By David Cortright War in Iraq Twenty years ago this month, millions of people in Europe, the United States and on every continent took to the streets to oppose the dangers and likely human cost of invading Iraq. It was the largest antiwar movement in history. Former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft warned that war... Continue Reading →
Jennifer Piscopo on the Constitutional Chaos in Chile
Jennifer Piscopo is an associate professor of politics at Occidental College. Recently, she coauthored a paper with Peter Siavelis in the Journal of Democracy called “Chile’s Constitutional Chaos.” Become a Patron! Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. I think voters right now, remember the circus of the convention over the substance of what... Continue Reading →
Conflict and Population Movement: Challenges to South Sudan’s Stability
By Noe Hinck Challenges to Stability in South Sudan Pope Francis’ recent visit to South Sudan brought the global news spotlight back onto the world’s youngest democracy and highlighted the worsening needs of a population that is only slowly recovering from a protracted state of conflict. Although the civil war officially lasted from 2013 –... Continue Reading →
A Dual-Edged Sword: Aiding National Defense in Fragile Democracies
By Randell Yi Aiding National Defense in Fragile Democracies Just as the United States appeared to have disengaged from large scale nation building, it massively doubled down on providing economic and military assistance to Ukraine in response to Russia’s invasion. While total military aid flows to all recipients increased from $7.34 billion in 2000 to... Continue Reading →
Democracy and Our Digital Future in the Age of AI
By Amelia C. Arsenault Democracy and Our Digital Future in the Age of AI The last several years have seen significant advancements in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies, spurring staggering rates of global investment and discourse espousing the promises of the ‘AI era’. As states have rushed to develop or acquire... Continue Reading →
Latin America’s Durable But Poor Quality Democracies
By Gerardo L. Munck Poor Quality Democracies Democracy has become the norm for the first time in the entire history of Latin America. Competitive elections based on universal suffrage for top political offices are held as a matter of routine. The peaceful alternation in power between incumbents and the opposition has become a common feature –... Continue Reading →
Martin Wolf on the Crisis of Democratic Capitalism
Martin Wolf is the chief economics commentator at the Financial Times. He has written many books, but his most recent is The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism. Become a Patron! Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. I think democracy and capitalism are individually in crisis in that they're not working very well and that... Continue Reading →
Can Washington and China Cooperate in Foreign Aid?
By Miles Williams Competition or Cooperation in Foreign Aid Last summer I had the privilege of attending a conference put on by the College of William and Mary. This convening brought together a fruitful mix of academics, think tankers, US State Department and USAID officials, and politicians. Our hosts set before us a daunting set... Continue Reading →
Revisiting the Original Cold War
A Review of The Twilight Struggle: What the Cold War Teaches Us about Great-Power Rivalry Today by Hal Brands Review By Justin Kempf A New Cold War On May 1st, 1960 the Soviet Union shot down an American spy plane known as the U-2. The United States used the U-2 for aerial reconnaissance because it... Continue Reading →
Recommended Reading: In Isolation
A Review of In Isolation: Dispatches from Occupied Donbas by Stanislav Aseyev Review By Justin Kempf In Isolation Many of us recognize the Russo-Ukrainian War began in 2014 in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. However, few of us know much about the conflict before 2022. For so long it was a distant affair in what... Continue Reading →