Increasingly, opposition actors in settings undergoing democratic backsliding have been able to unseat anti-democratic incumbents. But unseating an anti-democra

The betting markets favour the US president and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But the most vital work to secure peace is being done by those far from the spotlight, says Haakon Gjerløw, acting director of the ...

A new Afrobarometer report details how civic rights and media freedom fall short of citizens’ demands.

How elections spread, voting rights expanded, and political competition developed around the world over the last two centuries.

Smarter aid won’t undo the damage of cuts. Improving service delivery won’t solve the macroeconomic constraints to inclusive growth. But if we focus on what works and keep it simple, we can still make...

Whether holding anti-democratic leaders accountable strengthens or weakens democracy remains one of the unresolved questions in contemporary debates about democ

Confessions of a naive hamster: why the smartest people in the room keep missing that intelligence is often not the main bottleneck in the real world

Farewell to the monoculture

We survey research on the relationship between democracy and the environment. The first part of our review examines how democratic systems influence environmental outcomes. Scholars have found, at bes...

The real lessons of Orban’s defeat.

The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee is discussing changes to the rules on which countries are eligible to receive ODA. Any line that the OECD picks will be arbitrary, because there is no clear...

How does the level of sophistication in political messages affect citizens? While research has examined how politicians use this element to distinguish themselves, little is known about how it resonat...

Geocoded Official Development Assistance Dataset

Viktor Orbán election defeat last month stunned many people. But in truth it’s not uncommon for would-be autocrats to lose at the ballot box. It’s a more hopeful picture than many people realize.

This timely book challenges seven widespread misconceptions about democracy that continue to shape public and academic debates about its past, present, and

evidence and argument for a developing world

Cuba is facing a historic electricity crisis. Blackouts have gotten worse, and on some days the entire island is plunged into near total darkness.

Global freedom declined for the 20th consecutive year in 2025. But even in this especially challenging moment, there are reasons for optimism.