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Voters in Spain will go the polls in a snap election on July 23. The Socialist government could fall to a surging rightist coalition. This is hardly shocking: A European country enacts a basic ritual of democracy and accepts the principle of alternation in power. The current election campaign, however, is tearing the country apart. Vitriol has displaced civil debate.

This election is a good moment to appreciate the near-miracle of Spanish democracy.

No country in Western Europe has had a more improbable rise out of despotism. The brutally repressive Spanish Inquisition, in which errant believers were stretched on racks or burned at the stake, lasted for centuries. Spain exported its intolerant and repressive culture to Latin America, bequeathing to the continent a poisoned legacy of rigid class structures, deep racism, and ruthless violence. Spains fascist leader Francisco Franco, who ruled for four decades until his death in 1976, embodied those values.

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As Franco approached death, he named one of his close collaborators, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, to succeed him. That seemed to guarantee a continuation of fascist rule. But on a December morning in 1973, terrorists blew up Carreros car as he drove to church. This was one of the most effective assassinations in modern times. The assassins said they did it because Carrero had become irreplaceable. They were right. With him gone, no one was strong enough to keep the fascists in power. His murder opened Spains path to democracy.

A new political system emerged, centered on an elected parliament and a figurehead king. Spain held its first modern election in 1977, but that didnt seal the deal. Diehard fascists were determined to restore the old dictatorship. In 1981, 200 soldiers charged into Parliament, took legislators hostage, and called on the king to support a return to absolutism. He refused. That ended the uprising.

Although democracy survived, two regions of the country sought to secede. Basques intensified a terror campaign, killing more than 250 people in the late 1970s. Catalan separatists, from the region around Barcelona, also tried to break away from Spain. Through long and bloodstained negotiations, which led to grants of substantial autonomy for both regions, the country was able to hold together.

The crowning moment in Spains transition came when it was admitted to the European Union in 1992. That was its ticket to stability and prosperity. Large EU subsidies have transformed the country into a seemingly stable democracy of 47 million people.

This spring, however, a far-right political party called Vox won sweeping victories in local elections. The far-left party suffered heavy losses. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a self-described feminist who has a majority-female cabinet, responded by calling an early election. Polls suggest he may lose. That could mean not just a change of government but a seismic political and social shift.

Polarization has reached levels not seen since the days of dictatorship. Spaniards, like voters in many countries, are in an ornery mood.

Rightist politicians are winning votes by declaring that immigration is out of control; subsidies for the unemployed are so high that they encourage laziness; rights granted to gay and trans people are excessive; sex education in schools has gone too far; and laws against gender violence discriminate against men. Bestselling books echo the backlash against woke ideology. One, called The Trap of Diversity, argues that identity politics divides working people in ways that only benefit the elite. Another, Against the Victim, asserts that people love to claim they are oppressed because that immunizes them against all criticism and certifies their innocence.

This polarization has led some Spaniards to fear that their democracy is in danger. Spain is reaching levels of confrontation like those in the United States and Britain, but without the solidity that comes from centuries of democratic experience, the commentator Andrea Rizzi wrote in the Madrid daily El Pas. The newly emergent far right, she observed, suggests that the adversary is an enemy of the nation and is destroying it and uses a vocabulary reminiscent of authoritarian regimes.

Spains democracy is not yet in danger of collapse, but political debate has degenerated into a level of bitterness the country has not seen since the dictatorship ended nearly half a century ago. This months election may mark the beginning of a new era for Spain not just a change in government but a deepening division that bodes ill for the countrys future.

Stephen Kinzer is a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University.

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Polarization will put Spains young democracy to the test - The Boston Globe

On the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the operationalization of African Governance Architecture (AGA), Members of the African Governance Platform (AGP) held a strategic reflection retreat from 9-11 July 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya on the margin of the African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting (MYCM).

The AGA was established in 2011 by an Assembly Decision as a a pan-African platform for dialogue between the various stakeholders mandated to promote good governance and strengthen democracy in Africa, in addition to translating the objectives of the legal and policy pronouncements stipulated in the African Union (AU) shared values instruments.

The strategic reflection retreat discussed the role of the African Governance Platform in promoting peace and security; as well as enhancing synergy and coordination amongst the African Union Commission, AUC, AU organs, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the Regional Mechanism (RMs). Discussions also reiterated the importance of setting the tone for the strategic direction and areas of collaboration and coordination over the next five years. The retreat informed the strategic direction of the Platform and identified ways to table the integration and good governance agenda at the MYCM of the Union.

The strategic reflection retreat was an opportunity for members of the African Governance Platform to deliberate on avenues to enhance synergy and collaboration in the implementation of the joint flagship projects that promote the ratification and implementation of African Union Shared Values instruments, with a particular focus on the African Charter on Democracy and Elections in Africa, ACDEG.

During the retreat, members of the African Governance Platform, AGP, identified flagship projects that are aligned to the fulfilment of Aspirations 3 and 4 of Africas Agenda 2063, which calls for an Africa of good governance, democracy, the respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law and a peaceful and secure Africa respectively. As a key flagship initiative, the retreat extended its appreciation to the African Peer Review Mechanism, APRM, in spearheading the development of the African Governance Report, AGR-2023, which will be launched on 12 July 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya on the margins of the MYCM.

There is need for a renewed commitment to unpack the concept of governance, make it an effective, efficient and unshakeable bedrock to support our member states with their efforts to make peace happen, said Ms Patience Chiradza, the Director of Governance and Conflict Prevention at the African Union Commission.

The strategic reflection retreat will be followed by the Second Statutory Technical and Political meetings of the African Governance Platform scheduled to be held on 11 and 12 July 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya.

For further information please contact:

Ms. Makda Mikre Tessema | Democracy and Governance Expert: African Governance Architecture | E-mail: MakdaM@africa-union.org | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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Strategic Reflection of The African Governance Platform on ... - African Union

Stephen Handelman is a prize-winning former columnist, foreign correspondent, and senior writer/columnist for TIME magazine and The Toronto Star. He is the author of three books, including the New York Times selection for New & Noteworthy books of 1997 : Comrade Criminal: Russias New Mafiya, the first account of the rise of organized crime in post-Soviet Russia, praised by The NY Times reviewer as a masterly and very courageous job of reporting.

The book is particularly relevant now as Russia pursues its unprovoked war on Ukraine. Many of the dynamic forces revealed by Stephen Handelman in the post-Soviet era continue to drive Russias actions today, and help to understand the role of the military and intelligence services. Thats one reason Stephen Handelman believes it is important for all those who support democracy to understand the role of journalism in a thriving democracy. Today, Stephen Handelman will delve into the reasons journalism remains important.

In 1787, while serving as minister to France in Paris, Thomas Jefferson said, Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.

Stephen Handelman notes that Thomas Jefferson keenly understood what it meant to live in a country where authority could not be questioned. As an essential figure in the Revolutionary War, Thomas Jefferson understood that even when the press reported on subjects that didnt paint him positively, they still played an essential role in a democratic society.

Stephen Handelman believes journalism should hold the powerful accountable and inform the public so that they can make informed decisions when they head to the ballot box. While the news media is shifting rapidly due to technology and a reliance on advertising revenue, a lot of journalism has shifted to punditry. While pundits can sometimes be entertaining, they dont do much to provide the public with information they can use to form their own opinions.

This is important for those who consider journalism the fourth estate. The fourth estate refers to journalism as the fourth branch of the United States government. The first amendment not only calls for free speech but also states that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press. Journalism is meant to report the facts and hold those in our most powerful positions accountable to the public.

With information at our fingertips on smartphones, tablets, and television screens, people must understand the source before considering the informations relevancy. Some neutral sources that report the facts still exist and illuminate voices that arent often heard. When newspapers debuted in America, the editors role was to facilitate public discourse by printing the facts of the day.

As columns developed, they were often used to reprint arguments made by people challenging organizations or figureheads in power. It was not uncommon for labor industry workers to submit columns on their working conditions to their local newspapers. These columns helped hold the powerful accountable and put important changes into action. A lot of medical information was also delivered by journalists. Urgent public health news like the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia would have been even worse if people were not made aware of the epidemics progress in their local newspapers.

Readers continued having a place to share their voices via columns in newspapers throughout the 19th century. Editors, in turn, would read the letters sent in and get a better understanding of what issues were most important to their audience. While arguments were just as common back then as they are today, Stephen Handelman notes there was a much more free-flowing dialogue between people on both sides of the aisle. In fact, many columns were followed up with another column from an editor or public person who had a completely different opinion.

