Dignity & Democracy
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    The War on Kashmiri Women’s Bodies: Five Years After Article 370 Indian Constitution: A tribute to the Kashmiri victims of gendered violence and occupation, By Zainab Zafar

    On August 5, 2019, the Indian government unilaterally revoked Article 370 of its Constitution[1], stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and autonomy. Harsh curfew, widespread communication blackouts, the mass detention of political leaders, and reports of enforced disappearances and violent crackdowns followed this drastic move. The Indian occupation of Kashmir, rooted in a tumultuous […]


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    The Gendered Risks of Admitting Intimate Images as Evidence in Private Law Family Proceedings: Re M (2022), Human Rights, and the Need for Stronger Safeguards, by Charlie Bishop

    The rise in digital technologies has led to an alarming increase in the non-consensual creation, sharing, and threatened disclosure of intimate images as a strategy of coercive control.[1] Alleged perpetrators of domestic abuse now seek to use these images to challenge victims’ accounts in the family court, raising significant legal and ethical concerns. Women are […]


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    Celebrate International Women’s Day – 8 March

    The 8th of March marks International Women’s Day, a day on which the world comes together to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. To mark the occasion, the Dignity&Democracy Blog is organising a Special Issue to promote awareness of and discussion on persisting issues such as gender equality, freedom of expression, […]


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    Voting from Abroad Ahead of Germany’s 2025 Snap Election: Practical Challenges and Legal Implications of Non-Resident Voting from a Comparative Perspective, by Johannes Socher and Raphael Girard

    Over the past few weeks, several reports have appeared in German media on expected challenges with postal voting from abroad ahead of Germany’s snap election scheduled for 23 February 2025 (see here, here and here). The potential legal implications were highlighted by the recent case of a German citizen living in South Africa petitioning the […]


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    Call for papers on: Limits of Restrictions: Religious Minorities in Europe and Asia – Law School, University of Exeter – 30 April 2025

    According to Article 18 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights ‘everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion’. Religious freedom as a fundamental right has been guaranteed under international law by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights since 1966 (art. 18). At the regional level, the European Convention […]


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    Supporting democracy through critical reflection in dangerous times, by Stephen Skinner

    These are dangerous times for democracy. Critically reflecting on democracy’s inherent conceptual uncertainties and practical challenges while its foundations are under threat might seem like a reckless academic indulgence. It is important to remember though that the process of questioning democracy is a vital part of its identity and a core source of its strength. […]


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    Migrants’ death, dignity and European democracy, by Catherine Dupré

    On 1 October 2024, eighty-eight members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted Resolution 2569 based on a report on ‘Missing migrants, refugees and asylum seekers – A call to clarify their fate’ (Document 16037) prepared by Mr Julian Pahlke. Twenty-nine voted against and four abstained. In its plenary formation, PACE […]


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    Russian Imperialism and Human Rights Violations Condemned: Comments on the Volodymyr  Zelensky’s and David Lammy’s statements at the 79th UN session, by William Ashville

    The Ukrainian president’s speech on 24 September 2024, at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly focused on several key issues: nuclear security, the Peace Formula and Peace Summit, the peace plan proposed by Brazil and China, and Russian imperialism[1]. The last two points are crucial within the context of other statements, including one […]


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    AI tools and disinformation during elections,   by Ricardo Vasquez Dazarola

    Disinformation, which refers to false or misleading content that is spread with the intention to deceive or secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm [1], has long been a weapon in political campaigns. However, the advent of AI has dramatically increased both the efficiency and scale of these operations, opening up […]


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    Re-thinking democracy, making human beings visible,   by Catherine Dupré

    Reflecting on the rise of far-right and hard-right politics and on their electoral success over the summer in the EU, France, Thuringia, and Austria, this paper observes that human beings considered solely in their humanity are invisible for democracy. As noted by Rosanvallon, ‘invisibility’ of the national citizens is a root problem of today’s democracy […]


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