Democracy
Mark Rutte’s Government Collapsed Over Migration. Sometimes Compromise Is What Keeps Democracy Working. Sometimes Refusing It Does.
The Dutch government collapsed on Friday after the four parties governing the Netherlands failed to reach an agreement over migration policy. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who has led the country since 2010, will remain in…
India and America Are Getting Closer. That Does Not Mean India Is Becoming an American Ally.
Narendra Modi will travel to Washington this week for a state visit hosted by President Joe Biden, including a state dinner and an address to a joint meeting of the US Congress. The ceremony will…
India Has Built a New Parliament. The More Important Question Is What Parliament Is Supposed to Represent.
India inaugurated a new Parliament building last Sunday. The triangular complex stands beside the old circular Parliament House constructed during British rule and will eventually become the principal physical home of the world’s largest representative…
Turkey Is Holding a Real Election. That Does Not Mean the Playing Field Is Level.
Tens of millions of Turks voted today in an election that may determine whether Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s two decades at the centre of Turkish politics continue. Erdoğan first became prime minister in 2003 and later…
Sudan’s Democratic Transition Was Supposed to Transfer Power to Civilians. The Men With the Guns Never Really Transferred Theirs.
Heavy fighting erupted across Sudan yesterday between the country’s regular armed forces and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Gunfire and explosions have been reported across Khartoum, while fighting has occurred around airports, military installations…
Nigeria Has Voted. The Harder Task Is Convincing Nigerians That Their Votes Became the Result.
More than 93 million Nigerians were registered to vote yesterday in an election that could reshape the politics of Africa’s most populous country. Eighteen candidates contested the presidency, but three dominated the campaign: Bola Ahmed…
India Blocked a BBC Documentary About Modi. The Argument Is Now About More Than the Documentary.
The BBC’s two-part documentary India: The Modi Question examines Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political career, particularly his tenure as chief minister of Gujarat during the communal violence of 2002, when more than a thousand people…
Jacinda Ardern Is Resigning. Perhaps Knowing When to Leave Is Part of Governing Well.
Jacinda Ardern announced on Thursday that she will resign as prime minister of New Zealand after more than five years in office. Her explanation was unusually personal. She said that leading a country requires having…
Lula Is President Again. Brazil’s Institutions Did Not Need Bolsonaro’s Permission.
Twenty years after first entering the presidency, twelve years after leaving it, and after a political journey that included corruption investigations, imprisonment, the annulment of his convictions and an extraordinary return to electoral politics, Lula…
Peru Stopped Castillo’s Attempt to Break the Constitution. That Does Not Give the New Government Unlimited Power to Defend It.
Last week, I argued that Peru’s institutions were right to stop Pedro Castillo when he attempted to dissolve Congress and govern by decree. A democratically elected president does not acquire the right to destroy constitutional…
Pedro Castillo Was Democratically Elected. That Did Not Give Him the Right to Dissolve Democracy.
Peru had a president on Wednesday morning. By Wednesday evening, that president had attempted to dissolve Congress, been impeached, arrested and replaced by his vice-president. The speed of the collapse makes the sequence almost difficult…
Inflation Was Supposed to Decide the Midterms. American Voters Had Other Things on Their Minds.
American voters went to the polls on Tuesday in an election that was widely expected to punish President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party. Inflation remains unusually high, petrol and food prices have placed substantial…
