Cross-regional Dialogue

Cross-regional Dialogue

When Transitional Justice Enters the Culture Battle

In Argentina, the rise of the radical right is not just revisiting the past—it is transforming transitional justice into a central terrain of political struggle.

28.04.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

When Populism Can be Good: A Conversation with Pepper Culpepper

In this episode of our podcast series produced in collaboration with the Journal of Democracy, we discuss with Pepper Culpepper the article When Populism Can be Good, jointly written by Pepper Culpepper and Taeku Lee. This discussion reframes populism as a differentiated and politically consequential phenomenon rather than a uniformly anti-democratic force.

27.04.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

After Nations: The Making and Unmaking of a World Order

After Nations by Rana Dasgupta traces the rise and unraveling of the global nation-state system, exploring why American hegemony is declining, liberal institutions are losing credibility, and autocracies are on the rise. Dasgupta moves from the fall of ancient empires through the spread of European law and money to the emergence of tech giants and the restoration of Chinese power. Ultimately, he argues for a new conception of citizenship, law, and economy suited to our globalized and ecologically fragile world. Speakers: Rana Dasgupta is a British writer born in Canterbury who has lived in the US, India, and France. He is the author of Tokyo Cancelled (2005), the Commonwealth Prize-winning novel Solo (2009), and the acclaimed nonfiction work, Capital: The Eruption of Delhi (2014). His latest book, After Nations: The Making and Unmaking of a World Order (2025) won the Windham-Campbell Prize for Nonfiction in 2025. This book examines the [...]

20.04.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Kast’s “Emergency Government”: Early Signals of Democratic Narrowing from Within

Democratic erosion does not always arrive through rupture. In Chile, early decisions by Kast’s government suggest a subtler process: the gradual narrowing of democracy from within.

15.04.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Talking Democracy While Tearing It: Authoritarian Conservatism in New Order Indonesia

Indonesian conservative thinkers claimed to save their country from populist socialism of Sukarno and the Left. They dreamed of a democratic polity free from “extremism” and underdevelopment. Instead, what they built was an authoritarian, corporatist, and developmentalist regime. This essay (re)examines their ideological justification for it.

7.04.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Why Would Elected Leaders Hollow Out Their States?

In this episode of our podcast series produced in collaboration with the Journal of Democracy, Ferenc Laczó speaks with Andrés Mejía Acosta and Javier Pérez Sandoval about their new article, “Why Populists Hollow Out Their States.” They discuss how, why, and when elected leaders seek to undermine the state; what libertarians and leftists share when it comes to practices of state erosion and where they might differ.

6.04.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

When Is a Law Not Law? Habermas, Democracy, and Argentine Dictatorship’s Self-Amnesty

Jürgen Habermas’s greatest legacy lies in the ways he taught us to think about democracy, particularly through what he termed ‘deliberative democracy’. Through this notion, Habermas refers to a regulative ideal; that is, not a ‘description’ of democracy as it exists – which is what interested Robert Dahl, for example – but rather a normative horizon to be attained, a point that allows us to judge whether public decisions taken are justified or not.

31.03.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

In the Name of Freedom: The Dismantling of Decent Work in Argentina

Javier Milei’s recently approved labor reform promises to liberate the Argentine people from the obstacles that constrain their individual prosperity. Yet beneath its façade of freedom, the reform redefines the legal protections that have long safeguarded workers, their well-being, and their environments, as the Agenda 2030’s “Decent Work” Goal demands.

26.03.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Decline of the Botswana Democratic Party After Nearly Six Decades of Rule

For the first time since independence, Africa’s longest continuous multiparty democracy, Botswana, has changed government. For nearly six decades, one party, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), dominated elections. However, the outcome of the 2024 general elections saw the BDP lose its grip on power, to the country’s first coalition government, Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC). So, how did the decline of the BDP come about? Also, will this be the end of an era of one-party dominance?

25.03.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Democracy on a Tightrope: Politics, Bureaucracy, and the Risks of Imbalance

In this episode of the Review of Democracy podcast, Gabriel Pereira speaks with Gabriela Lotta about Democracy on a Tightrope: Politics and Bureaucracy in Brazil, co-authored with Pedro Abramovay and recently published by Central European University Press.

23.03.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

How Courts Can Hold Authoritarian Leaders Accountable

In many democracies today, elected leaders challenge institutions, undermine electoral rules, and test the limits of constitutional order. Yet legal accountability for such actions remains rare. In this episode of the Review of Democracy podcast, produced in cooperation with the Journal of Democracy, Gabriel Pereira speaks with Luciano Da Ros and Manoel Gehrke about their article “How to Bring Authoritarians to Justice.”

16.03.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Hostages of Statecraft: Bengali Internment in Pakistan and the 1971 Bangladesh War

Contemporary politics in South Asia involves historically complex questions of citizenship, loyalty, and state power. Debates about migration, internal security, and national belonging have revived concerns over how swiftly democratic norms can be compromised to serve state security needs. In Bangladesh, these tensions remain particularly sharp: the Awami League, which played a crucial role in the founding of the country and governed for over a decade, was ousted through mass protests and subsequently barred from contesting the February 2026 elections, raising serious questions about political representation, democratic legitimacy, and the future of electoral competition. Such developments highlight the fragility of democratic processes and demonstrate how political crises can reshape notions of citizenship, rights, and participation.

13.03.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

When Soldiers Became Jurists: The Legal Origins of Indonesia’s Authoritarianism

How did Indonesia’s military learn to rule through law? This essay argues that a “military-juridical nexus” between civilian jurists and army officers in the 1950s built the legal foundations of authoritarianism—transforming emergency powers into durable institutions that continue to shape Indonesia’s civil–military relations today.

11.03.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Fundamentally Fiction? Women, Deradicalization, and Narrative

What’s the appropriate punishment for ISIS brides who didn’t commit any violent crimes? Ishita Prasher reviews Nussaibah Younis’ Fundamentally (Penguin Random House, 2025).

10.03.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Anticipating Autocracies: A History of Contemporary China

In this latest conversation, we speak with Minxin Pei about his latest book, The Broken China Dream: How Reform Revived Totalitarianism (Princeton University Press, 2025), which challenges the enduring assumption that economic development naturally leads to democracy. Pei argues that China’s post-Mao reforms produced not political liberalization but a resilient, adaptive form of authoritarianism.

9.03.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

School Suspensions, a Legacy of Racial Injustice

In the United States, school suspensions are more than a tool for managing behavior. Often justified in the name of order, the effect goes far beyond discipline. Far from being a neutral response, suspension produces a mechanism of exclusion. In Suspended Education: School Punishment and the Legacy of Racial Injustice, Aaron Kupchik examines how suspensions shape a system of racial inequality, transforming schools from spaces of development into institutions of control.

4.03.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Nepal Elections 2026: Protests and Politics

Nepal is at a pivotal political moment. As the country prepares for its upcoming elections, questions around democratic consolidation, coalition politics, civic participation, and representation have become increasingly urgent. This panel discussion brought together scholars, analysts, and public intellectuals to reflect on the evolving political landscape in Nepal , examining electoral dynamics, the state of institutions, and what the elections mean for the country’s political future. Speakers: Pranaya Rana is a scholar-practitioner with two decades of experience spanning the military, education, social services, and public health sectors. A Ph.D. in International Conflict Management from Kennesaw State University and a lifetime Senior Bosserman-UNESCO Fellow, he is currently an active politician in Nepal, having contested in the 2020 House of Representatives elections and served as Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Youth and Sports in 2024. Nabin Giri is a youth [...]

3.03.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

New Order’s Authoritarian Legacies and Indonesia’s Democratic Decline: A Reassessment

By 2025, Indonesia has been a electorally democratic polity for over a quarter of a century since the collapse of the authoritarian New Order regime (1966-1998) in 1998. Yet, rather than consolidating democratic institutions, the country has entered a slow but discernible trajectory of democratic backsliding—what scholars of comparative politics term a process of “autocratization.” This democratic regression has been most visible during the latter years of President Joko Widodo’s administration and the state’s repressive handling of recent civil society protests in major Indonesian cities is one of its manifestation.

3.03.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Why Gen-Z is Rising: Erica Chenoweth and Matthew Cebul on How We Might be Witnessing a Profound Gen­erational Transformation

Erica Chenoweth and Matthew Cebul discuss the political profile of Gen-Z protesters, what ignited their recent protests across the globe, and how those protests unfolded in various places. They reflect on the promises and perils of those protests – and how the related question of violence and non-violence has played out.

2.03.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Shuk Ying Chan on Postcolonial Global Justice

In this episode of the Review of Democracy podcast, political theorist Shuk Ying Chan (UCL) discusses her new book Postcolonial Global Justice, which develops an account of postcolonial global justice as social equality by thinking with anticolonial leaders Aimé Césaire, Frantz Fanon, Kwame Nkrumah and Jawaharlal Nehru.

23.02.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

A Midwife’s Confession: Democracy Hasn’t Democratized the Home in India

“How many babies have you killed, roughly?” This is a question that tolls through the 2024 BBC documentary, The Midwife’s Confession. Available for free streaming on YouTube, the documentary centres around Katihar in the Kosi region of Bihar, India. The documentary deals with the outlawed yet prevalent practice of female infanticide. A result of the National-award winning journalist and filmmaker Amitabh Parashar’s twenty-eight-year-long journalistic engagement with the topic in Bihar, the documentary investigates the fraught socio-political terrain informed by gender biases and caste realities that forces the midwives to kill the girl children they help bring to life.

