The Fondemos
Review

THE ROSE REVOLUTION: MOBILISATION SUCCESS AND THE LIMITS OF DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

In November 2003, tens of thousands of Georgians carrying roses stormed the parliament in Tbilisi and forced President Eduard Shevardnadze to resign.

KEY TAKEAWAYS ON COPENHAGEN DEMOCRACY SUMMIT 2026

This Summit for Democracy brings together governments and organisations like Fondemos, who work alongside civil society actors on the ground to support democratic movements through training, advocacy, and capacity-building.

EXILE OR KINGDOM

"Freedom is not free": it was not yesterday that Colonel Walter Hitchcock reminded us that the freedom enjoyed by many is the result of risks taken by a few.

LESSONS FROM THE COPENHAGEN DEMOCRACY SUMMIT 2026

If there is to be a coalition of the willing democracies, we must also make sure that these are genuine democracies, and that the agenda binding them together is built collectively rather than imposed by one.

SOPHIE SCHOLL

“Somebody, after all, had to make a start.”

LIVING UNDER THE JUNTA — MYANMAR, FIVE YEARS ON

In Myanmar, for the duration of a magical interlude, the war seemed to fade into the background, replaced by water fights during the Thingyan celebrations. But only on the surface.

CONSTITUTIONAL REVISION IN CAMEROON

When electoral competition threatens those in power, the rules are rewritten to avoid it.

ELECTIONS IN HUNGARY

For anyone who stands on the side of democracy, the rule of law and political freedoms, one can only welcome Viktor Orbán's anticipated defeat. What Péter Magyar's mandate will deliver, however, remains unknown.

"FORGET ABOUT DEMOCRACY"

Burkina Faso has even abandoned the illusion. Unlike regimes that maintain the appearance of elections, Captain Ibrahim Traoré dissolves political parties, dismantles institutions, and openly asks citizens to forget about democracy.

THE DOUBLE BIND OF DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP

A movement that survives only through one man is not yet a movement, but a personal hope.

THE GEZI PROTESTS : PROTEST DYNAMICS AND THE WEAKENING OF THE ERDOĞAN REGIME

In 2013, a plan to demolish Gezi park in central Istanbul triggered nationwide protests across 79 provinces. Police repression reframed the conflict: the focus shifted to how the government treats dissent. Gezi imposed real political costs: a legitimacy crisis over civil liberties, loss of narrative control, and international exposure. Yet the movement's decentralised structure deprived it of the organisation needed to convert momentum into transition: what lessons can be learnt for other pro-democracy movements?

INSPIRING STANDPOINTS BY MATHIEU POURCHIER

Civic participation advocate Mathieu Pourchier, Executive Director of Tournons La Page, reveals how he acts to strengthen democratic movements through networking, solidarity, and grassroots empowerment.

RUSSIAN INFLUENCE OPERATIONS IN THE SAHEL

The pattern that emerges is as follows: exploit grievances (anticolonialism, aspirations for monetary sovereignty), amplify them through carefully targeted disinformation campaigns, and support political dynamics favorable to Moscow.

U WIN TIN

“The dictators can only detain our bodies, not our souls.”

VICTOR JARA

"The right to live in peace is a universal song, a force that will ensure the right to live in peace prevails."

Cuban Opposition : Why Does Discontent Not Lead to Regime Change ?

Despite decades of internal resistance, Cuba’s regime endures. Repression, silencing and mass emigration form an iron triangle that drains dissent without breaking the system. From the 11 July 2021 protests to today's blackouts, Fondemos maps how preventive coercion, informational control and exile as a safety valve keep mobilisation sporadic and politically ineffective.

Democratisation and feminisation of political life

The issue goes beyond the question of access alone; it also concerns the way power is exercised. Political practices are the product of social histories and cultures. In a sphere long shaped by masculine norms (ambition, competition, verticality, the personalisation of power), a more balanced representation can bring forth other ways of acting.

ELECTIONS IN THE REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

In this context, the stakes extend beyond a widely anticipated result. The issue is less whether an election was held than whether it offers a credible framework for choice.

