Volume 35, Issue 4
The People’s Republic of China has entered a new age, abandoning the ideological openness of the reform era and the socialist legacy of the revolutionary period. Under Xi Jinping, regime stability trumps all — and the PRC is weaker and less stable as a result.
Democracy’s defenders have failed to appreciate the power of nationalism. They must arm themselves with emotionally compelling narratives to counter illiberal foes of free government. When they do, they are championing a winning message.
Political violence is rising in wealthy democracies. Polarized societies and bitter party politics are putting candidates and election officials in serious peril. Political leaders, more than anyone, have the power to stoke or stamp out this dangerous cycle of violence.
Majoritarian nationalism is a defining feature of our time. If we are to resist ethnonationalist leaders trying to recast our societies into imagined majorities, we must revise our conception of democracy and the exclusion inherent in majority rule.
Immigration threatens to erode liberalism, as far-right parties and migrant communities with illiberal views gain power. Mass publics have shouldered the blame. But should political elites be held responsible?
Immigration has changed the face of Western Europe. Yet mainstream political parties have largely ignored citizens’ concerns about what immigration means for their societies, leaving them ripe for far-right populists to exploit.
Some liberals attribute the origins of our polarized political era to “identity politics.” But multiculturalism need not provoke majoritarian anxieties — not if national identities can open ways for all citizens to be recognized and heard.
When an epidemic of Koran burnings swept Denmark and Sweden, the Danish government criminalized the practice. It is a misguided response that misses the opportunity to protect both minorities and the right to free speech.
The far right celebrated big wins in the 2024 European Union elections, but it has struggled to translate that success into political power. Victory at the ballot box has not made its ideological and organizational divisions any easier to solve.
After thirty years of ANC dominance, the 2024 elections have ushered in multiparty politics in South Africa. Will the party’s centrist shift be enough to stop its descent, or is it destined to fracture further?
Drug cartels possess the power of militaries, the profits of corporations, and the coercive capacity of a state. They will not be eliminated any time soon. But the region’s democracies can seek to raise their costs, limit their influence, and curb the violence.
Under Xi Jinping, the PRC has grown more assertive in the Global South. China aggressively targets country after country, often zeroing in on small but strategically significant states. But there are proven ways for even fragile democracies to resist Beijing’s influence.
Alongside democratic backsliding is another, more pernicious phenomenon: dictatorial drift, where “soft” authoritarian regimes are opting to become highly repressive dictatorships. The West must develop new strategies to defend democracy across the globe.
An interview with Vladimir Kara-Murza; María Corina Machado on the Venezuelan opposition movement; a speech from Bangladesh’s new interim chief advisor; an open letter from Tunisian opposition candidates; a professor on the youth anticorruption protests in Uganda; and NATO’s seventy-fifth anniversary.