10.02.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Crime, Crackdowns, and Democracy in Ecuador

Ecuador has experienced one of the most dramatic surges in criminal violence in Latin America, alongside growing pressure on democratic institutions. In this episode of the Review of Democracy podcast—produced in cooperation with the Journal of Democracy—Gabriel Pereira speaks with Galo Mayorga and Kai M. Thaler about how state weakness, militarized security policies, and public fear are reshaping Ecuador’s democracy.

2.02.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Why Honduras Is Facing Election Chaos

In this episode of the Review of Democracy podcast, Gabriel Pereira speaks with Rachel A. Schwartz about her recent Journal of Democracy article, “Why Honduras Is Facing Election Chaos.” They examine how logistical failures, elite conflict, and long-term democratic erosion combined to produce uncertainty over the outcome, how US backing shaped post-election politics, and what the new government may mean for Honduras’s democratic future.

29.01.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Unyielding Power of Authoritarianism: Hasina’s Failed Cards to Stop Bangladesh’s July 2024 Uprising

Bangladesh’s July 2024 uprising exposed the limits of authoritarian control. Despite deploying repression, censorship, legal manipulation, and disinformation, the Hasina regime failed to contain a decentralized, student-led movement that ultimately forced its collapse.

28.01.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Chile in Three “Halves”: Anti-Pinochet, Anti-Communist, Anti-Establishment

Chile is no longer structured by a single political divide rooted in the legacy of dictatorship. Instead, its electoral landscape is increasingly shaped by three forms of rejection: anti-Pinochet, anti-Communist, and anti-establishment identities. This trilemma helps explain why Chilean voters have repeatedly rejected both progressive and conservative constitutional projects—and why traditional binary frameworks no longer capture the country’s political dynamics.

26.01.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Venezuela and the Return of U.S. Hemispheric Power

The capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces signals a turning point in hemispheric power relations. This intervention not only reshapes Venezuela’s political future, but also exposes a regional order in which sovereignty is conditional, legitimacy is secondary, and U.S. power faces few effective constraints.

21.01.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Five Books I Reviewed in 2025 — And What They Tell Us About Democracy in Latin America

Taken together, these five books reveal a coherent picture of democracy in Latin America in 2025. Smulovitz and Botero show us the arenas: law and courts as central sites of political struggle. Payne, Zulver, Escoffier, Borges, Lloyd, and Vommaro identify the actors: anti-rights coalitions and a reconfigured right that competes for power within and against democratic institutions. Caldeira Neto exposes the dangerous edge of this process, where democratic conflict tips into neofascist mobilization.

20.01.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Venezuela and the “Sustainability” Wars Ahead

At the heart of contemporary conflicts lies an often-overlooked reality: Environmental resources are unevenly distributed and governed. As climate change accelerates and ecological limits tighten, struggles over land, energy, water, and biodiversity increasingly shape global politics, revealing the sustainability–peace nexus as a strategic mechanism used to stabilize extraction.

9.01.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Benjamin Gedan and Elias French on the Threat to Latin American Term Limits

The desire of leaders to remain in office indefinitely has haunted democracy since its inception. Politicians have found various ways to circumvent democratic accountability and sideline the people’s will for a change in leadership, from military coups to rigged elections or the installation of puppet leaders. One of the most widely used tools to constrain such practices is the establishment of presidential term limits. Many of today’s constitutions impose a limit on the number of times a person can run for office.

5.01.2026

Cross-regional Dialogue

Carceral Politics: “Public Life” of Prisons in Modern Iran and Beyond

In this latest conversation with Golnar Nikpour, we discuss her book, The Incarcerated Modern: Prisons and Public Life in Iran (Stanford University Press, 2024). We discuss how modern Iranian prisons illuminate broader questions about political modernity, state formation, and democratic aspiration.

18.12.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Fighting for Democracy? Youth Movements in Contemporary Asia

Over the last four years, Asia has witnessed at least five major protest movements that have reshaped regional politics in profound ways. These uprisings have not only toppled governments but have also demanded sweeping social and cultural reconfigurations. From the 2022 Aragalaya movement in Sri Lanka to the recent Gen-Z–led mobilizations in Nepal, the region has experienced a dramatic churn that compels us to rethink how we understand dissent, citizenship, and democratic participation. This panel seeks to examine the conceptual foundations of the protests in Sri Lanka (2022), Indonesia (2023–24), Bangladesh (2024), and Nepal (2025). Our discussion will address why these movements emerged, how they unfolded, and what future trajectories they might suggest. What political, social, and economic conditions sparked mass uprisings in such divergent contexts? How did cultural assumptions and social norms shape the character of these movements? In what ways did different [...]

16.12.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

The 50th anniversary of Operation Condor’s founding meeting in Chile

Fifty years after South America’s dictators formalized Operation Condor, new research and recent court rulings reveal both the scale of this transnational terror network and the extraordinary persistence required to expose it. Far from being an automatic product of democratization, today’s understanding of Condor’s crimes is the result of decades of mobilization by survivors, families, journalists, lawyers, and judges who challenged impunity across borders.

16.12.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

2025 in Perspective: Daron Acemoğlu on Democracy, Delivery, and the Crisis Within

In this exclusive end-of-year conversation with our Co-Managing Editor Ece Özbey, Nobel Prize–winning political economist Daron Acemoğlu reflects on what 2025 revealed, and failed to resolve, about the state of democracy.

15.12.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

COP30 and the Geopolitical Trap of Energy Transition: A View from the South

If the energy transition requires territorial sacrifice and repression in the South, it is not a just transition. Mariana Paterlini explains how COP30 exposed the geopolitical trap of green extractivism—and why Latin America must reclaim sovereignty and rights to shape a truly democratic climate future.

9.12.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

How to Resist Illiberalism: Pedro Abramovay on Reimagining Democracy in Latin America

In this podcast, Pedro Abramovay offers a wide-ranging analysis of the rise of illiberal forces in Latin America and the democratic vulnerabilities they exploit.

4.12.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Populism vs. the Planet: How COP30 Fell Apart

As delegates gathered in Belém, Brazil, from November 10 to 21 for the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30), expectations ran high. Marking a decade since the Paris Agreement, the summit raised hopes for breakthroughs in climate-adaptation finance, green energy transitions, and stronger emissions pledges. Instead, it exposed how populism has reshaped global climate governance, replacing cooperation with confrontation, facts with opinions, and urgency with delay.

2.12.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Chile Chooses Between Extremes: Rightward Drift in a Reconfigured Party System

Chile’s presidential runoff pits a Communist former labour minister against a hard-right former congressman, signalling both a sharp rightward turn and the eclipse of the old political elites. The social outburst of 2019 and compulsory voting are opening up opportunities for outsider candidates while reshaping who is viable on left and right, pushing Chile’s party system towards more radical alternatives.

24.11.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Delivering Democracies: Maya Tudor on “What Democracy Does…And Does Not Do?”

In this conversation, Maya Tudor discusses her recent article published in the Journal of Democracy and argues that today’s decline in trust in democracy stems from misconceptions about its achievements, such as expanding education, extending life expectancy, promoting relative peace, and fostering economic progress.

14.11.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Democratic Entropy and Transactional Rule: The Political Output of Peruvian Informality

Peru’s democracy is eroding not through aspiring autocrats but through exhaustion. Beneath the turmoil lies a subtler form of decay: entrenched informality hollowing out authority and turning governance into a marketplace of deals rather than a system of rules.

13.11.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Radical Ecologies of the Right and Left: A Conversation with Ashton Kingdon and Balša Lubarda

In this new episode of the “When the Far Right and the Far Left Converge” series, which shares fresh research from a workshop organised by the CEU DI Democracy in History Work Group, we discuss with Dr Ashton Kingdon and Dr Balša Lubarda how both the far right and the far left mobilise ecological ideas, often drawing from the same language of resistance.

7.11.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Mayor Mamdani: An Inspirational Leader Facing Relentless Political Attacks

While the global rise of the far right often seems unstoppable, on November 4, 2025, a politician who describes himself as a democratic socialist won New York City’s mayoral election. In his op-ed, Prof. Neil H. Buchanan argues that Zohran Mamdani is a political phenomenon who will nevertheless face relentless efforts from across the political spectrum to bring him down.

6.11.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

From the Certainty of the Past to the Uncertainty of the Future: Argentina’s Midterms Elections

Argentina’s midterm elections tested not only the government’s ability to sustain its reform agenda but also citizens’ growing preference for results over ideology—a transformation increasingly visible across middle-income democracies.

5.11.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Flexible Illiberalism: How Democracy Survives Illiberally in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia shows how democracy’s openness can be weaponized. Flexible illiberalism—the art of using democratic institutions to pursue illiberal ends—reveals how democracy endures not by collapsing, but by changing hands.

4.11.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Georgia’s Higher Education ‘Reform’: The Capstone of an Authoritarian Turn

Georgia’s government has announced a sweeping reform of higher education that pulls more decisions under central control, trims academic diversity, and limits international engagement. This is not an administrative adjustment—it’s a decisive move to bring one of the country’s last relatively plural arenas entirely under political authority. Sandro Tabatadze explains what is at stake.

31.10.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Cameroon’s 2025 Presidential Election: Confronting an Electoral System Designed to Defeat Democracy

Cameroon’s Constitutional Council has announced that it will declare the winner of the recent presidential election on October 27. As Cameroonians await the official results, some hope that President Paul Biya’s rule may come to an end. In her op-ed, Laura-Stella Enonchong explains why Cameroonian voters face an electoral system designed to undermine the democratic will of the people.