ELECTIONS IN NEPAL

While the 5 March elections alone will not resolve the structural weaknesses of Nepal's political system, they mark an important step: the transition from a cycle of protest to an institutional phase.

For a substantive democracy

"Popular sovereignty, collective deliberation, and the limitation of power are not cultural properties of the West, but fundamental human aspirations that can be found, in diverse forms, including in many African political traditions (consultative chieftaincies, palaver assemblies, councils of elders, community based decision making mechanisms)".

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S RIGHTS DAY

At Fondemos, we believe that International Women's Rights Day is not just a moment of celebration, but also a call to action. Democracy and peace cannot be built without women.

Rigoberta Menchú

"Peace cannot exist without justice, justice cannot exist without fairness, fairness cannot exist without development, development cannot exist without democracy, democracy cannot exist without respect for the identity and worth of cultures and peoples."

ONE YEAR AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE IN MYANMAR

A year later, the junta continues its quest for legitimacy by holding elections in early 2026. International attention is waning, whilst the Burmese population continues to face the consequences of the earthquake, war and political violence.

MYANMAR: FIVE YEARS AFTER THE COUP

Today marks five years since Myanmar's military seized power on 1st February 2021. The country remains trapped in a widening civil war and a deepening humanitarian crisis. Looking back over the past five years shows how a coup rapidly escalated into a nationwide conflict.

INSPIRING STANDPOINTS BY CHRISTIAN MOUNZEO

Citizens are left with one option: to commit to defending their freedom, because no one will do it for them.

QUEEN NANNY

“All the legends and documents refer to Nanny of the First Maroon War as the most outstanding of them all.”

Tunisia: the divergent paths taken by the security forces in 2011

From Sidi Bouzid to Tunis, Tunisia’s 2011 uprising didn’t just challenge the regime of Ben Ali, it did so while fracturing the State’s coercive core. As protests escalated and repression failed to restore control, the security forces diverged: a difference that mattered at the decisive moment.

ON THE USE OF FORCE TO SECURE POLITICAL RIGHTS

"I will not add to living injustice for a dead justice. And if, one day, the revolution, while I am alive, were to separate itself from honour, I would turn away from it." - Camus

Gen-Z Movements: The New Grammar of Protest

From campuses to city squares, a new political language is emerging. Across 2024–2025, Gen-Z has taken the streets and rewritten the rules of protest. From Sri Lanka to Bangladesh, from Morocco to Peru, the triggers differ but the grammar is strikingly familiar: online coordination, rapid escalation, and States responding with a mix of repression and selective concessions.

Iran: an Inextinguishable Revolt

On Iran, people ask 'why now?' But the thing to keep in mind is that it isn't really 'now': Iranian society has never lain down. It's just that their revolt gets drowned out by the news cycle: Ukraine, Gaza, Greenland, Sudan, you name it.

JOAN TRUMPAUER MULHOLLAND

“Don’t wait for change, be the change.”

EMMELINE PANKHURST

"Women had always fought for men, and for their children. Now they were ready to fight for their own human rights.”

THE BURMESE ELECTIONS: A MASCARADE

"Myanmar's elections are not a step towards democracy, but an attempt to entrench military rule. Europe has begun to say so; it now needs to act accordingly."

EMOTION IN POLITICS: HOPE AS A PRACTICE

"This is certainly the last opportunity I have to speak to you. The air force has bombed the radio transmitters. (...) History is ours; it is made by the people. (...) Move forward knowing that soon great avenues will open, through which the free man will pass to build a better society."

NOBEL 2025: DEMOCRACY OR SOVEREIGNTY?

This support is already dividing the opposition and feeding the regime's rhetoric, while the White House, frustrated that Trump has been denied the Nobel, accuses the committee of choosing 'politics' over 'peace'.

INSPIRING STANDPOINTS BY DAMIR HASANOVIĆ

"A democratic activist cannot afford to be only reactive: it has to be proactive year-round."

Inspiring standpoints by Zhanna Agalakova

At the time, I was a foreign correspondent in Paris for a pro-Putin Russian TV channel. I openly spoke out against the war and sent my medals back to the Kremlin with a note: Mister President, you are leading the country into the abyss.

