Why Opening Economies Can Increase Repression
The current state of democracy in the world is fragile. According to the V-Dem Project, which measures global democracy, 41% of the world’s population live in autocratizing countries — that is, those becoming more authoritarian. In fact, a “third wave of autocratization” has seen democracy pushed back to levels not seen since 1978, the authors
Why Opening Economies Can Increase Repression
The current state of democracy in the world is fragile. According to the V-Dem Project, which measures global democracy, 41% of the world’s population live in autocratizing countries — that is, those becoming more authoritarian. In fact, a “third wave of autocratization” has seen democracy pushed back to levels not seen since 1978, the authors
Why Autocracies Grow Repressive When Economies Open
The current state of democracy in the world is fragile. According to the V-Dem Project, which measures global democracy, 41% of the world’s population live in autocratizing countries — that is, those becoming more authoritarian. In fact, a “third wave of autocratization” has seen democracy pushed back to levels not seen since 1978, the authors
Why opening economies can increase autocratic repression
The current state of democracy in the world is fragile. According to the V-Dem Project, which measures global democracy, 41% of the world’s population live in autocratizing countries — that is, those becoming more authoritarian. In fact, a “third wave of autocratization” has seen democracy pushed back to levels not seen since 1978, the authors
When Opening Economies Makes Autocracies More Repressive
The current state of democracy in the world is fragile. According to the V-Dem Project, which measures global democracy, 41% of the world’s population live in autocratizing countries — that is, those becoming more authoritarian. In fact, a “third wave of autocratization” has seen democracy pushed back to levels not seen since 1978, the authors
When opening markets makes autocracies harsher
The current state of democracy in the world is fragile. According to the V-Dem Project, which measures global democracy, 41% of the world’s population live in autocratizing countries — that is, those becoming more authoritarian. In fact, a “third wave of autocratization” has seen democracy pushed back to levels not seen since 1978, the authors
Blocking Hormuz: A Global Logistics and Humanitarian Crisis
The current architecture of international relations faces a profound, non-linear crisis that extends far beyond the traditional boundaries of regional military conflict. The ongoing military escalation in the Middle East — particularly around the region’s key maritime chokepoints, the Suez Canal, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Strait of Hormuz — is exposing deep material
Why the US economy keeps growing despite Trump’s shocks
The US economy is continuing to grow faster and generate more new jobs than Europe. Annual national income growth over the past five years has averaged 3.3% in the US against 2.6% in the EU. In the first quarter of 2026, the EU’s GDP was just 0.7% higher than a year before, while that of
Why the US Economy Keeps Growing Despite Political Shocks
The US economy is continuing to grow faster and generate more new jobs than Europe. Annual national income growth over the past five years has averaged 3.3% in the US against 2.6% in the EU. In the first quarter of 2026, the EU’s GDP was just 0.7% higher than a year before, while that of
Why Western Analysis Misreads Russia
In early June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published an open letter to Vladimir Putin proposing a face-to-face meeting to end a war now in its fifth year. Putin’s reply was that talks were pointless unless Ukrainian forces first withdrew from Russian-occupied territory and Kyiv dropped its bid to join NATO. It was a small exchange