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picture alliance / Anadolu | Zed Jameson

Democracy and society

Cuba has its back against the wall

As fuel runs dry in Havana, Trump’s blockade risks humanitarian disaster and a dangerous new normal

By Bert Hoffmann

picture alliance / PAP | Pawe³ Supernak

Democracy and society

The pendulum swings back

The Tusk government has made Poland the security anchor of Europe. How long will the pro-EU course last?

By Maria Skóra

picture alliance / SZ Photo | Mike Schmidt

Democracy and society

What progressives must relearn

Freedom is not the absence of constraints, but the collective capacity to shape what comes next

By Claes-Mikael Ståhl

picture alliance / TASS | Kristina Kormilitsyna

Democracy and society

The state that war built

Battlefield success, innovative technology and plans for future warfare mean little if the Kremlin cannot guarantee its own political stability

By Emily Ferris

picture alliance / empics | James Manning

Democracy and society

The end of the boys’ club

The Epstein affair is putting pressure on Keir Starmer. For now, the British prime minister remains in power — but for how long?

By Michèle Auga

picture alliance / Anadolu | Mohamad Daboul

Democracy and society

Syria’s unfinished peace

The latest settlement promises order after chaos. But stability will be fragile unless governance is inclusive and part of a genuine transition

By Hozan Ibrahim

picture alliance / Sipa USA | SOPA Images

Democracy and society

The limits of a fresh start

Bangladesh’s upcoming election tests whether the post-Hasina moment can deliver real political change — or just new versions of the old

By David Bergman

picture alliance / ZUMAPRESS.com | Michael Brochstein

Democracy and society

The allure of darkness

Mann argued that the success of demagogues depends less on strategic brilliance than on favourable circumstances and, above all, a lack of resistance

By Grzegorz Kwiatkowski

pa / reuters | Raquel Cunha

Democracy and society

Costa Rica is not an outlier, but a warning sign

Yesterday’s election marks the start of an authoritarian transformation, legitimised by a democratic mandate

By Daniel Mann

picture alliance / NurPhoto | Klaudia Radecka

Democracy and society

Diversity or decline?

Against the European trend, Spain aims to legalise half a million migrants. A strategic step to secure the country’s economic and demographic future

By Antón Gómez-Reino Varela