May 14, 2024

Archives for 2021

Supporting Democracy in Hard Places

It was wonderful to join this event, hosted by The Carnegie Endowment, with Under Secretary Zeya, Scott Worden, Aarya Nijat & Patrick Quirk, moderated by Frances Brown. I underscored that the one non-negotiable aspect of Sudanese democracy is the Sudanese people themselves – but that the international community’s actions put a thumb on the scale […]

Sudanese Democracy is Hanging in the Balance

On Oct. 25, the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, seized power from Sudan’s transitional government, established after mass protests in 2019 ousted longtime dictator Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The Sudanese people and the international community promptly condemned Burhan’s coup. Now, an agreement between Burhan and the prime minister of the transitional government, Abdalla […]

Sudan’s Coup is a Gamble That Nobody Will Care

The Sudanese military seized power expecting not to face resistance at home or abroad. That’s wishful thinking. On Monday, the Sudanese military seized power from Sudan’s transitional government. Announcing the coup on state television, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s commander in chief, dissolved the civilian-military power-sharing arrangement in place since the Sudanese people overthrew Omar al-Bashir’s 30-year dictatorship […]

__________________كم من الدماء سيهدرها الشعب السوداني للحصول على الديمقراطية؟

Tambal Hamilton (Arabic version)

After the Coup in Sudan: Key (Short-Term) Indicators

On Monday morning, the Sudanese military seized power from the transitional government led by Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, which had been in place since the Sudanese people overthrew long-time dictator Omar al Bashir in 2019. Speaking on state television, military leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, declared a state of emergency. He announced the dissolution of the […]

Facebook strikes deal in Australia

I spoke with Lana Zak from CBS News about the amendments to the Australian media bargaining code and what Facebook’s news blackout means for its users beyond Australia’s borders. You can access the interview here. I don’t support the law the Australian government is trying to pass – I think there are better ways to […]

Facebook’s Unconscionable Action in Australia – and What It Means for the Rest of the World

The proposed law that the tech giant is fighting has problems, but Facebook’s removal of news is inexcusable. This week, Facebook hit the kill switch on news for the 17 million Australian users of its platform. Its action was in response to a proposed law advancing through the Australian Parliament that aims to level the […]

De-Platforming Following Capitol Insurrection Highlights Global Inequities in Content Moderation

The de-platforming of President Donald Trump and the associated purge of white supremacist social media accounts has spurred news coverage heralding the “unprecedented” nature of the bans that companies, including Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, have put in place. Such claims stem from a United States-centric perspective. On a global scale such de-platforming is commonplace. Still, […]