Authoritarianism

List of Authoritarianism articles

  • A woman sits in front of a riot police cordon after a standoff during a demonstration against Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic outside the presidential building in Belgrade, on March 17, 2019.
    A woman sits in front of a riot police cordon after a standoff during a demonstration against Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic outside the presidential building in Belgrade, on March 17, 2019.

    Serbia’s Protests Aren’t the Beginning of a Balkan Spring

    Demonstrations against Aleksandar Vucic’s authoritarian government won’t achieve anything until the opposition can present a coherent alternative.

  • Several hundred white supremacists carrying tiki torches march through the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville on Aug. 11, 2017. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
    Several hundred white supremacists carrying tiki torches march through the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville on Aug. 11, 2017. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

    Neo-Nazis Bet Big on Bitcoin (And Lost)

    How the far-right's failed cryptocurrency gamble became a bad joke for the Christchurch killer.

  • Mourners gather outside the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia after a 28-year-old Australian-born man, Brenton Tarrant, appeared in Christchurch District Court on Saturday charged with murder for killing 49 people at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attack is the worst mass shooting in New Zealand's history.
    Mourners gather outside the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia after a 28-year-old Australian-born man, Brenton Tarrant, appeared in Christchurch District Court on Saturday charged with murder for killing 49 people at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attack is the worst mass shooting in New Zealand's history.

    The Inspiration for Terrorism in New Zealand Came From France

    The gunman who massacred Muslims was inspired by ideas that have circulated for decades on the French far-right.

  • An Algerian man holds the national flag during a demonstration in the center of the capital Algiers on March 11, after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his withdrawal from a bid to win another term in office and postponed an April 18 election, following weeks of protests.
    An Algerian man holds the national flag during a demonstration in the center of the capital Algiers on March 11, after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his withdrawal from a bid to win another term in office and postponed an April 18 election, following weeks of protests.

    The Fight for Freedom in Algeria Isn’t Finished

    The 82-year-old Abdelaziz Bouteflika has pledged to step down, but the protesters’ victory won’t be complete without a genuine democratic transition.

  • Ballot papers for Turkey’s presidential election are seen at a polling station in Istanbul on Aug. 10, 2014. (Ahmet Bolat/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
    Ballot papers for Turkey’s presidential election are seen at a polling station in Istanbul on Aug. 10, 2014. (Ahmet Bolat/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

    The Evolution of the Strongman

    Why authoritarians have grown more liberal as democracies have grown more authoritarian.

  • الجزائريين يحتجون على ترشح بوتفليقة في الجزائر اليوم الجمعة ١ مارس.
    الجزائريين يحتجون على ترشح بوتفليقة في الجزائر اليوم الجمعة ١ مارس.

    الربيع العربي لم ينته بعد

    روح الربيع العربي لا تزال مستمرة كما أظهرت الاحتجاجات الكبيرة في الجزائر والسودان.

  • Alessandro Mahmoud, who goes by Mahmood, on stage during the first night of the 69th Sanremo Music Festival in Sanremo, Italy, on Feb. 5. (Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images)
    Alessandro Mahmoud, who goes by Mahmood, on stage during the first night of the 69th Sanremo Music Festival in Sanremo, Italy, on Feb. 5. (Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images)

    According to Italy’s Leaders, Rap Music Is Un-Italian

    When a rapper named Alessandro Mahmoud won the country’s most prestigious music contest, xenophobic leaders quickly took advantage of his victory to open a new front in the culture war.

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban  (left) in the Raoul Wallenberg memorial garden of Budapest synagogue in Budapest on July 19, 2017. (Peter Kohalmi/AFP/Getty Images)
    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (left) in the Raoul Wallenberg memorial garden of Budapest synagogue in Budapest on July 19, 2017. (Peter Kohalmi/AFP/Getty Images)

    Why Benjamin Netanyahu Loves the European Far-Right

    Recent spats aside, Israel’s right-wing government sees the illiberal nationalist leaders of Poland and Hungary as natural allies. They share a hostility toward human rights, Enlightenment values, and the European Union.

  • A member of staff poses for a photograph at a workspace in the National Cyber Security Centre on Feb. 14, 2017 in London, England. (Carl Court/Getty Images)
    A member of staff poses for a photograph at a workspace in the National Cyber Security Centre on Feb. 14, 2017 in London, England. (Carl Court/Getty Images)

    How to Regulate the Internet Without Becoming a Dictator

    The British model of filtering data rather than content can protect citizens while preserving an open internet.

  • French president Emmanuel Macron (L) and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) take part in an official diner at the Al Massah hotel, in Cairo, on Jan. 28, 2019.
    French president Emmanuel Macron (L) and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) take part in an official diner at the Al Massah hotel, in Cairo, on Jan. 28, 2019.

    Western Leaders Are Promoting Dictatorship, Not Democracy, in Egypt

    Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Cairo and Donald Trump’s cheerleading have bolstered Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as he faces popular protest over his latest power grab.

  • Supporters of the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) attend a ceremony marking the seventh anniversary of the presidential plane crash in Smolensk, Russia in front of the presidential palace in Warsaw, on April 10, 2017. Then-Polish President Lech Kaczynski the twin brother of PiS's figurehead, Jaroslaw Kaczynski—was among those who died in the crash on April 10, 2010.
    Supporters of the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) attend a ceremony marking the seventh anniversary of the presidential plane crash in Smolensk, Russia in front of the presidential palace in Warsaw, on April 10, 2017. Then-Polish President Lech Kaczynski the twin brother of PiS's figurehead, Jaroslaw Kaczynski—was among those who died in the crash on April 10, 2010.

    Poland’s Historical Revisionism Is Pushing It Into Moscow’s Arms

    The country doesn’t need an openly pro-Russian political party. Its own government’s attempts to rewrite Polish history play directly into Vladimir Putin’s hands.

  • A man waves a French flag next to an Italian flag, as other protesters wearing a yellow vest demonstrate on December 22, 2018, in Ventimiglia near the French-Italian border.
    A man waves a French flag next to an Italian flag, as other protesters wearing a yellow vest demonstrate on December 22, 2018, in Ventimiglia near the French-Italian border.

    Italy’s Populists Have Lost Their Luster. They’re Looking to France to Win It Back.

    Five Star used to be a protest movement; now it’s the establishment. By bashing Emmanuel Macron and embracing the yellow vest uprising, it’s hoping to restore its radical credentials.

  • Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban shake hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, July 19, 2018.
    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban shake hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, Israel, July 19, 2018.

    Theodor Herzl Was Willing to Tolerate Europe’s Far-Right. Should Israel’s Leaders Do the Same?

    Shunning populist parties won’t make Jews safer. Engaging with them is a matter of realpolitik, and Israel should focus on contemporary threats, not those of the past.

  • U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 30, 2018.
    U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 30, 2018.

    Trump and May Are Discrediting Democracy

    Chaos and dysfunction in Washington and London make liberal democratic government look bad—and embolden China and Russia to market authoritarianism as an efficient alternative.

  • A migrant rides a bike past greenhouses on January 14, 2019. In southern Spain, the far-right party Vox has attracted farmers with its pledge to deport illegal workers.
    A migrant rides a bike past greenhouses on January 14, 2019. In southern Spain, the far-right party Vox has attracted farmers with its pledge to deport illegal workers.

    Spanish Nationalists Hate Separatists, Not Immigrants

    Spain has long resisted the rise of the far-right, because Basque and Catalan separatism animated nationalist passions—but the rise of Vox in Andalusia shows that the country is not immune from xenophobic politics.

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