Right-wing and far-right leaders have won recent elections in several Latin American countries. Against the backdrop of a history of US intervention in the region, these developments raise concerns about the resilience of democratic institutions, (neo)colonial influence, and the prospects for Latin American integration. Nayara F. Macedo de Medeiros Albrecht examines this changing political landscape through key political science concepts, including democracy and populism
Joe Torreggiani, Rhianna C. Rogers and Swaptik Chowdhury argue that competition is pushing AI into use faster than it can be controlled. Drawing on a recent breach by AI agents at OpenAI and on their work in education, they call for safeguards that keep humans in control
Italy’s new electoral reform, the Stabilicum, promises voters greater choice by bringing back preference voting. But allowing voters to choose individual candidates does not automatically make politics more representative. Alice Sanarico and Federico Taddei argue that the reform could make it harder for younger candidates to compete, reinforcing the very political exclusion that democracies need to overcome
Karina Adamova argues that migration policies which attempt to address labour shortages and decrease refugee migration treat skilled migrants and refugees as separate categories. What they should do, she says, is treat them as the same people at different points in time. Recent events in Germany show that anti-migrant attitudes can affect migrants’ decisions about where to live – even as the country faces significant labour shortages
Recent raids on LGBTQ+ associations and private homes of LGBTQ+ activists in Türkiye are more than an attack on a marginalised community. Anton Borea argues that they are part of a broader political project that threatens to dismantle the remaining foundations of democratic politics in the country
Poland’s democratic backsliding was not preceded by voters becoming more extreme, argue Marta Kołczyńska, Maciej Sychowiec and Oliwia Szczupska. Before democratic erosion took hold, Poles’ views were already becoming more tightly connected across issues, and more closely aligned with party choice
When authoritarian rulers fall, their relatives often become targets for prosecution. Drawing on six African transitions, Michael Asiedu shows why accountability takes different forms and why punishing a former ruling family does not necessarily transform the political system that protected it
The theory of cultural backlash argues that opposition to progressive politics has given us the populist radical right. Christian Kloetzer writes that we may have to turn this logic on its head. The electorates of this party family are not consistently socially conservative. But as the German state elections in Saxony-Anhalt show, the radical right's countercultural assault increasingly channels a comprehensive rejection of all facets of cultural liberalism
Serbia's student movement is on the ballot on 25 October, but no student is a candidate. Drawing on internal documents, Sadie Zarris shows how a movement without leaders wrote itself an exacting rulebook, enforced by nothing but consent. The harder test, she argues, comes once its candidates become MPs
Constitutional revisions usually serve to improve the function of the polity, the state and the protection of citizens. But Greece's current constitutional revision, argues Dimitra Mareta, merely serves the political programme of the governing party, and has advanced with the help of far-right MPs. This, she warns, could lead the country down a dangerous path
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