24.10.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Contentious Politics and Democratic Resilience

In this episode, we sit down with Professor Mohammad Ali Kadivar to explore the urgent and timely question of popular protests amid global democratic backsliding. Drawing from his acclaimed monograph, Popular Politics and the Path to Durable Democracy, Kadivar poses the following questions: What role does dissent play in sustaining democracies? Do protests reinforce or undermine democratic institutions?

13.10.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Why Do Sustainability Plans Keep Failing Us?

Why do sustainability plans so often fall short? The problem lies not in the strategic intentions but the very language of these agendas, which builds invisible walls that decide from the start who and what is excluded.

10.10.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Bolivia’s First Runoff: How the MAS’s Collapse Made It Possible

Bolivia will face its first-ever presidential runoff in October. Drawing on Santiago Anria’s recent article in the Journal of Democracy, this piece argues that the collapse of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) is a crucial factor behind this unprecedented scenario, alongside the country’s economic crisis and the reorganization of the right.

9.10.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

China’s Hybrid Ideological Convergence within BRICS

The power transition from the liberal Global North to the increasingly assertive Global South signals a shift from a unipolar to a multipolar international system, where emerging economies have the opportunity to contribute more significantly to shaping the global order. In this context, China plays a pivotal role. Being considered the architect of the BRICS group, Beijing successfully blends both far-left and far-right elements to design a hybrid ideological identity, aligned with its worldview.

3.10.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Never Waste a Good (Constitutional) Crisis

The saying goes that you should ‘never waste a good crisis’. The greatest crisis is certainly a constitutional one, and therefore the greatest opportunity. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were pivotal in the United States of America, as the country expanded in geography and population, leading to multiple state-level and national constitutional crises. Marcus Alexander Gadson’s latest publication Sedition unpacks these frequent crises, their underlying dynamics and the elite groups seizing opportunities for personal gain, with repercussions for modern-day politics.

2.10.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Citizens Protect Citizens: Indonesia’s Ethics of Democratic Care

While Indonesia’s government dismissed recent protests, this op-ed argues they are a powerful, decentralized movement with deep historical roots. Defined by a profound ethic of citizen care - “Warga Jaga Warga,” - a new generation is fighting back against a democracy they feel has been corrupted by ruling elites.

30.09.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Battle for the Past: Populism and Memory Politics in Contemporary India

Since 2014, the BJP has used its institutional influence to reinterpret history through a Hindutva lens, portraying India as an exclusive Hindu civilization. This effort goes beyond scholarship, reshaping how history is taught, remembered, and practiced, with narratives of Hindu pride framed as native resistance against foreign Muslim oppression and the BJP as custodian of this indigenous legacy. Supporters see these revisions as correcting omissions by earlier historians who, they argue, downplayed Hindu victories or overlooked figures like Maharana Pratap. For them, heroic retellings reclaim dignity and offer empowerment in a time of economic insecurity and social fragmentation.

26.09.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Transformations of the Latin American Right: From Pink Tide to Polarization – Part 2

In the second part of our special two-part episode of the Review of Democracy podcast, we continue our conversation with André Borges, Ryan Lloyd, and Gabriel Vommaro. Building on our first discussion of parties, movements, and leaders, this episode turns to the demand side of the region’s political transformation. We explore how voters’ attitudes, cultural conflicts, and deepening polarization are reshaping right-wing politics across Latin America.

25.09.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

A Polyphonic Chant?

In a world convoluted by a pandemic, questions of grief, identity, and resilience have taken on a polyphonic song, dedicated to women navigating the layered injustices of gender, race, and cultural alienation. Dream Count, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s lockdown memoir hums an existential question just right at the beginning in the opening sentence: “I have always longed to be known, truly known, by another human being” (3), which unveils the subtle theme of the novel: the disconnection between humans as an ontological flaw. Therefore, one could argue that the polyphonic novel contributes to the diasporic estrangement phenomenon not only through grand proclamations of the souls searching for meaning in a solitary marathon but through the everyday rhythms of loss and love.

24.09.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Transformations of the Latin American Right: From Pink Tide to Polarization – Part1

The conversation explores how Latin America’s right has been reshaped since the early 2000s — from the rise of new political parties and movements to the growing role of voters and cultural conflicts. In part one, we focus on the supply side: parties, movements, and leaders redefining right-wing politics in the region. In part two, we turn to the demand side, examining voters, polarization, and the societal forces driving this transformation. Join us as we map out the new generations of conservative and radical right-wing actors that are changing the political landscape across Latin America — and consider what this means for the future of democracy.

22.09.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

When Do Courts Matter? The Rights Enforcement between Aspirations and Inequalities

The fields of comparative constitutionalism and socio-legal politics will greatly benefit from political scientist Sandra Botero’s Courts That Matter. At its core lies a question that has long haunted scholars, practitioners, and activists: can courts really advance socioeconomic rights, or are they condemned to issue aspirational decisions that fail to alter entrenched inequalities? Botero tackles this debate directly, weaving together rich empirical evidence from Argentina and Colombia with comparative insights from India.

16.09.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Colonial Roots and Continuities in Europe’s Migration System –In Conversation with Janine Silga

When the first treaties that laid the groundwork for today’s European Union and the European Convention on Human Rights were signed after the Second World War, many of today’s member states were still significant colonial powers—empires. It was only in the years that followed that these European empires eroded, and many countries in the Global South gained independence. However, while colonialism formally ended, many have argued that coloniality has persisted. Although this applies to different areas, one of the most important is migration governance. Here, European countries have been accused of replacing explicitly racialized mechanisms with a facially race-neutral apparatus that nonetheless constitutes a system of neocolonial racial borders that benefits some and disadvantages others.

15.09.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Politics of Legal Discovery in Argentina

In El Descubrimiento De La Ley, the political scientist Catalina Smulovitz offers a sophisticated and timely account of how law has become a central instrument of political struggle in Argentina, with implications that extend across Latin America. As the author is one of the region’s most respected scholars of politics and law, which draws on decades of empirical observation and theoretical reflection, the result is a work that challenges readers to reconsider the place of law in democratic practice and illuminates how legal institutions can be mobilized for both accountability and power.

3.09.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Mapping Democracy: The Cartography of Secret Wealth in Twenty-First Century

Atossa Ataxia Abrahamian’s latest book, The Hidden Globe: How Wealth Hacks the World contributes to this shifting discourse, alerting us to the paradoxes of citizenship in the twenty-first century. With an exceptional cast of characters, geographies, and episodes, The Hidden Globe accomplishes a dizzying journey across the world, chronicling how this topic is conjured in mainstream spaces by engineering exceptionality.

27.08.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

From Competitive Authoritarian to Hegemonic: Berk Esen on the Decline of Turkish Democracy and the Prospects for Its Revival (Part 2)

In Part 2 of our latest episode in the special series produced in partnership with the Journal of Democracy, Berk Esen turns to the other side of the equation: how Turkey’s opposition is pushing back against an increasingly hegemonic regime. This episode builds on Part 1, where we explored the regime’s authoritarian escalation through the courts, media, and economic coercion.

25.08.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Paradox of Dynastic Democracy: Richard Javad Heydarian on Current Developments in the Philippines, Sharpening Global Competition, and the Prospects of a Liberal-Progressive Breakthrough

In this new episode of our monthly special created in partnership with the Journal of Democracy, Richard Javad Heydarian discusses the Philippines’ dynastic democracy and political prospects in a truly global framework.

4.08.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Envisioning Stability: Peace, Gender, and Climate in Nepal

In an insightful conversation with our Assistant Editor Vatsala Tyagi, Dr. Prakash Bhattarai, Executive Director of the Centre for Social Change (CSC), Kathmandu and a leading researcher in peace and conflict studies, shared his perspectives on sustaining peace, addressing migration, and tackling climate change in Nepal and South Asia.

1.07.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Chile’s Left at a Crossroads: What Sunday’s Primary Reveals About the Country’s Democratic Drift

As Chile’s left prepares to choose its presidential candidate in a low-profile primary this Sunday, the stakes are higher than they seem. The vote offers a revealing snapshot of an opposition grappling with internal fragmentation, an emboldened right, and a disoriented electorate. Can the left reinvent itself before the 2025 elections?

27.06.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Far-Right Fantasy of White Genocide: How South Africa Became a Symbol for the Global Right

When Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with debunked claims of a “white genocide,” it was not simply an indication of his ignorance, but rather a broadcast of a longstanding far-right fantasy. It is thus necessary to unpack how conspiracy, race, and far-right networks coalesced to shape American policy and make white fear a global export.

25.06.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Startup Democracy: Meritocracy and Gender in Bangalore, A Conversation with Hemangini Gupta

Startups have become one of the defining features of the 21st-century economy, celebrated as engines of innovation, meritocracy, and social mobility. Entrepreneurs—from Silicon Valley to Bangalore—are increasingly influential in shaping not just markets but also political discourse. Governments around the world are investing heavily in building startup ecosystems, often presenting them as neutral, technocratic spaces of economic growth and opportunity.

24.06.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Moral Populist Legacy of Laudato Si’

Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ redefined sustainability through a populist moral logic, casting it as a conflict between the people and indifferent elites. In doing so, he opened the public debate for populist leaders to reinterpret and challenge the concept using similar articulation.

19.06.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

China’s Carbon Gambit: A Green Quest or a Game of Politics?

In a historic shift, China’s CO₂ emissions are falling. This is not due to an economic slump, but rather an aggressive pivot toward clean energy. As the world’s largest emitter, China’s transformation is more than symbolic: It has the potential to redefine the pace and politics of global climate action. This turning point demands closer scrutiny. By Ceren Çevik In 2020, Beijing unveiled its “double-carbon” (双碳) policy, framing it as a pivot toward climate leadership and signaling that the world’s largest emitter was finally stepping up to its long-anticipated global responsibilities. Since then, China has massively expanded its clean energy capacity and launched a national emissions trading scheme. Yet coal still looms large, and the pace of actual emission reductions has been inconsistent. Now, with emissions finally beginning to decline, a crucial question resurfaces: Is the “double-carbon” agenda engendering genuine structural transformation, or is China simply mastering the [...]

17.06.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Politicization of Anti-Feminism in Latin America

The growing visibility of anti-feminism in Latin America is not an isolated trend but a deliberate political strategy. In this op-ed, Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser examines how far-right actors harness anti-feminist rhetoric to mobilize voters, resist the expansion of rights, and contest the very meaning of democracy.

4.06.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Mexico’s Judicial Reform: Democracy by Ballot or Power by Design?

Mexico is preparing for an unprecedented judicial election. But far from empowering citizens or improving justice, this reform may erode the very foundations of democratic rule. Ana Micaela Alterio explores how a process framed as democratization could entrench power, undermine judicial independence, and usher in a new phase of autocratic legalism.

30.05.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Brazil’s Democratic Resilience: How Institutions Withstood Bolsonaro’s Assault

Populist leaders are often framed as menaces to democracy—and for good reason. Brazil under Jair Bolsonaro quickly rose to the top of everyone’s backsliding list, a veritable cautionary tale in the age of eroding norms. Yet Brazilian democracy endured. The story of how it survived offers valuable lessons for democracies everywhere.

23.05.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Unequal Republic and the Egalitarian State: Democracy, Authoritarianism, and the Politics of Redistribution in India and China

In this conversation with Professor Vamsi Vakulabharanam, we explore the relationship between democracy and economic inequality by examining the divergent trajectories of China and India, as detailed in his recently published book, Class and Inequality in China and India, 1950-2010 (Oxford University Press, 2024). Through a comparative lens, Vamsi probes how political regimes—one authoritarian, the other democratic—shaped the economic responses to inequality in each country. While both nations began their postcolonial histories with ambitious visions of development, their political systems produced markedly different outcomes. In India, democratic governance allowed for broad participation but was also shaped by elite consensus. Post-independence reforms, though grounded in democratic ideals, often took a top-down form that prioritized the interests of rural capitalists and dominant castes. This constrained the potential for deep structural transformation, despite the formal [...]

19.05.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Many Ends of the Second World War

The end of the Second World War was not a single moment defined by victory and defeat. Rather, it was a pluriform and drawn-out process perpetuated by colonial power politics in the Global South. By Thomas W. Bottelier This article is the third in our series commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. It is sometimes said that the Second World War began in the Horn of Africa, in 1935, with Italy’s war of aggression on Ethiopia. It is almost never said that it ended there. And yet, it was the first place in the world where the fighting came to an end. Hostilities in Eritrea, then an Italian colony, ceased when the country was occupied by troops from the British Empire in the spring of 1941. Italian Somaliland, which covered the eastern seaboard of modern Somalia, was taken at the same time. Ethiopia, which the Italians had themselves occupied since 1936, was fully liberated that November, when the remnants of the Forze armate dell’Africa Orientale [...]

9.05.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Chipping Away of Argentine Democracy

It has been almost a year and a half since Javier Milei took office in Argentina. As he openly warned he would do during his campaign, his administration has been plagued by authoritarian practices, verbal and institutional violence, and policies that openly curtail citizens’ rights. Argentina currently possesses significant democratic capital, earned by decades of struggles and political commitment. We must now ask how long this capital will last in resisting the libertarian wave.

6.05.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Unfinished Revolutions: Decolonization and Democracy in a Globalizing World

The title of Martin Thomas’s The End of the Empire and the World Remade: A Global History of Decolonization signals the ambitious and unconventional nature of his now widely acclaimed project. From the outset, Thomas frames decolonization not simply as a linear dismantling of empires, but as a complex and often contradictory process—one that simultaneously disintegrated old hierarchies and gave rise to new, and sometimes equally exclusionary, national orders. His emphasis on decolonization as a reintegrative force highlights how the collapse of imperial structures often yielded unstable, improvised formations of authority and belonging.

2.05.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Voting for Togo’s Personalist Dictatorship

In February, Togo became the first of 10 African states to hold (indirect) executive elections in 2025. February 5 also marked the 20th anniversary of the coup that brought Faure Gnassingbé to power. This article assesses the legacy of the 2005 coup and the failure of Togo’s democratization.

1.05.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

‘Techno-Schmittianism’ in the North? The Canadian Federal Elections

On 28 April the Canadian Liberal party led by Mark Carney won the Canadian federal elections. The incumbent governing party has not won a majority of seats at the time of writing, with 155 ‘ridings’ (constituencies) secured compared to the Conservatives’ 133. The victory sealed a four-month turnaround in fortunes for the Liberals, following the resignation of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on 6 January.

29.04.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Hydro-hegemony: Water Modernization in Nepal and Beyond

In this wide-ranging conversation on hydrology and climate change, Dr. Dipak Gyawali, former Minister of Water Resources for Nepal, offers a series of crucial insights into the often indifferent, selectively inadequate, and politically compromised responses to the climate crisis. Arguing for a more sophisticated, multipronged approach, Dr. Gyawali critiques dominant Western scientific paradigms for failing to recognize the climate crisis primarily as a crisis of water. He highlights how these frameworks not only marginalize water-related concerns but also frequently dismiss indigenous hydrological knowledge systems as unscientific or primitive, thereby reinforcing global hierarchies of knowledge and power.

28.04.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Theoretical Pluralism Meets Western Myopia: The Age of “Global” Populism

The re-election of Donald Trump in 2024 provides a clear answer to the question raised in Still the Age of Populism? Not only does the age of populism persist, but its influence on global politics appears stronger than ever. From Washington to Warsaw and Brasília to Budapest, populist leaders continue to reshape political landscapes. This edited volume takes up the challenge of understanding populism’s enduring appeal, bringing together an impressive array of scholars to advance our understanding of this complex phenomenon.

25.04.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

All Together or None of Us – Part II: Turkey’s New Democracy Movement and Future

When Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, was arrested, Turkey’s democratic future reached a breaking point. In this two-part series, Murat Somer examines how that moment united the long-divided social and political opposition, sparking an unprecedented wave of mobilization and strategic innovation that holds the potential to turn into an enduring and consequential democracy movement. Part I recounts the events that triggered mass resistance. Part II explores the movement’s evolving strategies, emerging alliances, and political stakes for Turkey’s future. ← Missed the backstory? Read Part I: The Arrest that Sparked Turkey’s Democratic Uprising

24.04.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

All Together or None of Us – Part I: The Arrest that Sparked Turkey’s Democratic Uprising

When Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, was arrested, Turkey’s democratic future reached a breaking point. In this two-part series, Murat Somer examines how that moment united the long-divided social and political opposition, sparking an unprecedented wave of mobilization and strategic innovation that holds the potential to turn into an enduring and consequential democracy movement. Part I recounts the events that triggered mass resistance. Part II explores the movement’s evolving strategies, emerging alliances, and political stakes for Turkey’s future.

23.04.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Neofascism and the Far Right in Brazil

The resurgence of far-right ideologies across the globe has forced democracies to reckon with the continued appeal of authoritarian political cultures. In this context, Brazil has emerged as a crucial case for understanding the entrenchment of radical right-wing ideologies beyond the global north. Odilon Caldeira Neto’s “Neofascism and the Far Right in Brazil” intervenes in this debate by historicizing and contextualizing the evolution of Brazilian neofascism, tracing its roots, ruptures, and resurgence. Odilon Caldeira Neto is a historian at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (Brazil), where he is a leading scholar on understanding the Brazilian far right. His authority in fascist studies, especially in the Latin American context, makes his analysis valuable for those interested in understanding current political developments in the region in general and Brazil in particular

17.04.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Illiberal Transatlantic Ties and the Reshaping of Democracy: Lessons From the US and Hungary

In this episode of the Democracy After 2024 series, Zsuzsanna Végh and Daniel Hegedűs examine transatlantic cooperation between state and non-state actors in the United States and Hungary. They analyze commonalities in narratives and shared practices, assessing their impact on democracy in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the German Marshall Fund of the United States or any institutions or organizations with which they are affiliated. Zsuzsanna Végh is a program officer at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and an associate researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Her analytical focus is on the populist radical right in Central and Eastern Europe, its impact on foreign policy and democratic quality, and the foreign and EU policies of the Visegrád countries. Daniel Hegedüs is a German Marshall Fund of the [...]

16.04.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

How Bolsonaro’s Gendered Populist Performance Polarized Brazil

In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro leveraged gender performance to craft and sustain an outsider persona, despite his long-standing tenure in parliament and his role as head of the executive. This performative act, however, had dire consequences. It intensified political polarization and turned intimate spheres shaped by gender relations into battlegrounds of ideological conflict, especially during the 2022 electoral campaign.

15.04.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Attack on the Constitution

The President’s defiance of judicial authority has pushed the US into a constitutional crisis. In his op-ed, Nicholas Reed Langen unpacks how his deportation orders, legal battles, and Supreme Court victories have emboldened an authoritarian agenda, testing the limits of US democracy.

