actors suppressing communication, the free flow of information, and access to essential services.
Last September, Iranian-born technologist Evan Firoozi of @NFPmedia joined experts on Tibet and Nicaragua to discuss the critical work of countering authoritarian censorship at a Forum event.
🎥 Watch the recording here: ned.org/events/breaking-thro…
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Jun 5
Michael Caster of ARTICLE 19 explored how norms and technologies exported from the People's Republic of China are shaping Iran’s landscape of digital controls in a recent Democracy’s Horizons Substack: substack.com/home/post/p-195…
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Jun 3
At the @scsp_ai 2026 expo, former mayor of El Hatillo city @dsmolansky joined @NEDemocracy, @IRIglobal, and @CIPEglobal to discuss how the Venezuelan government- in partnership with PRC companies- used digital technology to advance authoritarian control.
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Jun 2
In times of war, Ukrainian civil society and its commitment to total democratic resilience plays a vital role in strengthening national defense.
Watch highlights from a compelling conversation with @NEDemocracy’s Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow @AShevch, joined by @DamonMacWilson, Peter Van Praagh of @HFXForum, and @MelanneVerveer of @giwps.
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May 21
⛏️ Demand for nickel, lithium, and other critical minerals is expected to quadruple by 2040. But authoritarians are exploiting vulnerabilities in many mineral-rich countries, pushing through corrupt deals benefiting elites at the expense of everyday workers and host communities.
🗒️ In our latest #DemocracyHorizons, Sef Ashiagbor of @NDI underscores how democratic guardrails ensuring transparency and accountability stand as the difference makers between entrenched corruption and widespread prosperity.
Full piece here ➡️ bit.ly/4wTDw7E
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May 13
🌅 In this week's #ThoughtsOnTheHorizon, we’re looking at the cancellation of RightsCon in Lusaka 🇿🇲, and how China’s exports of digital authoritarianism or other forms of authoritarian influence might impact civil society and democratic development in places like Zambia.
“Because Zambia both strongly relied on Chinese surveillance technology and stated that China is a central influence on how it manages technology domestically, I placed it in the core of China’s technosphere. Only 7 other countries displayed such deep influence at the time [of my 2021 research]: Egypt, Iran, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.”
📝 In his latest Technosphere Substack, Forum collaborator @weberv_ examines the increasing digital partnerships between Lusaka and Beijing, from “Safe City” surveillance technologies to alleged intercepting of digital communications between journalists. The use of these digital tools- combined with the abrupt cancellation of the world’s largest digital rights conference- represents a new wave of digital authoritarianism impacting democracies like Zambia and autocracies like Iran.
Full article here ➡️ chinatechnosphere.substack.c…
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May 13
Learn more about how China's digital authoritarianism is impacting Iran in our latest Democracy's Horizons piece with @michaelcaster: thinkdemocracy.substack.com/…
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Forum @ NED retweeted
May 8
As AI technologies go mainstream, a central question remains: will they strengthen freedom or entrench authoritarian control?
At @scsp_ai AI Expo, @NEDemocracy, @IRIglobal, and @CIPEglobal brought together tech experts, policymakers, and democracy advocates to discuss how new AI tools and models can push back against censorship, surveillance, and authoritarian control.
Together, they explored how the future of this technology can be grounded in democratic principles that protect fundamental freedoms.
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May 7
Read more about how authoritarians and democracy actors battle for technology’s future impact: buff.ly/3NBD2Lg
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May 7
Want to hear more? Join us, @IRIglobal, & @CIPEglobal today at @SCSP_ai's AI Expo to hear from foresighted thought-leaders in the democratic tech space who will outline the promises—and perils—that AI & other cutting-edge tools hold for freedom's future.
buff.ly/o2C9Gjr
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May 6
In a new Democracy’s Horizons Substack piece, @michaelcaster describes how the theocratic regime in Tehran is importing both hardware and normative frameworks from China to more effectively close off the open internet. He helps us understand what it means for the rest of us, too.
substack.com/home/post/p-195…
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