Interviews

HUNGARY: 'Civil society's role is to ensure democratic restoration is genuine and inclusive'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses a change of government in Hungary with Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a human rights organisation that monitors democratic backsliding and defends the rule of law in Hungary.

BAHRAIN: 'The death penalty is being used as a tool of political suppression'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Bahrain's crackdown on dissent with Sayed Yusuf Almuhafdha, a human rights advocate and researcher affiliated with Salam for Democracy and Human Rights and the Human Rights Movement for MENA.

ISRAEL: 'The new death penalty law sorts people into separate legal universes'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Israel's new death penalty law with Carol Daniel-Kasbari, Senior Associate Director of the Conflict Resolution Program at The Carter Center, a non-partisan organisation focused on conflict prevention and human rights.

BANGLADESH: 'Our biggest achievement was showing young people's voices matter'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the protests that ousted an autocratic government in Bangladesh with Lutfa Pathan, a young community activist involved in community organising, democracy work and volunteering.

PERU: 'The adult public and the mainstream press ridiculed our protests'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Gen Z-led protests in Peru with Jackelinne Ponce Paredes, an activist and lawyer specialising in human rights.

WELLBEING ECONOMY: 'The question is no longer how much we grow but how well we live'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the building of wellbeing economies with Simon Ticehurst, Head of Advocacy and Movement Engagement at the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll), a global alliance founded in 2018 to drive the transformation of economies towards wellbeing.

USA: 'The challenges have never been greater, but civil society's capacity to respond has never been higher'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Lauren Prather about declining trust in US elections and the role civil society can play in defending democratic integrity ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.

DJIBOUTI: 'The election was a ritual confirmation of permanent power'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Djibouti's presidential election with Adam Daud Ahmed, a political and security analyst specialising in governance, security and political dynamics in the Horn of Africa.

PHILIPPINES: 'A protest is one day, but organising is the thousands of conversations that make that day possible'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Gen Z-led protests in the Philippines with Charles Zander, a 17-year-old climate justice activist from Bohol and youth campaigner for Greenpeace Philippines.

TANZANIA: 'People took to social media instead of the public square, where they might get shot'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Tanzania's 2025 post-election protests with Gabriel Karsan, a digital rights activist and internet governance advocate with over 13 years of experience in civic media and youth empowerment.

VENEZUELA: 'The credit goes to detainees' families, human rights organisations and the international community'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the status of political prisoners in Venezuela with Manuel Virgüez, director of Movimiento Vinotinto, a Venezuelan human rights organisation that works for citizen empowerment, democracy and justice.

KENYA: 'The energy seems to have moved from the streets to the ballot box'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the aftermath of Kenya's 2024 Gen Z-led protests with Ahmednoor Haji, a young activist from Garissa, northeastern Kenya, organiser of the Occupy Garissa protests against the Finance Bill and founder of the KESHO Alliance, a youth-led peacebuilding and human rights organisation.

UN: 'The NGO Committee must be reformed to facilitate rather than obstruct civil society access'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the workings of the United Nations (UN) Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) with Maithili Pai, UN advocate at the International Service for Human Rights, an organisation that supports civil society and human rights defenders at the UN.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION: 'The countries that need it most are the ones with the least influence over it'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the challenges facing the United Nations (UN) development system with Philipp Schönrock, director of the Centre for International Strategic Thought (Cepei), a Colombian think tank that specialises in global governance and sustainable development.

BULGARIA: 'We protested against a whole system of corrupt governance and state capture'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Bulgaria's Gen Z-led protests with Aleksandar Tanev, founder of Students Against the Mafia, an informal student organisation that took part in mass protests against corruption and state capture.

NEPAL: 'People used to believe nothing would ever change, and now they believe change is possible'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Gen Z-led protests in Nepal with Nishchhal Kharal, founder of Freedom Studio, a Kathmandu-based civic media organisation that provides creative and strategic support to social movements.

GLOBAL GOVERNANCE: 'The current order could collapse, or it could be reshaped to work for everyone'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the state of multilateralism with Professor Waheguru Pal Sidhu, Director of the United Nations (UN) Initiative at the Centre for Global Affairs at New York University's School of Professional Studies.

USA: 'Civil society organisations are holding the line, they are not hiding'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about Donald Trump's attacks on US civil society with Christopher Einolf, professor of sociology at Northern Illinois University and a researcher on civil society.

