How democratic renewal begins
The pathway to a democratic renewal begins by supporting those on the front lines, says a leading democracy advocate. Whether an anonymous blogger, an imprisoned human rights defender, a next… Read more »
Albania: From ‘Pyongyang of Europe’ to refugee haven
When The FT’s Alec Russell was last in Albania, 30 years ago, it was the basket case of Europe. Now, inspiringly, Albania has inverted that narrative and become a haven… Read more »
The new specter of Finlandization
Russian President Vladimir Putin needs China to balance against the West, says Robert Kaplan, chair of geopolitics at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Since it is the West, in his… Read more »
Standemonium: Central Asia ‘crying out for better rulers’
Another week, another setback for freedom and democracy in the former Soviet Union is one way to read recent events in Kazakhstan, The Economist reports. But the good news is… Read more »
Big power rivalry: Idealism vs interests?
The rise of authoritarian China and the resulting new strategic competition were prompted by the “worst strategic blunder any country has made,” says a leading analyst. Demonstrating that there is… Read more »
Russia ‘running rings around West’ or struggling to keep sphere of influence?
Pathetic throwback that he is, Vladimir Putin is rebuilding the Soviet Union under the nose of a feckless and distracted West, argues analyst Walter Russell Mead. Because Russia hasn’t… Read more »
Exposed: China’s United Front ‘acted covertly’ to subvert democratic process
Britain’s domestic security agency, MI5, sent an unusual alert on Thursday to lawmakers warning that an agent of the Chinese government was actively working to subvert the political processes of… Read more »
Future for autocrats ‘darker than it seems’
Is the failure of democratic leaders to effectively champion democratic values and rights a factor in enabling the rise of autocrats? Autocratic leaders faced significant backlash in 2021, but democracy… Read more »
Four dynamics drive surge of protests contesting democratic recession
The democratic recession was “hotly contested” in a striking surge of protests across the world in 2021, new research suggests. Whereas 2020 demonstrated the resilience of protests amid the coronavirus pandemic,… Read more »
‘A light in the dark’? Bolstering resilience for democracies to prevail
Despite challenges that intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, human rights defenders, civil society, independent media and other democratic forces have proven resilient, writes Ryan Arick, an assistant program officer at… Read more »