3.04.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Understanding State Behavior and Regime Unpopularity through the “Tripartite Struggle” Framework

The interplay of global hegemony, majoritarian discourse, and ruling narratives shapes state behavior and regime popularity. Consolidated democracies manage ideological diversity better, enabling non-violent regime changes, while unconsolidated systems like India and Bangladesh risk authoritarianism or populism. Governments’ failure to balance competing interests often results in unpopularity, dissent, and potential regime instability.

1.04.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

What’s Radish Got to Do with Turkish Democracy?

When a Turkish proverb resurfaces at the heart of a political storm, it’s worth paying attention. Through the recent arrests of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and his colleagues, Ece Özbey traces the chilling implications of the deepening erosion of democratic norms and judicial independence in Turkey—and the defiant stirrings of civic resistance under Erdoğan’s tightening grip on the country.

28.03.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Foreign Hands, Local Democracy: Toxic Legacies of Cold War in India

In this conversation with Paul McGarr, we discuss his latest book, Spying in South Asia (Cambridge, 2024). From the influence of espionage on international relations to the role of conspiracy and rumor in shaping domestic politics, McGarr highlights the complexities of intelligence dynamics between the West and India. He reveals how during the Cold War, democratic aspirations in the Global South were often dismissed by American and British intelligence and foreign policy establishments. Challenging the widely held belief that the Western powers championed democracy in the region, McGarr argues that Cold War geostrategic priorities frequently undermined democratic movements in South Asia. Yet, despite these external pressures, local actors and political institutions in India played a crucial role in shaping intelligence outcomes, resisting imposed narratives, and asserting their own democratic agency.

17.03.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Right against Rights in Latin America

In this conversation with the Review of Democracy, Professor Leigh Payne, Dr. Julia Zulver, and Dr. Simon Escoffier discuss the development of right-against-rights movements that have grown in numbers, strength, and influence in recent years in Latin America. The discussion draws on their latest book, “The Right against Rights in Latin America,” published by Oxford University Press, in which they show that new anti-rights groups are intent on blocking, rolling back, and reversing social movements' legislative advances by obstructing justice and accountability processes and influencing politicians across the region.

5.03.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Strengthening Democracy Amidst Political Polarization

This article aims to provide some insights into the current political geography in South Korea focusing on the development of right extremism and its impact.

4.03.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Continuous History of Disruptions in Lahore: A Conversation with Manan Ahmed Asif

In this discussion with Manan Ahmed, we consider the political history of South Asia from the perspective of one of its most vibrant and famed cities, Lahore. Drawing from his latest book, The Disrupted City: Walking the Pathways of Memory and History in Lahore (The New Press, 2024), we consider the various episodic and modular histories of cities in the Global South, their role in forming new kinds of tactile consciousness towards politics, and their presence in colonial and postcolonial political imagination. Enchanting yet tragic, monumental yet fragmented, Lahore—as depicted by Ahmed—embodies a dual legacy. It bears the scars of the 1947 partition of South Asia into India and Pakistan while also reflecting its own vibrant, if imperfect, history of religious and cultural cosmopolitanism—a legacy sacrificed to the nationalizing imperatives of what Ahmed calls “Prophetic Pakistan.”

26.02.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Radical Democratic Thought in India: Rethinking Representation with Tejas Parasher

In this episode of the Review of Democracy Podcast, host Alexandra Medzibrodszky talks to Tejas Parasher, Assistant Professor of Political Theory at UCLA, to explore the rich and often overlooked landscape of radical democratic thought in modern India. Drawing from his award-winning book, Radical Democracy in Modern Indian Political Thought, Parasher discusses the ideas of thinkers and activists from the 1910s to the 1970s who challenged the colonial legacies of liberal, representative democracy. These figures envisioned participatory, federalist models of governance that resisted elitism and corruption, offering bold alternatives to the political status quo.

24.02.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

New Dog, Old Tricks: Nepal’s Road to Federalism

Almost two decades have passed since the end of the civil war in Nepal but the country still struggles to address the legacy of the long conflict. The Nepali Civil War, which lasted a decade from 1996 to 2006 arose primarily due to uneven development and discrimination that plagued Nepal. The then elected government, formed under the constitutional monarch in 1991, and drawn from the previous system of total monarchy between 1960 to 1990, was highly centralised with political power concentrated in Kathmandu. This led to the ostracization of rural inhabitants who lived in destitute conditions and found little to no support from the state.

19.02.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Disinformation in Africa: A Distinct Landscape Compared to Global Trends?

Digital Disinformation in Africa is a book about how disinformation through digital tools is playing an increasing role on the African continent in distorting elections, inflaming internal conflicts and disrupting crucial policy debates across the continent on issues such as vaccination, gender and reproductive rights. This book is part of the Digital Africa series, which studies the effects of new technologies on the African continent. On one hand, these technologies have certainly facilitated the exercise of democratic rights and freedoms; on the other hand, they have been used by repressive regimes to restrict those rights.

14.02.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Why Misinformation Thrives in Autocracies: Spread from the Top, Delivered by TV, Believed by Partisans

Misinformation thrives in competitive autocracies, where governments manipulate information to control narratives and foster uncertainty around political events. Yet, its dynamics in these contexts remain underexplored. Our recent study on Turkey reveals that partisanship and selective exposure drive misinformation beliefs – but surprisingly, not via social media, rather through television.

11.02.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

This Land We Call Home: A History of “Criminal Tribes” in Modern India – An Interview With Nusrat F. Jafri

In this interview with Nusrat F. Jafri, we explore her much-acclaimed biographical fiction, This Land We Call Home. Drawing on her personal family history and extensive ethnographic research across northern and western India, Jafri raises a profound question for all democracies: How can democratic systems address historical prejudices and work toward creating a truly inclusive society?

29.01.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Five Books on Asian Political History in 2024

My shortlist of five remarkable books published in 2024 in the field of political history of Asia spans a range of disciplines. These works captivated me for their ability to document political histories from the ground up while offering profound insights into the transformations that lie ahead for the region. These books are more than historical accounts—they serve as mirrors reflecting the complexities of our tumultuous present and the uncertainties of our future. Most crucially, they illuminate narratives of resilience, reconciliation, and hope emerging from some of the world’s most violent and unstable regions, reminding us of the enduring human capacity to rebuild and reimagine.

15.01.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

Five Books on Populism in 2024

Here are five book recommendations on populism published in 2024, which I believe merit widespread attention and discussion.

9.01.2025

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Rise of Successful Political Outsiders in Latin America: Lessons Learned from Argentine President Javier Milei

The podcast focuses on and draws lessons from the experience of current Argentine president Javier Milei. It delves into pivotal questions: How do outsiders get elected in a political system designed to secure electoral competition among established political leaders? How do they navigate constraints posed by legislatures dominated by opposition? Does the rise of political outsiders from the global north influence the progress of these Latin American leaders? Does the radical right-wing ideology of outsiders make them more effective? What are the lessons for understanding current Latin American politics?

4.12.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

Understanding Elections in Sri Lanka

How has the political landscape in Sri Lanka changed in recent years? What is the significance of the 2024 elections for Sri Lanka? What are some of the interpretations of the elections for democracy in the wider region of South Asia and the Global South? This panel of eminent scholars analyzed the different facets of the 2024 Elections, including possible opportunities and challenges for democracy in the region. It was hosted by the Review of Democracy (RevDem), the online journal of the CEU Democracy Institute (CEU DI), in collaboration with the Social Scientists’ Association in Sri Lanka. Panelists: Moderator:

25.11.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

On Muslim Democracy: Essays and Dialogues

Join Review of Democracy Ideas Editor Alexandra Medzibrodszky as she hosts Professor Andrew March, a leading scholar of political philosophy and Islamic thought, to discuss On Muslim Democracy: Essays and Dialogues. The book focuses on Rached Ghannouchi’s political thought and offers a unique perspective on the intersection of Islamic principles and modern democratic governance.

25.11.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

Coalitional History of Democracy During Emergency (1975-77) in India – In Conversation with Kristin Plys

In this conversation with Kristin M. Plys, we delve deeply into the nature and quality of Indian democracy by examining the legacy and impact of its resistance movements. Plys’ recent book, Brewing Resistance (Cambridge University Press, 2020), studies the Indian Coffee House movement—a unique, worker-driven cooperative that flourished in the 1970s. This movement not only symbolized a shared space for political discourse but also became a hub for anti-authoritarian sentiment, especially during the turbulent years of the Emergency (1975-77), when democratic freedoms were severely curtailed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's government.

19.11.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

Polarization and Political Conflict in Latin America in the Aftermath of the Left Turn: Challenges for Democracy in Latin America

Latin America's political landscape is marked by rising discontent and ideological divides, amplified by the post-pandemic climate. A recent research project highlights three main conflict patterns—ideological polarization, leader-driven division, and widespread dissatisfaction—across five countries. These dynamics reveal potential risks to democracies, as polarization and disenfranchisement reshape political engagement and fuel uncertainty in the region’s future.

6.11.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

Majoritarianism without Majorities – In Conversation with Kanchan Chandra

We are thrilled to publish the first episode of our monthly special series, produced in cooperation with the Journal of Democracy. In the framework of this new partnership, authors shall discuss outstanding articles from the newest print issue of the Journal of Democracy each month. In this conversation, hosted by Ferenc Laczo and Anubha Anushree, Professor Kanchan Chandra offers an incisive exploration of the strengths and limitations of modern democracies.

