World
Understanding China’s Current Real Estate Crisis
Over the past year, news agencies alleged that Chinese real estate developers operate as Ponzi schemes and are on the brink of collapse. This assertion demands sufficient evidence as such behavior may harbor financial crimes that, if exposed, could damage…
Coming Apart: Central Asia’s Shifting Ties with Russia
For 17 years, Joanna Lillis has worked in Kazakhstan as a journalist for publications like The Guardian and The Economist. She has become one of the foremost writers covering Central Asian affairs and is the author of a book on…
Neither Law Nor Justice: Poland’s Ruling Party Undermines Judicial Independence
In 2019, Poland’s state TV broadcaster, Telewizja Polska S.A. (TVP), accused Wojciech Sadurski of criminal defamation over a tweet. A dual citizen of Poland and Australia, Sadurski is Challis Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Sydney. In recent years,…
Safe and Sound: Understanding Crisis Preparedness in Finland
On February 24, much of Europe was shocked by the footage of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. But citizens of Finland have spent decades watching detailed videos about how their society would respond to a foreign military attack. The most…
The View From the Baltics: A Conversation with Ieva Ilves, Former First Lady of Estonia
Ieva Ilves is a cybersecurity expert and diplomat who serves as a digital policy advisor to Latvian President Egils Levits. She was the First Lady of Estonia during the presidency of her husband, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who served until 2016.
Kenya’s 2022 Presidential Election and the Future of Kenyan Democracy
In August 2022, the international community carefully watched as William Ruto was elected president of Kenya. Ethnic and socioeconomic cleavages, which reached their climax during the electoral contentions and violence of 1992, 1997, and 2007, led international spectators to observe…
The Dictator, the Church, and the CIA: What the Fall of Pinochet’s Regime in Chile Tells Us About Democracy Today
As governments in Iran, Russia, and China brutally crack down on dissent, overcoming authoritarianism seems like an increasingly insurmountable task for the masses. Once upon a time, Augusto Pinochet appeared to have a similarly unbreakable grip on Chilean society. With…
Reporting from Afghanistan: An Interview With Pulitzer Prize Winner Matthieu Aikins
Matthieu Aikins is a journalist and contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine who has been reporting on the ground from Afghanistan since 2008. In his 2022 book, The Naked Don’t Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan…