Can France stem populist tide?
The spread of populism is rooted partly in economic inequality and in a rejection of progressive ideals, caused by generation and education gaps, according to Pippa Norris, a comparative political… Read more »
Category: Analysis
Democracy ‘no longer the only game in town’
“Democracy is no longer the only game in town,” says Harvard political scientist Yascha Mounk. Mounk’s work first came to my attention this past summer, when he and Roberto Stefan… Read more »
Russia’s bad equilibrium: Kremlin’s new ideology
After more than two years of economic contraction, Russia seems to have achieved some semblance of stability, notes Anders Åslund, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington. Though… Read more »
The coming ‘dissolution’ of Islamic State
Under assault from all sides, the Islamic State (IS) extremist group is losing territory, revenues, and the ability to attract recruits, a new United Nations report said, RFE/RL reports: The… Read more »
Autocracies fear ‘existential threat’ of democratic contagion
Think of two significant trend lines in the world today, writes Brookings analyst Robert Kagan. One is the increasing ambition and activism of the two great revisionist powers, Russia and… Read more »
Learn the lessons of Russia’s creeping authoritarianism
A few hours before Vladimir Putin gave his 2014 new year’s speech, a shadowy group calling itself Shaltai Boltai — the Russian for Humpty Dumpty, the nursery rhyme character —… Read more »
A testing time for the China model
Perhaps because they are often poorly run, hotlines do not seem to be making local governments any more popular. These form the most despised tier of authority in China: many… Read more »
N. Korea’s jangmadang markets raise questions of regime resilience
Anything to break the information blockade in North Korea should be encouraged, from USB drives containing foreign films to radios that can be tuned to news broadcasts from abroad,… Read more »
Romania corruption protests: government surrender or strategic retreat?
Is there any other country in Europe where the No. 2 politician (head of the Senate) and the No 3 politician (head of the Chamber of Deputies), who have just… Read more »
Russia ‘weaponizing misinformation’ to ‘disable’ western democracy
Russia is using cyber-hacks and “weaponizing misinformation” to undermine the West, the U.K. warned today. “Today we see a country that, in weaponizing misinformation, has created what we might now… Read more »