4.11.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

Democracy at Stake: Future Scenarios after Georgia’s Landmark Elections

On October 26, Georgia's parliamentary elections will serve as a referendum on its future, out of which three main scenarios emerge. In the first, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party wins, consolidates authoritarian rule, and aligns with Russia. A second scenario sees the opposition winning, potentially restoring democracy and accelerating EU integration. However, the most likely scenario involves contested results, which could trigger public unrest, violent clashes, and even Russian intervention. This critical election will most likely determine whether Georgia embraces European-style democracy or solidifies authoritarianism, risking further isolation from Western allies.

23.10.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

We Need Democratization, Not of Nuclear Energy Debate but Energy Debate in General. In Conversation with Professor M. V. Ramana

In this conversation with M. V. Ramana, we delve into one of the most pressing issues of our time: the climate crisis. In response to this crisis, various solutions have been proposed, with nuclear energy emerging as one of the most prominent. After more than a decade of caution following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, a global consensus has gradually formed around nuclear power as a viable and efficient solution to meet energy demands. Advocates argue that nuclear energy can not only complement fossil fuels but also fulfil the growing energy needs of the world.

22.10.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

Lia Tsuladze on How Georgian Dream Has Diverted Away from Europe and Its Implications for the Upcoming Elections

The Georgia Dream movement came to power over a decade ago. It initially claimed to want to uphold the European integration policies of its predecessor, but has slowly moved towards a more sovereign discourse. Over time, Georgia Dream has increasingly fueled affective political polarization, and now accuses its pro-European critics of wanting to drag Georgia into a war with Russia. It has furthermore vehemently defended adopting controversial anti-democratic legislation such as the so called ‘foreign agents’ law.

21.10.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

Venezuela Beyond Elections – Cracking Authoritarianism Through Human Rights

Venezuela is back in the news"—a phrase increasingly heard among journalists, political analysts, policymakers, and others across the globe in recent months. After years of protests, an enduring humanitarian and human rights crisis, and the forced exodus of nearly 25% of its population (7.7 million people, according to the United Nations), Venezuela has also become synonymous with corruption scandals, ongoing investigations in multiple countries, and a relentless political conflict led by an unpopular authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro. Coupled with an economy hampered by various international sanctions, Venezuela, perhaps unsurprisingly, slowly faded into what can be described as "international fatigue." This so-called fatigue can in part be attributed to the perceived failure of various political strategies to effect change or restore democracy, compounded by a world preoccupied with multiple crises, where violent armed conflicts have taken center stage.

16.10.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

Spirals of Radicalization – Reflections on a Terrifying Anniversary

Following the shocking crimes committed on October 7 last year, the leadership of the State of Israel has unwittingly walked into the terrifying trap set by Hamas. Its counterattack, which has resulted in mass casualties among Palestinians and the destruction of Gaza, has raised the Palestinian question to a whole new level while bringing the State of Israel’s international reputation to a nadir. Underlying the current cataclysm is Israel's growing inability to reconcile the fundamental contradiction between its Jewish identity and its democratic claims. Meanwhile, right-wing illiberal and radical leftist responses in the West bear clear marks of the spiral of radicalization in the Middle East, hampering the urgently needed process of reconciliation and the emergence of a viable long-term settlement.

7.10.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

Russian Soft Power: Shaping Georgia’s Political Future?

As Georgia approaches a pivotal parliamentary election on October 26, the ruling party – Georgian Dream – remains surprisingly resilient in its popularity. Despite large-scale anti-government protests earlier this year sparked by the controversial “foreign agents” bill, and opposition efforts to frame the ruling party as a Kremlin puppet steering the country away from its Western integration path, Georgian Dream is continuing to lead in pre-election polls one month before the elections.

1.10.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

Why the Rise of New Generation of Southeast Asian Leaders Should Worry Us

Youth have played a significant role in the recent social movements in Southeast Asia. However, these hopeful moments seem brief as the young descendants of past political leaders emerge and continue to hold power. This clash of two forms of youth participation raises concerns about the nature of contemporary movements and represents a missed opportunity for democracy in breaking the cycle of political dynasties.

11.09.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Crowd Never Left the Scene… – Nusrat Sabina Chowdhury on Crowd Politics in Bangladesh

In this conversation at the Review of Democracy, Nusrat Sabina Chowdhury – author of the recent book Paradoxes of the Popular: Crowd Politics in Bangladesh (Stanford UP, 2019) – discusses the various layers of democracy in Bangladesh. Analysing the differences between the English word “crowd” and the Bengali term “jonata,” Professor Chowdhury deliberates upon the recent events in Bangladesh through the lens of the country’s long history of popular dissent and street mobilization. She describes how the Western category of “the people” fails to capture the tenuous, fleeting, and ephemeral materiality of the crowd in the context of Bangladesh and beyond.

9.09.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

Women of Portuguese Guinea (Guinea-Bissau) in the Anticolonial Struggle

To what extent have the memories of anticolonial struggles in the 20th century silenced the voices of important participants? Aliou Ly's Women of the Portuguese Guinea Liberation War. De-Gendering the History of Anticolonial Struggle aims to bring a fresh understanding to this troubling question. It approaches an anticolonial struggle in Africa from a de-gendered perspective, writes Adrian Matus in this review.

16.08.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

How Do Autocrats Campaign Online? – Caglar Ozturk reviews Marc Owen Jones’ Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Deception, Disinformation, and Social Media

The book argues that authoritarian rulers in the Middle East fund nefarious activities online to silence their opponents abroad, to polish their own image (or their countries’ image) in Western countries and change the narrative about their persistent abuse of human rights. The author claims that these activities have broader implications beyond the region.

9.08.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Vehicle of Change is Always Politics – Sanjay Kumar on the 2024 Elections in India

In this conversation at the Review of Democracy, eminent psephologist and political analyst Sanjay Kumar discusses the recently concluded elections in India. Kumar weighs in on some of the unique features of the Indian elections in 2024, the emerging patterns of change, and what the election verdicts mean for democracy and politics in the Global South.

5.08.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Impact of Systemic Shocks on Africa’s Development – A Complexity Approach in a Context of Global Disorder

We are simultaneously experiencing a shift in global power, the growing strength of artificial intelligence, and climate shocks. Their concurrence and the associated instability that it will cause will inevitably impact development in Africa. Only a complexity approach can provide an adequate vehicle to pursue development interventions in this “brave new world.”

14.06.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

What Stops China from Ruling the World? – Ho-fung Hung on the Problems Plaguing China’s Development Model and Its Limited Influence in the World

In this conversation with the Review of Democracy, Ho-fung Hung shares his eye-opening analysis of the internal contradictions and external limitations plaguing China’s export-led development model and offers novel insights into the difficulties its political leadership is encountering in challenging US hegemony and extending its global sphere of influence. While acknowledging China’s impressive achievements, Hung emphasizes China’s technological dependency and chronic industrial overcapacity, the impact of the rise of protectionism, the hegemony of the US dollar, and China’s lack of confidence in its military capabilities. At the same time, he forecasts the intensification of US-Chinese rivalry in connection with the gradual decoupling of the US and Chinese economies.

12.06.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

Cooperation or neocolonialism? The EU and SWANA

From migration to trade and energy, the EU’s partnerships with Mediterranean non-EU countries are influenced by a neocolonial mindset. The bloc must shift from its current tactics of exclusion and resource extraction towards genuine cooperation that respects the sovereignty and aspirations of these crisis-struck nations.

29.05.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

Nepali Bureaucracy: The Powerful Establishment

In this op-ed, Sushav Niraula explores the contradictory nature of Nepali bureaucracy, which can both resist and be subservient to elected representatives. This duality has resulted from increased bureaucratic power after the end of the monarchy. The op-ed discusses factors that have led to excess bureaucratic power and argues that governance reforms need to find a balance between power and accountability to make Nepali public service efficient.

24.05.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

The State of Democracy and Constitutionalism in India: with Tarunabh Khaitan

In this interview with Tarunabh Khaitan, we discuss the ongoing crisis of democracy and constitutionalism in India. At the time of conducting the interview, elections are underway in India, with approximately a month left for results to be declared. In this context, we discuss the differences between the first and the second term of the Modi government, India’s place in the ongoing wave of global populism, suggestions for recovering constitutional democracy, and the dangers of “Scholactivism”.

23.05.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

East Europeans, the Eternal Poor Children of the Union?

In this conversation with Petr Agha, Joseph H. H. Weiler discusses the EU’s persistent democratic deficit and how the Union’s equilibrium has been disrupted; explores the rise of populism and questions of national identity; contrasts Eastern and Western Europe; and reflects on the evolving geopolitical landscape. “Let's fix European democracy first, and then I would be in favour of majoritarianism because veto power is undemocratic.”

25.04.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

‘From the river to the sea’: One slogan, many meanings

It is often maintained that the slogan ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ expresses a genocidal and antisemitic intention. But this is generally not the case. On the contrary, the slogan has historically been used to articulate a wide variety of political strategies for Palestinian liberation.

27.03.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

The old is dead and a new has been born: Welcome the Hindu Rashtra

On 22 January, the Hindu Right in India, with Modi at its helm, inaugurated a temple in the holy city of Ayodhya on a site where less than 22 years ago, a Mosque stood. This Mosque, known as the Babri Masjid, was destroyed by a violent Hindu nationalist mob on December 6, 1992. It was approximate 500 years old and was stated to have been constructed on a piece of land where previously a Hindu temple stood. This temple, Hindu Nationalists claim, marked the birthplace of Lord Rama, one of the most prominent gods in the Hindu pantheon. For this reason, the construction of the new temple is being seen by those in the Hindu Right as the return of Ram and as the inauguration of a new phase of Indian history – one of the Ram Rajya (Reign of Ram).

