Stephen Bagwell
The case of Hong Kong shows that Chinese Communist Party dominance has a negative impact on empowerment rights. For Taiwan, though, it could end up much worse. Stephen Bagwell and Meridith LaVelle explore the potential outcomes of this scenario, using evidence from Hong Kong and data from the Human Rights Measurement Initiative Read more
Luca Manucci
We have, in the intellectual world, spent much time trying to understand populism, fascism, illiberalism and the processes of autocratisation. Now, argues Luca Manucci, it is time to debate and establish the best strategies to fight against these tendencies and establish democratic resilience Read more
Phil Paine
Phil Paine is reminded of the caterpillar who, when asked in which order it moved each of its feet, found itself ‘distracted in a ditch, wondering how it walked’. He suspects that there are misapprehensions about the role of definitions in advancing democracy Read more
Marco Giani
Studying long-run patterns of public opinion in Europe shows that reintroducing compulsory national service would not counter the worrisome trend of declining trust in institutions among young generations. In fact, warns Marco Giani, the effect could be quite the opposite Read more
Yida Zhai
Public perceptions of democracy are diverse, and some even see democracy in authoritarian regimes. So directly using ‘democracy’ in surveys is prone to elicit biased responses. Therefore, Yida Zhai argues, it is necessary to conceptualise and operationalise democracy in an alternative manner without using the ‘D-word’ Read more
Friderike Spang
When we compromise on moral questions, it is important that compromises are fair. But how can we ensure the fairness of a compromise? We often see compromise as a result of negotiation and bargaining. However, to achieve a fair compromise, we need to deliberate, rather than negotiate, argues Friderike Spang Read more
Luca Manucci
Luca Manucci argues that illiberalism and autocratisation have too readily been labelled as ‘populism’, an all-embracing concept which simply helps to provide cover to the neo-fascist cause. This has led to surprise when a politician like Giorgia Meloni, leading a party with neo-fascist roots, reaches the brink of power Read more
Giovanni Capoccia
The Italian general election produced a clear majority for the right-wing coalition headed by the Brothers of Italy, following a significant shift of votes within the coalition. The parties of the centre-left failed to forge an electoral alliance to stop the right. The political landscape remains volatile, says Giovanni Capoccia Read more
