Democracy is about having choices — and authoritarianism is about not having them, says lawyer and writer Ian Bassin. Detailing the seven steps of the authoritarian playbook, he invites us all to put aside our differences and rethink our role in the fight for freedom, revealing the hope and power behind every choice we make. … Read more
Estonia holds its official election day, even though voting started on June 3. It elects seven MEPs. Polling stations open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Estonia prides itself on its electronic voting: people can cast a ballot from their computer at home. Finland votes from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. It elects 15 members. … Read more
I don’t know about you, but it feels to me like it’s been the 2024 election forever—or at least since 2022. The past year and a half has been such an exhausting series of emotional ups and downs for those of us who worry about the fate of democracy, so it’s understandable why anyone would … Read more
2 a.m.: Labour strategists hope to unseat the Tory Avon and Somerset police commissioner and make gains in Tory North East Lincolnshire, where Labour ex-MP Melanie Onn is standing in the general. Lib Dems are talking down the odds of taking Portsmouth despite only needing four gains. Hart is a three-way fight between Tories, Lib Dems and a veteran community group. … Read more
American voters are more polarized than ever before, and the United States’ conventional electoral system prevents a third-party candidate from posing a serious challenge, even if he or she can bridge ideological and partisan divides. But it does not have to be this way: a simple and sensible institutional fix is readily available. TUCSON/CAMBRIDGE – … Read more
“Today, Hungary is in the gray zone between a dictatorship and a democracy,” says activist Tessza Udvarhelyi. “This did not happen overnight.” In a rousing talk, she reminds us just how close any country can come to authoritarianism — and offers on-the-ground lessons for how to keep democracy alive through focus, determination and imagination. (Followed … Read more
TAIPEI — The stakes for Taiwan’s democracy could hardly be higher in a tight presidential election on January 13, with Chinese President Xi Jinping delivering an ominous New Year address in which he insisted “reunification of the motherland is a historical inevitability.” The vote cuts to the heart of a battle for regional influence between … Read more
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. John R. Deni is a research professor at the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute. He’s the author of “NATO and Article 5.” The views expressed are his own. Marking the 75th anniversary of NATO’s founding, the alliance’s next summit in Washington is … Read more