About Democracy Lab
Democracy Lab is Foreign Policy's home for coverage of transitions to democracy, published in partnership with the Legatum Institute. Democracy Lab also runs Transitions, a blog featuring on-the-ground coverage of transitioning countries.
Editor, Christian Caryl
Assistant Editor, Ilya Lozovsky
Learn more about Democracy Lab here.
The Wuhan Coronavirus: A Tentative Clinical Profile
Studies are starting to form a picture of how the virus kills, spreads, and may be stopped.
Our Top Weekend Reads
Wuhan faces quarantine as coronavirus spreads, Imran Khan discusses China, and Trump picks up Ukraine conspiracy theory.
In Historic Impeachment Trial, Democrats May Have Talked Too Much
The House managers delivered a powerful case that Trump abused his office, but many Americans are tuning out—and almost no Republican votes have changed.
The Wuhan Virus: How to Stay Safe
As China’s epidemic continues to spread, things may seem scary. Here are ten simple precautions that can protect you from contracting the coronavirus.
How to Tell What’s Really Happening With the Wuhan Virus
China struggles with a fast-moving outbreak, as the authorities move to cut off unauthorized information.
Welcome to the Belt and Road Pandemic
There’s one difference between the Wuhan virus and previous outbreaks in the region: China is now impossible to quarantine.
Iran Has a Bitcoin Strategy to Beat Trump
As the United States expands its sanctions, Iran has been ramping up its use of cryptocurrencies to get around them.
Italy’s Sardines Want to Stop Matteo Salvini. They Might End Up Strengthening Him.
By depicting the far-right League leader as a villain, a grassroots movement calling for civility in politics could help hand the leftist stronghold of Emilia-Romagna to the right.
The Greenback Needs a Digital Makeover
To preserve the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency, the United States can’t let China get ahead on cryptocurrency.
Pakistan’s Secret Weapon Against Polio
Female health workers and religious leaders are driving up the country’s dangerously low vaccination rates.
Galleries
A Week in World Photos
Protests in Lebanon and Chile, cleanup in the Philippines and Puerto Rico, and impeachment in the United States.
Otherworldly Photos of the Australian Bushfires
Deadly blazes have swept the country amid record heat, killing more than 20 people and millions of animals and leaving behind a charred, apocalyptic landscape.
In the Magazine
In the Magazine
Can Social Democrats Save the World (Again)?
Communism and democratic socialism won’t heal today’s political divisions. But social democracy—which helped ward off extremism following World War II—could.
Why Socialism Won’t Work
Capitalism is still the best way to handle risk and boost innovation and productivity.
How Climate Change Has Supercharged the Left
Global warming could launch socialists to unprecedented power—and expose their movement’s deepest contradictions.
Why the Berlin Wall Still Matters
Fragments of the wall have become museum pieces. But with the rise of extremist parties in Germany, the debate over the barrier’s legacy is anything but history.