Alistair Cole
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been found guilty of corruption and misuse of influence. Alistair Cole traces Sarkozy’s misfortunes in part to his personal political style, but also, more profoundly, to a broader move towards transparency that has pitted judges against politicians Read more
Ruairidh Brown
In Trump’s second impeachment trial, ‘truth’ never really mattered, writes Ruairidh Brown. Regardless of the facts or evidence presented, the endurance of a post-truth climate guaranteed he would be acquitted regardless Read more
Maria Gloria Polimeno
The EU has failed to support democracy and political change in the Middle East and North Africa. Maria Gloria Polimeno argues for a more inclusivist social approach, along with radically revised foreign policy Read more
Simon Otjes
On 15 January, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was forced to resign after thousands of parents in the Netherlands were wrongly accused of benefit fraud. But the outcry has not diminished faith in Rutte as a leader, writes Simon Otjes Read more
Rachel M. Gisselquist
The last several months have given us many reasons to worry about US democracy – not least the riot at the US Capitol and the president’s refusal to accept the results of the November election, with Republican support. Rachel Gisselquist argues that clientelism is yet another reason to worry Read more
Hanna Vasilevich
In August 2020, following a hotly disputed presidential election, Aliaksandr Lukashenko was declared President of Belarus. Since then, the country has experienced relentless street protests against electoral fraud, writes Hanna Vasilevich Read more
Sarah Engler
Only populist parties fight elections using anti-corruption slogans, right? Wrong. Sarah Engler finds that other parties too, sloganeer in this way – many without any reference to the ‘corrupt elite’ Read more
Felia Allum
Felia Allum draws curious and interesting parallels between Covid-19 and Italian mafias – in the nature of the threats they pose, and the ability of states and societies to confront them Read more