As the need to sell ad space grew, the importance of an engaged citizenry slowly started to drop off. A lot of the more serious reporting moved to its own section, and the political affiliations of newspaper owners started to bleed into the content they would allow to be published. Journalism should remain focused on reporting on the actions of the powerful and amplifying the voice of those without power.

Stephen Handelman believes that journalism at its best is impartial and completely independent from both economical and political interests. The coverage of Russia today is hampered by state efforts to persecute Russian as well as foreign journalists, and it is a reminder that autocracies fear most of all a free and open press. And it is a continuing lesson for democracies, even as economic pressures threaten the survival of the press. No matter who hires a journalist, the true boss is the public. If we are to live in a society where the people are in charge, they must be able to make decisions based on accurate information. This is only possible through independent and fearless journalism.

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By Andy Brack | Baseball legend Yogi Berra used to say a lot of things that were a little odd and funny, but they often had little and big kernels of truth.

When considering whats happening across America in politics these days, this Yogi-ism seems particularly insightful: If you dont know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.

The notion of feeling somewhere else not the America of just a decade ago seems to be permeating a politics where people dont listen to or appreciate others perspectives. Politics has become a spectator bloodsport where liberals and conservatives seem hellbent on pursuing my way of the highway solutions on everything from not defaulting on the national debt or changing immigration policy to abortion and peoples rights to live like they want.

Retired Clemson economics professor Holley Ulbrich offers a new book, Passionately Moderate, that fingers the need of polarized parties and tribes to talk, engage and compromise to practice real American democracy. If people dont negotiate, listen and compromise, the American experiment in ideas of freedom imbued in the Constitution is weakened.

In a democracy, unlike other forms of governance, each citizens needs, wants, preferences and opinions count for one and only one. One person, one vote, she writes.

Ignoring the rights, the concerns, the needs of one individual or group by giving undue preference to others undermines faith in the democracy and paves the way for some form of autocratic rule fascism on the right, communism on the left and ideology-free totalitarianism anywhere on the spectrum.

Perhaps thats why many Democrats feel like theyve been run over by a bulldozer driven by mostly white male Republicans pushing bans on abortion. Or Republicans feel President Joe Biden is being unreasonable on not making some budget cuts (ironically made necessary by lots of Republican spending and rich-guy preferential treatment during the Trump era).

Part of this national political disconnect among the people is due to an increasing cynicism by many about the media, which exists to report truths about those in power and to tell stories to connect us. But as the media diversified thanks to the Internet and traditional outlets got smaller, unsavory publishers and some governments worked to spread disinformation and misinformation, all of which are straining the American democratic process.

Information can breathe insight into a populace hungry for life, liberty and a pursuit of happiness, and this supports the idea of information being a source of power, writes longtime Ohio journalist Tony Ganzer in a new book, Kneading Journalism.

[But] the direct manipulation of information, and a press which might distribute it, is thus a way to foster distrust and quell tools of accountability.

Both books deal with sadly ebbing fundamentals for a stronger democracy. Ulbrich argues individuals need to passionately engage in moderation in politics to get acceptable outcomes maybe not the best every time, but outcomes that are good enough for now. Through reason and compromise, things can move forward, even though everybody isnt likely to be completely satisfied.

She writes that among virtues necessary for civil society to survive are acceptance, respect, prudence, honesty, fairness, justice, engagement, generosity, patience and courage. In other words, people should act like grownups and listen. Is that too much to ask of all citizen-patriots, regardless of party or point of view?

Similarly, Ganzer pushes the media, which provide information to allow citizens to make good decisions in their democracy, to be socially responsible by sticking to news fundamentals.

Stories are meant to be told clearly, accurately and concisely, he wrote. Do research. Account for cultural nuance. Consider your own bias. Confirm information: sometimes people manipulate the truth or out-right lie.

As citizens, lets strive to embrace moderation and compromise. As news consumers, lets demand truth, accuracy and broader information.

Andy Brack, recognized in 2022 as the best columnist in South Carolina, is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@charlestoncitypaper.com.

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BRACK: Practice moderation to strengthen democracy Statehouse ... - Statehouse Report

It was supposed to have been a weeklong presidential trip showcasing the United States commitment to the Asia-Pacific region, but the debt ceiling crisis President Joe Biden left behind in Washington forced him to cancel the second half of his itinerary.

