Thirty years after the Berlin Wall fell, ending the Cold War in Europe, new political divisions are rising between East and West. Despite the economic success of German reunification and… Read more »
Despite the severity and duration of the authoritarian resurgence and illiberal populist backlash, supporters of liberal democracy can draw on strategies and tactics to strengthen democratic resilience, reverse regression, and… Read more »
Countries in Central and Eastern Europe that made significant gains in building their new democracies following the Cold War are now experiencing a crisis of illiberalism that is weakening the… Read more »
Two great earthquakes shaped the present global order. The first, in 1989, seemed to promise an irresistible march towards liberal democracy and open markets. The opportunity was squandered by those… Read more »
“Always prepared!” For decades, it was a catchphrase of the Pioneers, an outdoorsy youth group that was a hallmark of communist indoctrination efforts targeting schoolchildren throughout the U.S.S.R. and its… Read more »
Democracy is facing major challenges, yet suggestions of a global crisis of widespread or systemic backsliding are not warranted, according to data from the largest democracy database ever compiled. The… Read more »
On the tenth anniversary of 1989, at the brink of the millennium, we could celebrate both the original triumph of the velvet revolutions and great subsequent progress. By the twentieth… Read more »
Look back a year, and remember how disquieting European politics seemed, as populist strategist Steve Bannon seemed to be on the verge of establishing The Movement, a cross-border alliance of… Read more »
Political polarization is “tearing at the seams of democracy” around the world, according to Thomas Carothers, Carnegie senior vice president for studies. What can be done to overcome polarization and… Read more »
One thing is especially disconcerting about the illiberal turn in Eastern and Central Europe. It has been the early front-runners of democratization – Hungary and Poland – where democratic backsliding… Read more »