NEPAL: 'Voting on Discord was a very Gen Z way of doing politics'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Gen Z-led protests in Nepal with Abhijeet Adhikari (Abhi), a lawyer and political activist who took part in the protests.

ARGENTINA: 'Under the new law, workers have no real scope to defend their rights'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses recent regressive changes to Argentina's labour laws with Facundo Merlán Rey, an activist with the Coordination Against Police and Institutional Repression (CORREPI), an organisation that defends workers' rights and resists state repression.

AFGHANISTAN: 'The Criminal Procedure Code consolidates ideological and legal control over society'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Afghanistan's new Criminal Procedure Code with Wahida Omari, a human rights and legal professional specialising in human rights law, international criminal law and justice sector reform, with experience at institutions including the European Union, the International Criminal Court and the Office of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights.

INDONESIA: 'We are building the country we want, brick by brick, even if we won't see the final result'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about protests in Indonesia with Thalitha Yuristiana, a campaigner and movement builder committed to civic awareness and environmental justice, and one of the people behind Bijak Memantau, a community-driven learning space that encourages people to learn, actively participate, organise and take collective action.

AI: 'African governments are using 'smart city' systems to monitor dissent and consolidate state control'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the spread of AI-powered surveillance in Africa with Wairagala Wakabi, executive director of the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) and co-editor of Smart City Surveillance in Africa: Mapping Chinese AI Surveillance Across 11 Countries, the latest report by the African Digital Rights Network (ADRN) and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS).

FRANCE: 'Individual acts of violence will continue to be weaponised to normalise far-right politics'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses political polarisation and far-right mobilisations in France with Aldo Rubert Echevarria, a researcher at the Research Centre on Political Action at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

TUNISIA: 'Human rights deserve to be defended, even when that involves taking risks'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Khabir Moncef, executive director of the Association for the Defence of Human Rights, about the conviction of Tunisian anti-racist activist Saadia Mosbah and the government's growing repression of civil society.

HONG KONG: 'Independent civil society is being replaced with state-aligned structures'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the erosion of civic space and the implications of the 20-year sentence handed to democracy campaigner and media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai with Alric Lee, co-founder of Lady Liberty Hong Kong, a civil society organisation that documents human rights violations and advocates for democratic freedoms in Hong Kong.

ZIMBABWE: 'The government is changing the rules to keep itself in power'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Zimbabwe's proposed constitutional amendment with Narshon T Kohlo, a youth leader of the Constitution Defenders Forum, a civil society coalition that's mobilising resistance to the changes.

VENEZUELA: 'People once again believe they can influence what happens in their country'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the prospects for a democratic transition in Venezuela with Pedro González Caro, a university lecturer and member of the national coordination committee of Creemos Alianza Ciudadana (Citizen Alliance We Believe), a citizen platform that works for democracy in Venezuela.

CONGO: 'The result was already decided before polling stations opened'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the presidential election in the Republic of the Congo with Ivan Kibangou Ngoy, executive director of Global Participe, a civil society action-research organisation focused on democratic governance based in Pointe-Noire.

'The EU cannot position itself as a defender of human rights while being one of Israel's primary arms markets'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with a member of 7amleh, the Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, about how European Union (EU) funding and technology exports enable surveillance and human rights violations in Palestine and across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

AFRICA: 'The African Union must live up to its principles in practice, not just on paper'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the African Union's (AU) democratic accountability gap with Olorunyomi Pauline Adedigba, a lawyer and Global Shaper at the Abuja Hub of the Global Shapers Community, working to strengthen civic space in Africa.

GERMANY: 'The goal is a resilient democracy that doesn't just react to the far right but builds alternatives'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Lorenz Blumenthaler, Political Communications Specialist at the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, a German civil society organisation that strengthens democracy and counters extremism through analysis, coalition-building and grassroots support.

ITALY: 'White supremacist concepts are entering mainstream political discourse on migration'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Italy's restrictive immigration policies with Eleonora Celoria, a researcher at FIERI (Forum Internazionale ed Europeo di Ricerche sull'Immigrazione), a research centre on migration, and a member of the Association for Legal Studies on Immigration (ASGI), an Italian legal organisation that defends migrants' and asylum seekers' rights through advocacy, public awareness and strategic litigation.