Gone, a planned summit in Sydney of leaders from the Quad countries: the U.S., Australia, India, and Japan. Nixed, a gathering of Pacific Island leaders in Port Moresby, Papua New Guineas capital, and a presidential announcement of an agreement to grant the U.S. military access to the island nations ports and airports.

In Japan, President Joe Biden is pursuing two pillars of his foreign policy: revitalizing U.S. alliances and demonstrating democracys virtues as an effective governing system. Hanging over both is the debt ceiling crisis he left behind in Washington.

For some, the disrupted and truncated tour will only reinforce concerns that a weakened America distracted by political divisions at home may not be up to leading the Indo-Pacific region as it confronts an increasingly assertive China.

Presence matters to all U.S. allies in the region, so yes, the cancellation of the second leg of President Bidens Asia trip is going to cause some disappointment and raise some questions, says Nicholas Szechenyi, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

But this can yet be a temporary blip on the radar screen, he adds, if the administration sticks to the very robust agenda and the extensive and multidimensional networking it has developed across the region.

As President Joe Biden meets with his G-7 colleagues in Hiroshima, Japan, this weekend, hes taking up an agenda of timely issues, from increased Western support for Ukraine to international regulation of artificial intelligence.

The leaders of host Japan, the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy announced new economic support for Ukraine Friday and another round of sanctions targeting Russia over its illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.

Mr. Biden told the G-7 leaders the U.S. now supported providing training to Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 aircrafts,senior officials speaking on condition of anonymity told reporters. The initiative had been gaining support in Europe.

In Japan, President Joe Biden is pursuing two pillars of his foreign policy: revitalizing U.S. alliances and demonstrating democracys virtues as an effective governing system. Hanging over both is the debt ceiling crisis he left behind in Washington.

It was also announced Friday that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the summits closing day Sunday,a further stop on the Ukrainian leaders own whirlwind diplomatic tour, which included an appeal for support Friday in Saudi Arabia to members of the Arab League.

But in Asia, Mr. Biden, beyond his short-term policy agenda, is also pursuing two key pillars of his presidencys foreign policy: revitalizing Americas alliances and demonstrating democracys virtues as an effective governing system in an era of advancing authoritarianism.

Hanging over both priorities is the debt ceiling crisis Mr. Biden left behind in Washington and how that unresolved domestic issue forced the White House to cancel the second half of what was to have been a weeklong trip showcasing the U.S. commitment to the Asia-Pacific region.

Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP/File

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy greet each other during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 21, 2023.

Canceled were post-G-7 visits to Australia and the Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea the latter proudly touted by the White House as the first visit by a sitting president to a South Pacific island nation.

Gone, a planned summit in Sydney of leaders from the Quad countries: the U.S., Australia, India, and Japan. Nixed, a gathering of Pacific Island leaders in Port Moresby, Papua New Guineas capital, and a presidential announcement of an agreement to grant the U.S. military access to the island nations ports and airports.

For some, the disrupted and truncated presidential tour will only reinforce concerns that a weakened America distracted by political divisions at home may not be up to leading the Indo-Pacific region as it confronts an increasingly assertive China.

Indeed, for some critics, the political brinkmanship on display in Washington over the debt limit Republican negotiators walked away from talks with the White House on Friday can only muffle Mr. Bidens ringing pro-democracy rhetoric on the international stage and delight Beijing.

Reflecting a regions disappointment, the Sydney Morning Heralds foreign affairs columnist Matthew Knott this week highlighted Washingtons mess and noted, The Quad summit in Sydney should have provided a powerful symbol of four proud democracies working together to get things done. Instead, he added, it will serve to highlight the systemic problems plaguing the worlds longest-standing democracy and its aspirations for ongoing global leadership.

Not exactly the kind of press and public-diplomacy impact the White House must have had in mind when planning the presidents Asia trip.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is joined by Republicans from the Senate and House as he leads an event on the debt limit negotiations, at the Capitol in Washington, May 17, 2023. On Friday, GOP negotiators walked away from talks with the White House.

Moreover, the spectacle of an American president having his wings clipped by an ornery opposition and dysfunctional politics at home has been widely characterized as a gift to Beijing, which has been critical of Washingtons stepped-up attention to South Pacific nations and strengthening alliance with Australia.

The contrast of an ascendant China with a weakened American superpower was underscored by reports of a smiling Chinese leader Xi Jinping holding his own summit with five Central Asian countries on the eve of the G-7 gathering.