Unfinished Transition and Systemic Corruption in Guatemala

Guatemala’s unfinished transition has been locked in by post-2016 state capture, with the judiciary used to neutralise anti-corruption efforts. CICIG proved international backing can shift incentives, but the Arévalo government still faces entrenched obstruction, raising the stakes for an independent electoral authority and targeted sanctions.

Apathy or Revolt: Choosing the Rule of Law

To borrow Barack Obama's words, "Africa doesn't need strong men, it needs strong institutions."

Election without choice: Tanzania's democratic illusion

According to the opposition party Chadema, around 700 people were killed within three days of protests following Tanzania's October 2025 election. Our local sources fear the true toll is far higher, pointing to additional abuses by so-called 'security' forces.

HARRIET TUBMAN

“If there’s shouting after you, keep going. Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”

Sakharov 2025: Europe against censorship

This award reinforces the message to authoritarian regimes: you cannot silence the truth without it finding other ways to be heard.

Stolen Elections in 2024: Chad, Venezuela, Mozambique

In 2024, presidential elections in Chad, Venezuela and Mozambique were engineered to extend authoritarian rule through captured institutions, fraud and repression.

A Second Velvet Revolution: Armenia, 2018

The 2018 Armenian “Velvet Revolution” was a mass nonviolent mobilisation that united students, civic groups, and ordinary citizens against entrenched corruption and oligarchic rule. Spearheaded by opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan, the movement harnessed social media, cultural symbols, and disciplined blockades to force Serzh Sargsyan’s resignation within weeks. Its success opened a new chapter of democratic renewal, though Armenia continues to face the challenge of consolidating institutions and safeguarding reforms.

How protests in Peru shaped the fall of Dina Boluarte?

While Congress reached for 'moral incapacity' to remove Dina Boluarte, the more important storyline is what has been building outside the chamber: sustained, organized demonstrations that now shape the tempo of power in Lima.

Conference at the United Nations: A step toward a sustainable solution for Myanmar's minorities

Myanmar's minorities embody the universal quest for dignity and the preservation of ancestral cultures.

DEMOCRACY IN EXILE: BELARUS IN FRANCE

'We fight for justice so that every perpetrator of oppression, of torture and war crimes is held accountable.'

Elections in Malawi

For the third time in ten years, power has changed hands peacefully. Outgoing president Lazarus Chakwera conceded swiftly his defeat, and the electoral process held firm despite deep economic hardship.

Cameroon presidential elections: a foregone conclusion

What matters is no longer who claims victory, but when Paul Biya's decades long reign will end, and what will follow.

In Myanmar, force rules by fear not consent

Authoritarian power can seize territory; it cannot manufacture legitimacy. Four years after the military coup in Myanmar, the junta is still betting that occupation and fear will be enough. They won't.

Joséphine Baker

"I am not intimidated by anyone. Everyone is made with two arms, two legs, a stomach and a head. Think about it."

Democracy on trial in Mozambique

The struggle does not end on election day. It begins anew the morning after.

"Africa against democracy"

When juntas call democracy 'colonialism,' it isn't theory, it is a tactic to launder failure into pride. Across the Sahel-to-Atlantic belt, so-called strongmen are perfecting the same script: denounce 'Western models,' stage plebiscites, criminalize dissent, and claim popular will.

"THE WIND IS RISING! … WE MUST YET STRIVE TO LIVE!"

What the world is witnessing is a youth-led upheaval of authority that is quietly reshaping power across Asia and beyond.

Legitimacy of revolt

Without the right to vote, all that remains is the right to resist.

Power Fractures in Madagascar's Barracks and the Street

On Sunday, 12 October 2025, Malagasy president Andry Rajoelina was exfiltrated by a French military aircraft. Not a footnote, but the culmination of a coercive pillar that stopped acting as one.

Mobilisations in Serbia: a Resilience that pays off?

The word that echoes through the marches, 'No one is tired!', speaks of an energy that growing repression has not worn down.

