The Democracy Report

Is American Democracy Really Under Threat?

The country’s turbulent politics, in perspective

• Uri Friedman
• June 21, 2017

Why Conservative Parties Are Central to Democracy

The right has repeatedly acted as a “hinge of history,” one political scientist says.

• Uri Friedman
• June 14, 2017

How Populism Helped Wreck Venezuela

The story of how the country went from cheap fridges to no food is about more than socialism and corruption.

• Uri Friedman
• June 4, 2017

Is France's Political Crisis Just Beginning?

The greatest challenge facing Emmanuel Macron isn’t ISIS or the economy, but something more basic: governing.

• Uri Friedman
• May 7, 2017

Russia's Interference in the U.S. Election Was Just the Beginning

Democracies across the West are vulnerable to foreign influence—and some are under attack.

• Uri Friedman
• April 26, 2017

How Populism Took Root in France

It’s not about the rise of the far right. It’s about the collapse of both left and right.

• Uri Friedman
• April 20, 2017

Turkey’s Referendum: How Democracies Decline

Sometimes, it’s not with a coup, but with a vote.

• Uri Friedman
• April 17, 2017

What Is a Populist?

And is Donald Trump one?

• Uri Friedman
• February 27, 2017

How Democracies Lose in Cyberwar

In 2016, Russia used the American system against itself.

• Moisés Naím
• February 13, 2017

‘What the Russians Did Was Utterly Unprecedented’

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee criticizes Donald Trump, and the leader and members of his own party, for mishandling a “grave danger” to the republic.

• Uri Friedman
• December 27, 2016

Obama Makes the Case for Democracy, in the Land Where It Was Born

“Any action by a president, or any result of an election, or any legislation that has proven flawed can be corrected.”

• Uri Friedman
• November 17, 2016

‘American Democracy Is More Than One Election’

International election observers assess the state of U.S. politics.

• Uri Friedman
• November 8, 2016

Democracy Depends on the Consent of the Losers

What happens if Donald Trump is defeated?

• Uri Friedman
• October 17, 2016

American Elections: How Long Is Too Long?

The upside of the endless presidential race

• Uri Friedman
• October 5, 2016

The Most Important Question Lester Holt Asked

“One of you will not win this election,” the debate moderator told Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. What then?

• Uri Friedman
• September 27, 2016

How Indonesia Beat Back Terrorism—for Now

One theory for why ISIS hasn’t gained traction in the world's largest Muslim-majority country

• Uri Friedman
• September 25, 2016

Erdogan’s Final Agenda

Where does Turkey go from here?

• Uri Friedman
• July 19, 2016

Should the Brexit Vote Have Happened at All?

Critics claim British voters were unqualified to decide such a complicated issue. But democracy itself isn’t the problem.

• Uri Friedman
• June 27, 2016

‘The Totalitarian Regime Is Intact’: One Cuban’s Message to Obama

The U.S. is pressing ahead with its opening to Cuba. What does that mean for democracy on the island?

• Uri Friedman
• June 22, 2016

The Meaningless Politics of Liberal Democracies

The desire for theocracy in the Muslim world can be partly understood through the failures of Western secularism. 

• Emma Green
• June 8, 2016