PORTUGAL: 'The far right's electoral legitimacy can eventually become governmental power'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Portugal's presidential runoff election and the rise of the far-right Chega (Enough) party with Jonni Lopes, Executive Director of Academia Cidadã (Citizen Academy) and a Steering Committee member of the European Civic Forum, an organisation working on civic engagement, democratic participation and the protection of civic space at national, regional and international levels.

KAZAKHSTAN: 'This constitution is the final institutional lock on authoritarian rule'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the forthcoming constitutional referendum in Kazakhstan with Yevgeniy Zhovtis, Chief Expert Consultant at the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law.

CHINA: 'The state is using generative AI to engineer reality through informational gaslighting'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses China's tech-enabled repression with Fergus Ryan, a Senior Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), where he specialises in how the Chinese Communist Party shapes global information environments through censorship, propaganda and platform governance.

EU: 'Funding civil society advocacy isn't just legitimate – it's a legal duty'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the European Union's (EU) Strategy for Civil Society with Giada Negri, Deputy Secretary General and Director of Advocacy and Programme Management at the European Civic Forum, a civil society network that works to protect civic space, strengthen civic participation and promote dialogue.

NIGERIA: 'Air power can't address complex and deeply rooted security challenges'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses recent US airstrikes in north-west Nigeria with Ibrahim Baba Shatambaya, senior lecturer in social sciences at Usmanu Danfodiyo University.

THE NETHERLANDS: 'The direction of policy-making will depend on where the government seeks support'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the new Dutch government with Aïcha Chaghouani, Advocacy and Partnerships Manager at the Netherlands Helsinki Committee, a civil society organisation that promotes democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe.

NEPAL: 'The political system only moves when threatened directly'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses Nepal's upcoming election with youth activist Anusha Khanal of the Gen Z Movement Alliance, a youth-led civil society coalition mobilising for democratic accountability and governance reform in Nepal.

VENEZUELA: 'An economically stable authoritarian model could become entrenched'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the situation in Venezuela following US intervention and the ousting of President Nicolás Maduro with Verónica Zubillaga, a Venezuelan sociologist who specialises in urban violence, state repression and community responses to armed violence.

BURKINA FASO: 'The dissolution of parties complicates the return to constitutional order'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the dissolution of political parties in Burkina Faso with a member of Burkinabe civil society, who has asked to stay anonymous for security reasons.

THAILAND: 'Electoral periods are particularly sensitive moments for civic space'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about Thailand's recent general election and constitutional referendum with a representative of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, a civil society organisation that provides legal assistance and monitors rights violations affecting activists, human rights defenders and protesters.

AI GOVERNANCE: 'The debate is not only about transparency, but about data sovereignty'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses AI governance and data justice with Lobna Jeribi, an international senior public policy advisor with a PhD in Information Systems.

PHILIPPINES: 'Preventing similar cases requires dismantling the mechanisms that treat dissent as crime'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the criminalisation of dissent in the Philippines with Kyle A Domequil, spokesperson of the Free Tacloban 5 Network, a campaign supporting journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, human rights defender Marielle Domequil and their co-accused and advocating for their release.

OLYMPIC TRUCE: 'A call for states to exercise restraint and facilitate humanitarian access'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Hugh Dugan of the Truce Foundation, a civil society organisation inspired by the Olympic Truce that promotes Olympic values of excellence, fair play, respect and unity.

GAZA: 'Humanitarian aid matters for survival, but its dynamics diminish Palestinian agency'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about life in Gaza under Israel's ongoing military assault with Ali Abdel-Wahab, a data analyst and policy researcher with PalThink for Strategic Studies and the Social Developmental Forum.

PHILIPPINES: 'The government treats journalists as security threats rather than contributors to public debate'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the conviction of journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and its implications for press freedom in the Philippines with Aleksandra Bielakowska, Advocacy Manager for Asia-Pacific of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a member of the #FreeFrenchieMaeCumpio coalition.

COSTA RICA: 'Institutions and democratic guarantees are being eroded in the name of security'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses the results of Costa Rica's recent election with Ilka Treminio Sánchez, a political science professor and researcher at the University of Costa Rica.

VENEZUELA: 'Although the repressive architecture remains intact, a small window of hope has opened'

Interviews
CIVICUS discusses civil society and the prospects for democracy in Venezuela with Luz Mely Reyes, co-founder and director of Efecto Cocuyo, a media outlet that reports on the reality and struggles of Venezuelan communities.

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