30.01.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

To Do Art, Politics, Critique, and Theory at the Same Time

In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Viet Thanh Nguyen – author of the new book A Man of Two Faces. A Memoir, A History, A Memorial – reflects on the ambiguities and contradictions of growing up Vietnamese-American in the aftermath of what is called the Vietnam War in the US; explains what motivated him to seek a new balance between remembering and forgetting in his new book; shares his ethical considerations regarding the revelation of secrets; shows why self-representation is not enough; and discusses how his dialectic Marxism wavers between Groucho and Karl.

25.01.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

Liberal Democratic Values. Anu Bradford: Digital Empires.

Anu Bradford’s latest insightful, thought-provoking, and nuanced critical analysis of the leading digital world-wide powers. Going beyond the often-referred battle between China and the US, Bradford includes the EU as a digital empire. Similar to her previous book, ‘The Brussels Effect’, the author argues for the EU’s global influence in regulating markets through significant empirical evidence – a distinguishing trait of this book, making it not only informative but also an absorbing read. Bradford uses the term ‘digital empires’ as a metaphor to encompass the current “leading technology, economic, and regulatory powers, each with the ambition and capability to shape the global digital order toward their interests and values.”

23.01.2024

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Voice and Representative Democracy in Australia

Australian citizens recently rejected a constitutional amendment which aimed to provide indigenous Australians with formal constitutional recognition. The proposed amendment was intended to create the Voice, a representative body within parliament comprised of Indigenous Australians, to give advisory opinions on the impact of laws on the Indigenous community.

13.12.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

To Free Everybody Through Inclusion – Leila Farsakh on Settler Colonial Violence and the Palestinian Path to Emancipation

In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Leila Farsakh explains what has been truly novel and devastating about the conflict in Palestine and Israel this fall; discusses how the Israeli occupation has evolved in recent decades and what major consequences that has had; clarifies why she pleads for prioritizing citizenship rights for Palestinians over the partition paradigm of the last century; reflects on how Palestinian voices and the Palestinian struggle have acquired greater resonance in the United States; and sketches how a resolution based on equality might be achieved.

7.12.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

Slovakia’s Path, the Visegrad Group Today, and the Implications for Europe – Miroslav Wlachovský on Current Changes

In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Miroslav Wlachovský – Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia in the recent caretaker cabinet headed by Ľudovít Ódor – discusses Slovakia’s role in the EU and his priorities while in office; analyses the recent Slovak elections and the potential consequences its outcome will have in terms of the country’s foreign policy; and reflects on the relationship between Slovakia and Hungary as well as the future of the Visegrad Four. Miroslav Wlachovský is a Slovak diplomat who acted as Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia between May and October 2023. Prior to his ministerial appointment, Wlachovský served as Slovak ambassador to the United Kingdom (2011 to 2015) and to Denmark (2018 to 2022). In collaboration with Lucie Hunter

20.11.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

From Pink Tide to a Far-Right-Wave: Latin America’s Authoritarian Encore?

In this conversation with RevDem assistant editor Lorena Drakula, Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser sheds light on the historical context, ideological characteristics, and the consequential impact of the recent far-right success in Latin America, encompassing prominent figures from José Antonio Kast and Jair Bolsonaro to Nayib Bukele and Javier Milei.

14.11.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

Clement Akpang on European museums: “To bring changes, first we have to decolonize the European mindset”

In this RevDem podcast episode for the Democracy and Culture section, RevDem assistant editor Karen Culver speaks with Clement Akpang about his research into European museums and how their displays can mitigate or exacerbate perceptions of social inequalities in post-colonial settings.

10.10.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Darkened Light of Faith. Melvin L. Rogers on African American Political Thought

In this conversation Ferenc Laczó, Melvin Rogers introduces the thinkers he has studied and explains why he chose to engage with their ideas; discusses the normative vision of African American thinkers and what makes that vision distinctive; clarifies his own approach and analytical vocabulary; reflects on his inspirations and the connections between his recent books; and suggests critical responsiveness as an essential element of democracy.

25.09.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

“Neither Amnesia nor Nostalgia” Discussing the Non-Aligned Movement with Chiara Bonfiglioli, Agustín Cosovschi, and Paul Stubbs  

In this conversation with RevDem contributor Una Blagojević, Paul Stubbs, Chiara Bonfiglioli, and Agustín Cosovschi discuss the different meanings of the Non-Aligned Movement and the need to rethink the “West–East–Non-Aligned” trajectories; approach Yugoslav foreign policy critically and explain why they attach such importance to imaginaries; show the importance of developing a “perspective from below” and analyze what a gendered perspective on the movement can yield; and reflect on possibilities of future research.

13.07.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

Turkish parties have always been authoritarian. Tezcan Gümüs on the results of the presidential election in Turkey

Turkey's presidential election was held on 28 May, with incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan winning against Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Kasper Ly Netterstrom talks to Tezcan Gümüs, author of “Turkey's Political Leaders - authoritarian tendencies in a democratic state”, about the reasons for his victory and its consequences.

15.06.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Art of Generous Critique: Adam Shatz on the Radical Imagination – and an Overdue Humbling

In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Adam Shatz – author of the new collection Writers and Missionaries: Essays on the Radical Imagination – discusses his approach to painting portraits of engaged intellectuals, clarifies his concept of “radical imagination,” reflects on how the history of Algeria has served as his prism, and explains why the predicament of Arab intellectuals may be much more similar to those in the West than is often assumed.

12.06.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

A life for power? Viktor Orbán’s long affair with Hungary

Do the familiar tropes of anti-tyrannical literature explain anything about what happened and is still happening in contemporary Hungary, a country that has changed so profoundly not only as compared to its post-1989 realities but from its 2010 self too?

30.05.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Curse of the Margin? Central Europe before and after Communism

In conversation with RevDem assistant editor Lucie Hunter, Dr. Aliaksei Kazharski discusses his newest book Central Europe Thirty Years after the Fall of Communism: A Return to the Margin? (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022, 2022).

26.05.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

The Colonial Origins of Modern Social Thought: George Steinmetz on French Sociology and the Overseas Empire

In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, George Steinmetz – author of the major new monograph "The Colonial Origins of Modern Social Thought. French Sociology and the Overseas Empire" – sketches the manifold entanglements of French sociology with the French Empire and colonialism; discusses the key ideas and innovations that have emerged in this context; dissects how indigenous scholars fared within the vast network of French institutions over time; illuminates his own approach to intellectual history he calls a historical socio-analysis of the social sciences; and reflect on how contemporary agendas of decolonization could be made more convincing and fruitful, not least by drawing on what French sociologists of colonialism have “partially and tentatively foreseen.”

11.05.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

Thailand’s Conscription: A Threat to Democracy and Freedom

Thailand is about to hold a general election in May 2023. Several progressive political parties are proposing to pass an act to abolish conscription. But the military, which has always meddled with Thai politics, has indicated it will block any efforts in this direction.

8.05.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

Illiberalism in Israel? The Protests against Judicial Reform: In Conversation with Adam Shinar

In this podcast, Assistant Editor of the Rule of Law section Teodora Miljojkovic discusses the reforms with Professor Adam Shinar, Associate Professor at Harry Radzyner Law School, Reichman University. Professor Shinar is a member of the Board of Directors of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and he is an academic advisory board member of the Israel Supreme Court Project at Cardozo Law School, Yeshiva University.

28.04.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

Heritage in War: A Key to Define the Future of Ukraine

Dóra Mérai, a lecturer of Cultural Heritage Studies at CEU, explores how heritage - often used to promote divisions - has also been reframed in Ukraine following Russia's invasion "to develop empathy, express solidarity, and help people cope with the difficulties".

28.03.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

Economic Sanctions are Insufficient to Stop the War

A year ago, Russia invaded Ukraine, catching many of us unprepared despite clear signs of impending conflict. The assumption that a European nation would conquer another in the 21st century appeared far-fetched. When the worst scenario happened, experts doubted Ukraine's ability to hold its ground for more than a few weeks. However, the country keeps resisting. The economic domain, along with warfare and geopolitics, presents many examples of events that did not turn out the way it was expected. This op-ed by Volodymyr Kulikov highlights three selected points about economic sanctions, corporate self-sanction, and energy wars.

24.03.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

Living with Double-Think

In this op-ed, the author describes life in Russia's propaganda machine, and how the internet provides venues for Russians to access media that is not controlled by the government.

23.03.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

Weak prospects for Russia’s democratization

Wolfgang Merkel offers a typological classification of Putin's Russia after exploring how it compares with fascist regimes in Germany and Italy as well as Stalinism, and opines that several factors will contribute to Russia's "poor prospects" for democratization.

22.03.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

Aakar Patel on His New Toolkit to Protest and Peaceful Resistance

In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Aakar Patel – author of "The Anarchist Cookbook. A Toolkit to Protest and Peaceful Resistance" – discusses why he considers dissent essential to improving society; what lessons we can draw from successful recent examples of protest; which options activists have to amplify and maximize their efforts; and how egregious laws on the book, practices of denying rights, and the extreme disparities of Indian society have shaped activists’ possibilities and agenda.

13.03.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

Cautious Celebration over Compelled Retreat on Foreign Agent Law in Georgia

Mariam Begadze provides recent updates and context on the Georgian Law on Agents of Foreign Influence, which lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party yesterday pledged to unconditionally withdraw following intense protests.

