What the Freedom Agenda Can Still Teach Us
Many derided it as naïve idealism, but the vision undergirding the Freedom Agenda offers lessons for the biggest global tests of our time.
Category: Online Exclusive
How Thai Activists Outsmarted the Generals
The regime tilted the playing field to its advantage, but it didn’t matter. Thailand’s opposition won with creativity, shrewd tactics, and a strategy that united the people.
Thailand’s Revolutionary Election
Thailand’s voters—especially its young people—have sent the country’s junta a message: They want change now. But will the military listen?
7 Lessons from Turkey’s Effort to Beat a Populist Autocrat
What the opposition did and how Erdoğan managed to escape outright defeat.
Why the French Strike
Why are the French protesting this time? Emmanuel Macron is imposing deeply unpopular reforms, and it’s one of the only ways left to check an arrogant and tone-deaf president.
Is Erdoğan on His Way Out?
The Turkish president came to power as an antiestablishment everyman. Twenty years later he is an authoritarian leader clinging to power. Will the forces that catapulted him to power be his demise?
How Maduro Survived
The Venezuelan dictator defied sanctions, international isolation, and massive protests. He appears to have a firmer footing than he’s had in years. Now what?
Putin’s War of Recolonization
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine isn’t just another land grab. It’s an attempt to recolonize lost empire, and threatens to return us to the age of conquest.
How Women Make the World Safe for Democracy
The suffragists imagined that a greater role for women in democratic politics would lead to a more peaceful world. Few realize how right they were.
Why Vladimir Putin’s Luck Ran Out
For twenty years, the Russian autocrat enjoyed a string of good fortune in coming to power and cementing his rule. He had raised Russia’s standing in the world. Then he invaded Ukraine.
How the World Stands Up to Putin
His military didn’t just fail. Ordinary Ukrainians, Russians, and people across the globe are creatively and nonviolently protesting Putin’s war on Ukraine, and they are making a difference.
Putin’s Other Failed War
The Russian leader declared war on his country’s independent journalists. But Russian media outsmarted him by taking their operations overseas. They are now reaching more people than ever before.
The (Final) Rise of Anwar Ibrahim
The democratic icon’s path to prime minister has been tortuous and long. But is Malaysia’s pluralism slipping away precisely when Anwar is getting his shot to lead the nation?
Breaking Han Silence
China’s recent protests marked a crucial milestone: The mainstream Chinese public, at home and abroad, finally spoke up for the Uyghurs and their plight.
After a Wave of Protests, China’s Silent Crackdown
Nationwide protests against Xi Jinping’s zero-covid policy caught the Chinese Communist Party off-guard. Expect the Party’s security apparatus to strike back with quiet precision.
Breaking Out of Xi’s Great Prison
Chinese citizens from Urumqi to Shanghai took to the streets, blank sheets of white paper in hand, to denounce the CCP and call for change. Xi Jinping’s repression and zero-covid lockdowns has united the public in empathy and anger.
How Qatar Became a World Leader in Sportswashing
The government has spent billions preparing to host the 2022 World Cup. Never mind the abusive labor practices and human rights violations. It’s betting that your love of the “beautiful game” will make you more fond of this tiny Gulf state, too.
Why Sanctions Don’t Work Against Dictatorships
From Putin’s invasion to Kim’s nuclear saber rattling, the West has punished the world’s worst regimes. But have sanctions missed their targets?
Why TikTok Is a Threat to Democracy
The popular Chinese-owned app is enabling Beijing to collect data on people nearly everywhere. Not only can such platforms track people’s preferences and whereabouts, but they give the Chinese government control over a powerful tool for shaping people’s worldview.
Democracy’s Frontline Defenders
Across the globe, the people who run our elections are being undermined, targeted, and attacked. Here is how to shore them up—and protect democratic institutions, too.
For Xi Jinping, the Economy Is No Longer the Priority
Beijing’s focus has been on strong and steady economic growth for decades. But China’s leader has just put an end to that era. For Xi, it’s only about power—at home and abroad.
Why Ukraine’s Millions of Displaced People Will Define Its Future
Most are Russian speakers from the east, and once harbored sympathies for Moscow. If the country embraces them, they could form the bedrock of a free and open Ukrainian society.
