Category: Authoritarianism

Return of ideological conflict underpins authoritarian resurgence

     

The forces of democracy and the moral gains of the liberal world order have given way to great-power conflict and the new autocracy, while the Syrian war reveals the unsettling return… Read more »

Rise of European populism opens door for Putin’s ethno-nationalism

     

The rise of populism is the most important European political development of the 21st century, argues William A. Galston, Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. It has… Read more »

Cuba – ‘the worst kind of dictatorship’ – denies entry to ex-presidents

     

Former Colombian President Andres Pastrana and ex-Bolivian President Jorge Quiroga said they were denied entry to Cuba on Wednesday, after traveling to the Communist-run island to receive an award from… Read more »

Do Asia’s autocrats outperform democrats?

     

While authoritarian regimes can show brief flashes of brilliance (remember Sputnik), they’ve proven again and again incapable of sustaining the creativity and innovation necessary for long-term economic success, analyst Michael… Read more »

China’s ‘bad emperor’ returns

     

  The weakness of China’s traditional authoritarian political system has for centuries been called the “bad emperor” problem, notes Francis Fukuyama, a senior fellow at Stanford University and director of… Read more »

China’s new totalitarianism: why Xi’s ‘Return to Personalistic Rule’ shocked the West

     

One Sunday last month, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, traveled to a village in the mountains of Sichuan Province. He wore an olive overcoat with a fur collar, which he kept… Read more »

Authoritarian resurgence makes democracy promotion even more vital

     

The idea that the U.S. should support the emergence of democracy around the world has been a pillar of American—and Republican—foreign policy for decades, says analyst Walter Russell Mead. But… Read more »

Populist uprisings ‘could bring down liberal democracy’

     

Italians registered their dismay with the European political establishment on Sunday, handing a majority of votes in a national election to hard-right and populist forces that ran a campaign fueled… Read more »

Weaponizing culture: “civilizationism” and nationalism in Putin’s Russia

     

Since its birth in the French Revolution, the modern nation has been defined by two opposing ideas. Civic nationalism, often referred to as patriotism, envisions the nation as a contingent,… Read more »