10.03.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

Democracy First: Shadi Hamid on Why and How to Support Democratic Change

In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Shadi Hamid – author of the new book "The Problem of Democracy: America, the Middle East, and the Rise and Fall of an Idea" – addresses democratic dilemmas that cannot be wished away; explains how he distinguishes between liberalism and democracy and why he proposes a democracy-first strategy; assesses the democratic record of Islamist political movements and parties; and discusses how the US could use its leverage in the Middle East to support or even foster democratic change.

13.02.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

A democratic Myanmar would still need armed forces

In a recent piece for the Review of Democracy, “It’s time to imagine a future for Burma without armed forces,” Thiha Wint Aung and Htet Min Lwin argue that the current military forces in Myanmar are flawed to the point that they must be abolished. I concur with their criticism of Myanmar’s security establishment. I cannot, however, see a future for the Myanmar political union that could stand without a capable national military.

11.02.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

It’s Time to Imagine a Future for Burma without Armed Forces

In this op-ed, authors Thiha Wint Aung and Htet Min Lwin argue for the abolition of the armed forces in Burma.

31.01.2023

Cross-regional Dialogue

Where Is Brazil Headed? – The Future of Democracy in Brazil After the Presidential Elections

On October 2, Brazilian voters headed to the polls to choose the successor of incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro in the first round of nationwide elections. Bolsonaro’s term was defined by the rise of illiberal democracy, hostile identity politics, and a string of controversial economic, social and environmental policy measures. The campaign has been marred by violence, rhetorical attacks on the judiciary and journalists, and threats of a pro-Bolsonaro coup in case of a victory of the opposition led by former President Lula da Silva who promised to break with this authoritarian legacy and has built alliances that suggest a government of compromise. Our panelists provided reflections on the results and offered insights on the prospects for the future of democracy in Brazil. Speakers: Claudio Goncalves Couto, Adjunct Professor, Department of Public Management, FGV EAESP Juliana Cesario Alvim Gomes, Visiting Professor, CEU Department of Legal Studies; Human Rights Professor, [...]

27.10.2022

Cross-regional Dialogue

“In a way, the Turkish opposition is a huge success” Murat Somer on the political situation in Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has dominated Turkish Politics since 2002, but now the country finds itself in a massive economic crisis and the president has never been this unpopular. With elections to be held within a year, the long-oppressed opposition is therefore eyeing a historic opportunity to get rid of Erdoğan and his increasingly authoritarian regime. But what is the state of the Turkish opposition, and are they ready to seize the moment? Kasper Ly Netterstrøm talked about it with Professor Murat Somer from Koç University in Istanbul.

11.07.2022

Cross-regional Dialogue

In Conversation with Tarunabh Khaitan: Checking the Ascendant Executive in India

India, like many countries, faces democratic backsliding. Our editor Gaurav Mukherjee talks to Tarunabh Khaitan about his recent work on the phenomenon of democratic backsliding in India, the rise of an unchecked executive, and the role that courts and opposition parties play in protecting democracy. 

29.03.2022

Cross-regional Dialogue

The War in Ukraine and the Refugee Crisis

Dr. Marta Jaroszewicz elaborates on the current refugee crisis as the result of the war in Ukraine, the situation in the neighbouring countries, and the EU refugee protection.

24.03.2022

Cross-regional Dialogue

Latin America: When parties become cartels, people are going to rebel against them [Party Co-Op Series]

In this episode, Zsolt Enyedi and Jennifer McCoy examine party cooperation in Nicaragua, Chile, Venezuela and Colombia. 

23.03.2022

Cross-regional Dialogue

5 Books on Putinism

Our editors Kasia Krzyzanowska and Michal Matlak have selected 5 books that encourage a better understanding of the aggressor: Vladimir Putin and the system he has created.

12.03.2022

Cross-regional Dialogue

The competitive element in competitive authoritarianism is still very pertinent. Dimitar Bechev on Turkey Under Erdogan

Dimitar Bechev in conversation with Ferenc Laczó discusses the current shape of the Turkish political system.

22.02.2022

Cross-regional Dialogue

Illiberal Democrats Go Global: Bolsonaro Visits Orban Before 2022 Election

Just a few weeks before April national elections in Hungary, Jair Bolsonaro comes to Budapest to meet Viktor Orbán on February 17. After this illiberal tour, which includes a visit to Vladimir Putin, Bolsonaro himself is to face Brazilian voters in October 2022. In preparation, the CEU Democracy Institute and its Review of Democracy convened a panel discussion with multiple disciplinary perspectives on Bolsonarism. In light of the challenges faced by democracy in Brazil, experts addressed issues like the impact of authoritarian international law on the globalization of illiberal democracy, the illiberal war on human rights and gender equality, modes of constitutional erosion, and the support for charismatic leadership among low-income voters in illiberal and authoritarian settings. Panelists:Emilio Peluso Neder Meyer, Associate Professor of Constitutional Law, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil Thiago de Souza Amparo, Professor, Getulio Vargas Foundation Law School and [...]

14.02.2022

Cross-regional Dialogue

Three narratives about the Qatari elections

Máté Szalai considers the three key narratives that observers and analysts use when discussing the historic elections held in Qatar this October. The first narrative highlights the elections as a vital milestone in the slow process of democratization, the second noted the importance of identity politics and voting rights, and the final narrative opined that the elections were a PR stunt to bolster Qatar’s public image.

3.12.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

Peru: A Democracy That Does Not Deliver

Diego A Salazar-Morales analyses for us the political crisis in Peru.

16.10.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

Why is the collective protection of democracy in the Americas doomed to fail? The Inter-American Charter at 20

Stefano Palestini writes about the Inter-American Democratic Charter on the occasion of its 20th anniversary.

4.10.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

Is Democracy in Tunisia Threatened or is it on the Way to Consolidation?

Ameni Mehrez analyses the political situation in Tunisia after the summer wave of protests.

2.10.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

Samuel Moyn on the US’ Attempt to Humanise its Imperial Burden

Ferenc Laczo in conversation with Samuel Moyn (Yale University) about his book "Humane. How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War".

6.09.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

Cuban Spring in the Summer? Elaine Acosta on the Cuban protest

Stefano Palestini speaks with Cuban sociologist Elaine Acosta about the meaning and causes of the popular uprising against the Cuban government

2.08.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

After the Election in Iran: What to Expect From the New President?

Luíza Cerioli analyses the situation of Iran after the presidential elections, focusing on the international consequences of this choice.

30.07.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

Can Technology Save Democracy?

How can we employ technology to facilitate the democratic process? Which platforms are more democratic than others? These and more questions are answered by Kevin Esterling, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of California in a conversation with the RevDem assistant editor, Catherine Wright. 

16.07.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

Owning the Constitution: Chile’s Unexpected Civil Revolution

On 4 July 2021, Chile's "unexpected" Constitutional Convention commenced following a grassroots civil revolution against the current regime since 2019. Co-Head of Section for Cross-Regional Dialogue Stefano Palestini Céspedes (Catholic University of Chile) interviews Julieta Suárez-Cao (Catholic University of Chile) and Patricia Politzer (Journalist and Member of the Chilean Constitutional Assembly) to discuss their roles in this process.

9.07.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

Democracy Rules: A Book Discussion with Jan-Werner Müller and His Critics

Review of Democracy will host a discussion of the book with the author to be moderated by Zsolt Enyedi (Central European University) and with three prominent voices in the field: Gráinne de Búrca (New York University), Jan Kubik (Rutgers University and University College London), Jeffrey C. Isaac (Indiana University) and Karolina Wigura (University of Warsaw)

8.07.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

What Are the Sources of Democratic Legitimacy? Till van Rahden on Democracy as a Way of Life

Elias Buchetmann talks to Till van Rahden about his latest book Demoracy: A Fragile Way of Life, which focuses on the history of democracy in the Federal Republic of Germany and raises fundamental questions about the nature of democracy around the world.

24.06.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

An American in a Strangely Familiar World. Ben Rhodes explores the world the U.S. has made

Ferenc Laczo reviews "After the Fall. Being American in the World We've Made" by Ben Rhodes.

21.06.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

The New Logic of Democratic Politics [Podcast and Interview]

Our editor Ferenc Ferenc Laczó talks with Chris Bickerton about his latest book Technopopulism.

14.05.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

There is still hope. Interview with Adam Bodnar, Polish Ombudsman

On April 21, Review of Democracy and CEU Democracy Institute hosted Adam Bodnar, Polish Ombudsman.

30.04.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

Stasavage: Democracy requires continuous effort (PODCAST AND LONG READ)

David Stasavage (New York University) in conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczo (Maastricht University) about his recent book “The Decline and Rise of Democracy”, which presents the global history of democracies since ancient times.

23.04.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

Sustainable Democracy after 25 years. Conversation with Adam Przeworski

Our editor-in-chief Laszlo Bruszt asks Adam Przeworski about the contemporary relevance of "Sustainable democracy", a seminal book published 25 years ago.

21.04.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

A Certain Anachronistic Appeal. On Conversations with Francis Fukuyama

On the 3rd of May, the Georgetown University Press will publish "After the End of History. Conversation with Francis Fukuyama". Our editor Ferenc Laczo from Maastricht University reviews the volume.

13.04.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

Myanmar After the Coup

In a conversation with Assistant Editor Gaurav Mukherjee, Melissa Crouch discusses the rapidly evolving situation involving the military coup in Myanmar on 1 February 2021. 

19.03.2021

Cross-regional Dialogue

It’s Identity, Stupid! An Interview with Guy Sorman on Identity as a Political Factor

Identity is a very strong political factor in the current world Guy Sorman*, philosopher and economist, the author of “The Conservative Revolution in America,” said in an interview with Michał Matlak.

18.02.2021