Why Don’t Voters Care About Local Government?
National politics is increasingly overshadowing everything else, even as local government does more and more. Here’s how to right the balance.
Why Women Are Leading the Fight in Iran
Iran’s women were the Islamic Republic’s first target for repression. This is the newest chapter in their struggle to win back their rights.
Putin’s Big Gamble
The Kremlin’s order to call up Russians to fight in Ukraine risks massive protests. It’s the riskiest decision of Putin’s rule, and it could lead to his undoing.
Iran Erupts
Iranians are once again flooding the streets in protest. How is this wave of demonstrations different?
Gorbachev’s Enduring Legacy
The last Soviet leader brought down his regime and ended the Cold War. The free world owes him a debt of gratitude.
Why Ukraine Will Win
The country’s military is advancing on the battlefield. If Ukraine defeats Russia’s massive army, the ripple effects will be felt across the globe.
The Man Who Dared to Change the World
Mikhail Gorbachev risked everything. Neither Russia nor the West could live up to his vision.
Drowning Democracy
Afghanistan taught us that a firehose of unaccountable aid can destroy a country’s democratic future. In Ukraine, we are making the same mistake all over again.
Why Pakistan Always Seems on the Brink of Collapse
The military has spent decades trying to impose order on Pakistani politics. It has led to chaos.
The Life of the Party
Establishment parties are flagging. They should learn from political disruptors.
The Curse of the Ex-Presidents
Across Latin America, former leaders are keeping a chokehold on their countries’ politics. It’s time their successors break free.
Democracy’s Most Dangerous Assumptions
It is tempting to believe the horrors of the past will not haunt our future. Vladimir Putin is proving that we hold such beliefs at our peril.
What Does a Humiliated Putin Mean for Russia?
While widespread violence or civil war was averted, the consequences for Russia—and Putin—could be grave.
Why Putin Must Be Defeated
The more determined democracies are to avoid war, the greater the risk that autocracies will wage it.
How Putin’s War in Ukraine Has Ruined Russia
In a matter of weeks, the Russian autocrat has erased his country’s prosperity in a feckless attempt to rebuild a doomed empire.
Putin’s Incredible Shrinking Victory Parade
How does a Russian autocrat celebrate Victory Day while losing a war? Expect lies, myths, and propaganda.
Defeating Putin in Ukraine Is Vital to the Future of Democracy
Why we must tackle the threat posed by Putin and his authoritarianism head on.
A Dangerous Façade
Marine Le Pen has remade her image to obscure her far-right populism. There is a real risk French voters won’t see through it.
Save la République!
Why Emmanuel Macron’s reelection hangs on him winning support from the very people he has ignored most.
Will Putin Outlast the War?
Russia’s autocrat may be weakened, but his grip on power is greater than many people realize.
Why Putin’s Days Are Numbered
The system that Russia’s autocrat built wasn’t designed to survive the pressures it is now facing.
Ukraine Belongs in the EU
Ukraine doesn’t just deserve EU membership. Its bid could revive and reunify Europe.
The Rebirth of the Liberal World Order?
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has given the world’s democrats a renewed sense of unity and purpose. Putin’s reckless gamble may unexpectedly strengthen democracy in Europe and beyond.
Ukraine’s Information Warriors
Russian rockets are targeting Ukrainian journalists’ ability to report the news, but the country’s media is finding new ways to stay on the air.
What Putin Fears Most
Forget his excuses. Russia’s autocrat doesn’t worry about NATO. What terrifies him is the prospect of a flourishing Ukrainian democracy.
Dangerous Diplomacy: Why Placating Putin Now Could Doom Ukrainian Democracy Later
If the West forces Kyiv to accept Putin’s diplomatic terms, he will have succeeded without firing a shot.
A Dictator’s Day in Court
Tunisia’s president is looking to strengthen his chokehold on the country.
Kazakhstan Rules with Empty Words and an Iron Fist
Thousands took to the streets to protest. While the regime promises to listen, its actions make clear: Dissent will not be tolerated.
How Democracy Can Win Out in Sudan
The country just got a new chance to restore its democratic transition. Here’s how they can ensure that Sudan stays on the right path.