1989: A reminder of democracy’s fragility and resilience
Three decades ago this fall, a political earthquake rocked the barrier that had divided Europe and the city of Berlin for nearly five decades. The so-called Autumn of Nations saw… Read more »
Category: Europe
Sects, lies and populists: ‘democratic self-destruction’?
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 »
‘Democratic agnosticism’: Who is equivocating over promoting liberal values?
With protests raging in Hong Kong as well as in autocratic countries like Algeria and Egypt, and anti-democratic strongmen multiplying across the globe, the European Union is facing greater pressure… Read more »
Reinvent democracy as populists ‘weaponize the will of the people’
The political arguments made by some contemporary politicians use the language of democracy, but the underlying logic has more in common with populist authoritarianism – a strategy that could be… Read more »
Rethinking backsliding: Why flawed liberals leave democracy vulnerable
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 »
Russia’s Playbook for Disrupting Democracy
Russia’s brazen interference in the 2016 American presidential election shouldn’t have been a total shock, says Matt Apuzzo, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter based in Brussels. President Vladimir Putin’s… Read more »
The United Kingdom of Absurdistan: Britain’s ‘Enemy of the People’
By undermining Parliament in one of the most important political debates of the century, British premier Boris Johnson poses the same dangers to liberal democracy that populist agitators did to… Read more »
Labor movement ‘winning the war of ideas’ for democracy?
Organized labor came out in solidarity with Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners this week, as the International Trade Union Confederation called on the European Union to lead the way in ensuring… Read more »
Disinformation catalyzing spread of authoritarianism worldwide
Seeking to find a way to wrest control of the narrative, Beijing has stepped up its efforts to sow discord and disinformation about the months-long Hong Kong protests through some… Read more »
‘Nakedly populist move’ jolts the world’s most stable democracy
Populists can come in all kinds of ideological flavors, notes Yascha Mounk. What they all have in common is an opposition to the pluralism that is inherent to any functioning… Read more »