Whether stated explicitly or implied, the theme that binds much of the pandemic malign influence currently targeting western nations is that democracy, both as a system of government and a set… Read more »
Democracy was in retreat, and autocrats were on the march, before the coronavirus appeared, notes analyst Ruchir Sharma. To contain it, leaders of all political styles have assumed previously unthinkable… Read more »
China deliberately suppressed or destroyed evidence of the coronavirus outbreak in an “assault on international transparency’’ that cost tens of thousands of lives, according to a dossier prepared by concerned… Read more »
Vladimir Putin’s handling of the coronavirus crisis has produced a paradox: instead of using the pandemic to further strengthen his personalized power, Russia’s president has refused to take tough measures,… Read more »
Popular support for democracy was dwindling even in the decade before expert surveys (such as Freedom in the World and V-Dem) began to show the reality of democratic retreat,… Read more »
Autocratic and illiberal leaders are using the coronavirus crisis to weaponize insecurity, says journalist and historian Anne Applebaum. She talks to Financial Times’ columnist Gideon Rachman about the threat to… Read more »
A U.S. senator has accused China of “garbage propaganda” about the coronavirus pandemicc. The European Union says claims that it is “disintegrating in the face of COVID-19 are trending on… Read more »
A contagion on the scale of the coronavirus may offer authoritarians a greater opportunity than any event short of war, Joshua Kurlantzick, a senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council… Read more »
If democracies cannot cooperate to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the result could be a “decisive global shift” toward China’s authoritarian model, one analyst suggests. Three factors appear to… Read more »
History accelerates in crises. This pandemic may not itself transform the world, but it can accelerate changes already under way, notes FT analyst Martin Wolf: One ongoing change has been… Read more »