A global survey of democracy finds both sobering and alarming results

The recent epidemic of coups in Africa — including military take-overs in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Gabon– have triggered the inevitable question: Is multi-party democracy on the retreat? The Open Society Barometer, an annual global survey from Open Society Foundations, launched September 12, reflects the positive and negative aspects of

When the UN came under attack from a mis-guided rocket launcher

When 150+ world leaders, including Presidents and Prime Ministers, arrive in New York to address the high-level segment of the General Assembly beginning September 19, the UN neighborhood will be turned into a veritable war zone. The streets will be littered with scores of police officers, US secret service personnel, UN

A plea for a UN summit on the global food crisis

A coalition of civil society organizations, (CSOs), including climate activists, anti-poverty campaigners and celebrity chefs, are among those calling for an emergency meeting of world leaders on the global food crisis during the UN General Assembly (UNGA) sessions in New York next month. With 735 million people going hungry, 122 million

Artificial intelligence faces charges of left-wing political bias

The artificial intelligence (AI) platform ChatGPT, whose negative consequences include misinformation, is facing new charges of political bias. According to a study by the University of East Anglia (UEA), released August 17, AI ChatGPT shows “a significant and systemic left-wing bias”. Published in the journal Public Choice, the findings show that ChatGPT’s

Should military leaders be barred from addressing the UN?

A rash of military coups in African countries — including Burkina Faso, Sudan, Guinea, Mali, and most recently Niger– has raised a legitimate question: What should be the response of the United Nations, a world body that swears by multi-party democracy, on army take-overs? Condemnation? Yes. Last week, the strong denunciations of

Guns for hire? A season for mercenaries

Just after a band of mercenaries tried to oust the government in the Maldives back in 1988, I asked a Maldivian diplomat, using a familiar military catch phrase, about the strength of his country’s “standing army.” “Standing army?”, the diplomat asked with mock surprise, and remarked perhaps half-jokingly, “We don’t even