Jonathan Powell
Observers were quick to call the events on 8 January in Brazil a coup attempt. But Jonathan Powell and Salah Ben Hammou caution against conflating coup advocacy with coup attempts. Authoritarianism scholars should also note that usage of the term 'coup' has historically varied Read more
Anastasia Deligiaouri
Anastasia Deligiaouri argues that we should be wary of allowing incompatible concepts – such as 'illiberal democracy' – to dilute democracy’s essence. Rather, we must unravel and expunge the demons that lurk in democracies. By so doing, we will ensure this pluralism does not serve or fulfil autocratic desires Read more
Lena Surzhko-Harned
The Kosovo war helped consolidate the Responsibility to Protect norm. But Lena Surzhko-Harned and Jiří Nykodým argue that it also created the 'Kosovo precedent' used to undermine international law. Russia has often exploited this narrative to justify its current war in Ukraine Read more
Laura Luciani
As the liberal norms promoted by the EU are fiercely contested, human rights groups in the South Caucasus face an insecure environment. Some propose alternatives to human rights promotion that challenge both the EU’s development paradigms and competing authoritarian agendas. Laura Luciani argues that we should take them seriously Read more
Diogo Vieira Ferreira
European (transnational) political parties have suffered from a lack of political influence in the European Union. Diogo Vieira Ferreira argues that dealing with the EU’s democratic deficit requires higher political (party) competition at the EU level. The direct suffrage of MEPs via transnational lists is an embryonic but required step Read more
Hilary Gopnik
A community’s material things can be active participants in the democratic process. Hilary Gopnik argues that the inclusion of materiality in Jean-Paul Gagnon’s science of democracy will broaden the range of the inquiry and deepen the texture recovered Read more
Niels Keijzer
The EU is insistent on combatting ‘root causes’ of migration. Yet this has led it to overlook other reasons for human mobility. Niels Keijzer and Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood argue these include the threatened livelihoods of coastal communities in the Gulf of Guinea Read more
Christina Isabel Zuber
When it comes to migration, the past wields considerable power over the present in Germany. Christina Zuber argues that ‘ideational legacies’ mean outdated policies are upheld against pressing needs for change. Ideas dominant at historical junctures become tied to national identity. Yet, there is a way to overcome them Read more
