Jeffrey Haynes
Jeffrey Haynes argues that one of Africa’s most controversial leaders, the late Jerry John Rawlings of Ghana, began his political career as a fiery revolutionary and ended it as a popularly elected president via a liberal democratic political system. What explains this volte face? Was it ideological conversion or expediency? Read more
Abbey Heffer
Authoritarian regimes are not centralised monoliths. In China, authoritarian responses to protest can differ dramatically across localities. Abbey Heffer argues that research on regime-level authoritarianism often overlooks decentralisation. Studying aspects of authoritarianism, such as protest repression and concessions, requires a practice-based approach that reconciles national and localised authoritarianism Read more
Alex Prior
The ‘total texture’ of democracy exists, and we can observe it, argues Alex Prior. This is possible through a conceptualisation of this ‘texture’ as fractal: being complex and self-referential at every scale. Through this perspective, we can problematise long-standing – but nevertheless incomplete – analogies of democracy and democratisation Read more
Massimo D'Angelo
Next June, in Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will seek election as President of the Republic for the third time. Massimo D’Angelo explains the opposition parties' joint strategy to defeat Erdoğan, including a pact to overhaul institutions and restore the rule of law 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
Aleksandra Samonek
EU candidate status eludes Bosnia and Herzegovina as anti-corruption and judicial reforms have failed to take root, writes Aleksandra Samonek. The European Commission points the finger at a lack of political commitment from Bosnian political leaders. They, meanwhile, are calling on the Commission to do more to facilitate accession Read more
Zarina Burkadze
Promoting democracy without challenging external autocratisers and checking local democratic elites may be counterproductive, argues Zarina Burkadze. Great power competition has always had an impact on the domestic politics of small nations, and this is apparent in the conflicts and international politics of today Read more
Anna Khakee
As long as the EU continues to silence European colonial crimes when promoting democracy and human rights in the Global South, it cannot live up to its moral promise. Instead, warns Anna Khakee, it risks perpetuating – inadvertently or otherwise – colonial-era hierarchies between civilisations and a sense of European moral superiority Read more
