Issues gathers thematic collections of essays, reflections, interviews, and reports exploring contemporary challenges to democracy, human rights, political culture, and public life from diverse international perspectives.
Issues gathers thematic collections of essays, reflections, interviews, and reports exploring contemporary challenges to democracy, human rights, political culture, and public life from diverse international perspectives.
Today, I want to talk about the word democracy—a term we think we know and even believe in, but we don’t always take a moment to consider what it truly implies and what it should mean to us. In its simplest terms, democracy can be defined as “rule by the people.” But when we look at this definition, it is quite vague. If you were to build a …
In confrontation with the democratic crisis in South Korea, I would like to talk about two forms of politics: the politics of cynicism and the politics of hope. The politics of cynicism tries to make people believe that active participation of ordinary citizens are useless, meaningless, and not effective in democratic societies. It argues that politics is work for a few elites – politicians, representatives and the so-called …
Photo credit: Badri Okujava. Introduction: A Nation at the Edge Georgia stands at a pivotal moment in its modern history. Since late October this year, protests against the government’s suppression of the opposition, election rigging, and suspension of the country’s EU membership talks have evolved into nationwide outrage resisting the authoritarian regime imposed by the Georgian Dream (GD) party. Unlike previous demonstrations, such as those opposing the Russian-style …
Photo: “President Donald J. Trump, joined by the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford and Acting Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper, watches an aircraft flyover during his remarks at the Salute to America event Thursday, July 4, 2019, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks).” The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. I am …
Photo: “Supporters of former President of the United States Donald Trump at an Arizona for Trump rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.,” Aug. 2024. Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons As the evidence that Donald J. Trump poses a mortal threat to constitutional democracy in America became stronger the political and electoral power against him became weaker. …
On the morning after our catastrophic elections in 2016, I wrote an open letter to a Polish friend: “We have to acknowledge that an enormous part of the American electorate wanted this fascist. I’ve never been especially patriotic, I’ve always felt more like a rootless cosmopolitan, but these elections have broken my heart.” At the time, eight years ago, many people felt that the description “fascist” was overly …
Following the 2023 general and 2024 local elections, the election frenzy in Turkey has subsided, with the next national decision point slated for 2028, when President Erdoğan’s current term will expire. Over more than two decades, Erdoğan’s rule has further weakened Turkey’s already fragile and largely undemocratic institutions. Through strategic institutional gerrymandering, Erdoğan has consolidated his power, reshaping political and legal systems to ensure his dominance. While Turkey’s …
Growing up in France, I remember Jean-Marie Le Pen’s National Front branded as nothing short of an extreme right-wing party. It was crass: the epitome of racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, and outright stupidity. It was dubbed the party of the uneducated working class, looked down upon by a condescending privileged class. This elite could afford to pontificate on the white man’s burden to welcome the wretched of the earth …
The image of Palestinians is one tainted by the misrepresentations rampant throughout the media. Palestinians have long been underrepresented and misunderstood, both in the media and in policy discussions. Despite their long history of struggle, they are still oftentimes portrayed in a negative light with their actions heavily scrutinized. This is a result of the misconceptions regarding their history and their movements. These misconceptions primarily stem from a …
Israel, often referred to as the region’s “only functioning democracy,” seems to be disintegrating in front of our eyes and the eyes of the rest of the world. The Israel-Palestine conflict became a torrential storm of bullets, bombs, and horror over the past four months, attracting global attention. While the country fractures from grief, its political unity is also under increased stress. In recent weeks, for the first …