RAY’S KIM EDM

"No, neither attempts to demobilise individuals from our ranks nor the buying of consciences will be able to stop the march of a people standing tall towards their destiny.”

Supporting media freedom is defending democracy

When independent Burmese editors like Tin Tin Nyo (BNI) and Myint Zaw (DVB), came through European capitals in September, they weren't asking for sympathy; they were mapping a partnership: legal shelter, stable multi-year funding, and space in Europe's own media ecosystems.

Alaa Salah

“There is no excuse for women not to have an equal seat at every table.”

How to get rid of a dictator ?

"The fall of a dictator however, often the result of long, sustained, and courageous struggle, is only the beginning of democracy's most critical process."

State of the Union: Beyond speeches, empower civic power

"Europe is in a fight, a fight for a continent that is whole and at peace; for a free and independent Europe; a fight for our values and our democracy."

Democracy as a prerequisite for good governance; corruption as a poverty trap.

"The challenge today is to move from formal democracy to political systems that guarantee both fundamental freedoms and the implementation of quality public policies for the benefit of the majority and future generations."

Media freedom: pillar or pitfall of democracy?

In a democracy, voting means choosing. And choosing freely means being informed, comparing different points of view, and hearing dissenting voices. Without an independent press, this freedom becomes an illusion. Political freedom cannot exist without media freedom.

Malala Yousafzai

“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.”

Inspiring standpoints by David Dosseh

"One boy, not yet twenty, asked me if he would make it. I told him yes. But his injuries were too severe. He died during surgery. This event was the trigger for me."

Inspiring standpoints by Irina Shoulgin-Nyoni

"My mother took me to Gambia when I was 14, and I was struck by to poverty and how unfair it was. I did not know how to fight for justice, but then I joined the UN and what we were doing felt important."

Inspiring standpoints by Johanna Chardonnerias

I have always wanted a job that would give me a purpose. Before the coup, I was teaching in Burma. Seeing millions of young people demonstrating peacefully, calling for international aid - calls that have largely gone unanswered - I wanted to do what I could.

Inspiring standpoints by Mahn Mahn

"My father was a member of the Karen Resistance Army, he died when I was 8. When my father joined the KRA my whole family was arrested and beaten, I was 6 at the time. I was put in prison for a year."

Shirin Ebadi

"At just 22 years old, in 1969, Shirin Ebadi became a judge in Tehran, entering the courtroom as one of Iran’s very first female judges."

Protests in Hong Kong, the Umbrella Revolt, Act II

The 2019 protests marked a turning point in Hong Kong’s history. Although the movement succeeded in securing the withdrawal of the extradition bill and drew the attention of the international community, it later faced increased repression following the implementation of the National Security Law by Beijing. As activist Benny Tai stated: “Darker times await Hong Kong, but the sun will rise again.

Woman, life, freedom!

Despite violent and systematic repression, the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement remains a powerful symbol of resistance to the authority of the Iranian regime. The authorities have deployed a series of repressive measures in an attempt to stifle the protest: police violence, censorship, mass arrests and executions. However, the movement continues to live on through solidarity and militant actions, which it is essential to coordinate and structure in order to perpetuate the struggle.

Return of the dictatorship, the example of Nicaragua in 2024

To weaken authoritarianism in Nicaragua, denunciation is not enough: strategic and multisectoral action is needed. Every factor that fuels authoritarianism can become a lever for pressure and resistance—provided that internal mobilization, external support, and a long-term vision are combined.

Africa: Ambiguous transitions

'Once more, the laggards are predominantly Francophone. They captivate French diplomats and journalists, thereby overshadowing a silent (r)evolution underway concurrently in five countries(...).'

Filling the void left by USAID in Southeast Asia

This briefing raises awareness of the consequences for development and humanitarian sectors in Southeast Asia resulting from the Trump administration's decision to freeze aid programmes. It will outline how the EU could urgently expand its involvement to mitigate this withdrawal by leveraging existing frameworks and fast-tracking new initiatives to strengthen regional stability, uphold democracy and multilateralism, and counterbalance China's growing influence.

Guinea, general strike

Joshua Wong

"Protesters used umbrellas to block tear gas and to shield themselves from surveillance cameras. That simple object became a symbol of peaceful resistance."

The Habré trial: lessons, replicability and limitations

After a legal battle spanning more than twenty years, former dictator Hissène Habré was sentenced on 30 May 2016 to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity and torture, rape and sexual slavery, as wel as war crimes, by the Extraordinary African Chambers. The verdict was confirmed on 27 April 2017 by an Appeals Chamber, which also ordered him to pay nearly €123 milion in compensation to the victims. Although this is an individual case, it is an example of both national and international mobilisation, a strategic dispute conducted with method and endurance, and from which lessons can be learned.

Citizen mobilization in French-speaking Africa

"These hopeful movements have indeed highlighted the potential power of civil societies when driven by organized and charismatic leaders, such as Bobi Wine in Uganda or Luaty Beirão in Angola(...)".

Democratic oscillations in Burkina Faso

On 31 October 2014, a popular uprising toppled Blaise Compaoré's twenty-seven years of authoritarian rule in the space of two days, a pivotal moment that provides a glimpse of the underlying dynamics and possible levers of change.

Prague Spring & Velvet revolution

“You do not become a 'dissident' just because you decide one day to take up this most unusual career. You are thrown into it by your personal sense of responsibility, combined with a complex set of external circumstances. You are cast out of the existing structures and placed in a position of conflict with them. It begins as an attempt to do your work wel, and ends with being branded an enemy of society.”

Carnation revolution

On 25 April 1974, Portugal, Europe's last colonial empire, took an unprecedented step towards democracy thanks to a peaceful coup d'état orchestrated by the Armed Forces Movement (MFA). Nicknamed the ‘Carnation Revolution’ because of the red flowers worn by the soldiers, this transition to democracy has left its mark on modern history for its peaceful nature and its rejection of violence.

Venezuela and Mozambique

Venezuela and Mozambique share the same political tragedy: that of an opposition which, despite its courage and perseverance, comes up against a wall of authoritarianism and impunity.

Zeyar Thaw

"Amnestied in 2011, he was elected MP alongside important figures like Aung San Suu Kyi."

Congo : the eternal recurrence of the same

\"In October 2012, I was crossing the area between the Ugandan border post of Bunagana and the outskirts of Goma on a small motorbike, passing through Rutsuru and Rumangabo,\"

Democratic deconsolidation in Benin

How did Benin shift towards authoritarianism, and how can it be reversed?

Gabon : the coup epidemic continues

Even before the latest coup d'état in Gabon, Emmanuel Macron had observed that there was an ‘epidemic of putsches’.

Is Africa's Great Lakes region balkanized ?

\"As long as there is Rwandan mistrust of the Congolese chaos that serves as a refuge for hostile forces to this traumatized country, and Congolese mistrust of the small neighbor willing to intervene when it deems necessary, the cycle will continue to perpetuate itself.\"

Gabon: real but fragile stability

A small country with barely 2.23 million inhabitants, Gabon was one of the pillars of Françafrique, largely due to the stability of the Bongo clan. France holds significant interests there, and the country is relatively safe compared to its turbulent neighbors.

The Spring of Dakha

How did students turn a revolt into a revolution?

Popular mobilization in Algeria

The 2024 Campaign for the Release of Hirak Detainees

Perestroïka in Botswana and Angola

'So there is a certain stability of family power in these two countries, and until last year, we were in the strict pattern of a Humian ‘de facto thing’: for their people, the Dos Santos and the Khamas had always held their country, so there was no reason for that to change.'

The first Burmese success story

Why and how did the junta, despite its historical strength, lose so much ground to the opposition?

Tax revolt in Kenya

What were the keys to the success of young Kenyans in their confrontation with William Ruto's government?

Towards a new Yalta

\"What must rightly be called the \"betrayal\" of the Trump Administration towards Ukraine reflects a profound shift in the relationship between America and Europe. This, in all likelihood, is part of a broader reassessment by the United States of its role in the world.\"

South Africa and Zimbabwe, is catharsis at last in sight ?

A case study on South Africa and Zimbabwe