Mr. Xis summit burnished an image of a confident global leader racking up a series of diplomatic triumphs over recent months without worries of an undermining political opposition at home.

Still, experts in Asian affairs and diplomatic relations say any setbacks to Mr. Bidens foreign policy agenda as a result of his canceled visits can be short-lived if the administration continues what some say has been intense groundwork and diplomatic engagement in the region.

And, of course, if the worlds largest economy can resolve the debt ceiling crisis before it damages an already fragile global economy.

Presence matters to all U.S. allies in the region, so yes, the cancellation of the second leg of President Bidens Asia trip is going to cause some disappointment and raise some questions. And it will certainly embolden China and others who oppose strong U.S. leadership in Asia to double down on their portraying of the U.S as an unreliable partner, says Nicholas Szechenyi, deputy director of the Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

But this can yet be a temporary blip on the radar screen, he adds, if the administration sticks to the very robust agenda and the extensive and multidimensional networking it has developed across the region.

Ding Haitao/Xinhua/AP

Chinese leader Xi Jinping (center) and his wife, Peng Liyuan (fourth from right), stand with Central Asian leaders at the Ziyun Tower in Xi'an in northwestern China's Shaanxi Province, May 18, 2023.

Theres no getting around the fact that the now-canceled stops in Papua New Guinea and Australia are missed opportunities for the U.S. to bolster relations and presence in a region it long overlooked, Mr. Szechenyi says.

But he notes that Mr. Biden plans to meet his three Quad counterparts on the sidelines of the G-7 summit (Japans Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, plus Australias Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who were invited to attend as non-G-7 leaders, as was South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol) while a planned trilateral meeting of the U.S., Japanese, and South Korean leaders remains on the agenda.

Others say any doubts about U.S. leadership raised by Mr. Bidens domestic political travails should be weighed against the administrations recent diplomatic successes on the Asia-Pacific front.

The split screen of the administration promoting democracy abroad while debilitated by political brawling at home is as jarring as the public curtailing of a carefully planned trip is disturbing, says Lyle Goldstein, director of Asia engagement at Defense Priorities in Washington.

But no one should overlook recent U.S. advances in the region, he adds.

We could say the Biden administration has had some run of successes in its Asia policy, he says, highlighting in particular President Yoons recent state visit to the White House and accords with the Philippines to expand the U.S. military presence there.

A successful weeklong trip around the Pacific was going to be the icing on the cake, Dr. Goldstein says. Losing that may not be good, he adds.

But more worrisome to his thinking is how intense attention to Mr. Bidens Asia summitry is obscuring the perils of an absence of high-level diplomacy with China.

Were putting too much effort into these symbolic meetings, he says, and not focusing enough on the ... situations that remain extremely dark, first and foremost deteriorating relations with China.

Stefan Rousseau/AP

Leaders attending the G-7 summit (from left) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, U.S. President Joe Biden, European Council President Charles Michel, Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visit the Peace Memorial Park before attending the summit's first working session in Hiroshima, Japan, May 19, 2023.

On a recent extended trip to China to meet with officials, retired military officers, and academics, Dr. Goldstein says he was struck by a near-universal and deeply pessimistic perspective that the U.S., through its stepped-up military diplomacy and expanded basing in the region, must be preparing for war over Taiwan.

As for any damage to Mr. Bidens pro-democracy project, some experts note that the democratic world, starting with the G-7 leaders, will understand that tough domestic politics come with the territory. Others emphasize that Mr. Biden can mitigate any fallout from the unresolved debt ceiling crisis by highlighting the democratic underpinnings of the G-7 and other alliances the U.S. is strengthening, like the Quad.

Biden will be able to use his presence at the G-7 summit to rally the international community to support the rules-based international order that is essential to the regions prosperity and security, says Mr. Szechenyi. Strengthening the rules and norms of that order is one of Japans priorities for the summit, he adds, so we should expect to see considerable attention to the issue.

Some experts note that Mr. Biden will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders summit in San Francisco in November. The spectacle of disrupted U.S. diplomacy could be a faint memory by then, they say.

But if Mr. Biden aims to keep his Asia policy on track, he will have to get an Australia and South Pacific visit back on his agenda as soon as possible, Mr. Szechenyi adds.

Apparently acutely aware of this, the White House has taken to using phrases like until [the canceled visits] can be rescheduled in its statements from Hiroshima.

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How Biden's curtailed trip affects his goals for Asia and democracy - The Christian Science Monitor