Keeping track of the global state of democracy requires keeping a sharp analytic lens focused on multiple trends simultaneously, including democratic erosion in new or developing democracies, democratic tremors in long-established democracies, and political hardening in many autocracies. Program researchers offer a regular stream of insights on these and other related trends.
Quick and transparent results, holding political actors accountable, curbing disinformation, and fostering cross-party collaboration are tools that any democracy can use to defuse tensions.
Democracies the world over are not being undone by disenchanted citizens but by leaders with predatory political ambitions that use all opportunities to defy constraints to their power.
The 16th BRICS Summit, which took place in the Russian city of Kazan, proved to be a symbolic diplomatic victory for Vladimir Putin.
Since Brazil co-founded the BRICS in 2009, Brazilian analysts and politicians have largely agreed that membership brought tangible benefits to the country—including closer ties to China. But as this year’s summit approaches, the costs are adding up.
Populists undermine the operating environment capitalism depends on—most notably, free competition and a predictable rule of law.
Rather than bemoaning the emergence of the BRICS, the West should court those member states that have a stake in making sure that the grouping does not become an overtly anti-Western outfit intent on undermining the global order.
Some contests have been depressing spectacles of authoritarian control, while others offer a brighter snapshot.
After more than a decade of democratic regression, three major crises have acted to reshape global politics in recent years: climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic legacy, and geopolitical conflict.
The president has dug in and is waiting for global attention to move elsewhere.
Lula’s policy is an attempt to exert influence over Brazil’s neighbor, but the recent past suggests this may have limited effect.
Within comparative constitutional law, there is an emerging consensus that political fragmentation has weakened political parties and hindered the functioning of legislative bodies.
Backsliding is less a result of democracies failing to deliver than of democracies failing to constrain the predatory political ambitions and methods of certain elected leaders. Policymakers and aid providers seeking to limit backsliding should tailor their diplomatic and aid interventions accordingly.
