From Alfonso the Wise’s bawdy songs of slander to Ronald Reagan’s sunny smile, politics and humor have gone hand-in-hand for centuries. But no one seems to be laughing anymore.
These charges by Trump are more than just campaign rhetoric. They raise a central issue for democracy: the willingness of losers to comply with a decision reached via free and fair elections.
The major presidential candidates each gave an economic address this week. Get behind the problems they identified and the promises they made with this roundup of key coverage from our archive.
Trump revisited familiar themes during his economic address in Detroit and offered a few new ones. Two of our economic experts express their takeaways.
The Athenian politician Cleon was one of the earliest demagogues. An effective, if vulgar speaker, he made extravagant promises and delivered extravagant accusations.
The Trump campaign is adding groups of untapped, swing state voters to its Trump playbook. A political scientist examines whether the Amish vote in states like Pennsylvania and Ohio can be swung.
The first Renaissance struggled with the same doubts and uncertainties and blinding possibilities that we face today. Any gains we make will have to be achieved amid relentless shocks.
Richard Forno, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
With the DNC email leak and Trump calling on Russia to hack Clinton’s emails, concern about foreign meddling in the 2016 presidential election process is rising. Is e-voting the next cyber battleground?
A German culture scholar looks at how rising fear of terror and a week of violence has affected German media and politics. Will Germany’s open refugee policies last?
Professor in U.S. Politics and U.S. Foreign Relations at the United States Studies Centre and in the Discipline of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney