Donald Trump’s reaction to his conviction provides a textbook case of demagoguery – which erodes democratic institutions and can prime an audience for violence. His followers went right along.
Prisoners at the Terrorism Confinement Centre, a prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, built to house 40,000 gang members convicted or detained.
Rodrigo Sura / EPA
One-third of Americans think that “rule by a strong leader or the military would be a good way of governing their country.” Are they losing faith in democracy?
The Electoral Commission of Zambia delivered elections that saw Hakainde Hichilema become the new president in 2021 despite democratic backsliding under the ruling Patriotic Front.
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In the early 2000s, Jon Stewart perfected the art of ironic satire, playfully critiquing politicians, political institutions, the press and the public. What’s his role now?
Nasimjon Sharipov has not been seen in public since late February 2023.
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Steve Swerdlow, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The Central Asian nation has long figured among the ‘worst of the worst’ in regards to political and human rights. A new report shines light on cases of activists being seized and then going missing.
Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan loom over the people of Bishkek.
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Recent laws and pro-Putin sentiment by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov have sparked concern that the Central Asian country is backsliding on democracy.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during a meeting in the Oval Office on May 13, 2019, in Washington, D.C.
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One of Donald Trump’s favorite politicians is the Hungarian authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán. Would a country led again by Trump embrace similar antidemocratic politics?
Malaysian Islamists rally in favor of sharia law on Nov. 20, 2023.
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Tucker Carlson’s sycophantic interview with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and his subsequent praise for Russia’s subways, supermarkets and cheeseburgers, was not journalism. It was propaganda.
Protesters in El Salvador declare ‘Yes to democracy. No to authoritarianism’ during a demonstration on Jan. 14, 2024.
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The German population was transformed under Nazism into a “bystander society” – even before the conditions of wartime normalised acts of excessive violence.
Republican elites have embraced Trump as their leader.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
A second Trump presidency may be a danger to democracy, but that’s more to do with the Republican Party than Trump himself, researchers of authoritarianism explain.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele looks set to be reelected.
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Mass arrests and the suspension of constitutional rights have been a feature of President Nayib Bukele’s tenure. A fresh mandate from voters will likely entrench his hardline approach.