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.
Croatia Is Abusing Migrants While the EU Turns a Blind Eye
The evidence of Croatian police violence toward migrants is overwhelming, but Brussels continues to praise and fund Zagreb for patrolling the European Union’s longest external land border.
France’s Strike Could Last for Days
As French public sector workers walk out, what happens next depends on who gives in first: the unions or the government.
Socialism’s Biggest Hero Is a Bourgeois British Capitalist
John Maynard Keynes felt little solidarity for workers and inspired a century of establishment economics. The West’s revived socialists have adopted him as their own anyway.
Will Trump Label Mexican Cartels Terrorist Groups?
The U.S. attorney general visits Mexico City today to discuss the country’s rising violence.
Is Canada Violating Its Constitution by Sending Refugees Back to the United States?
A federal court case could stop Ottawa from treating the United States as a safe third country due to the Trump administration’s harsh policies toward asylum-seekers.
Rafael Grossi Isn’t America’s—or Iran’s, or North Korea’s—Man
The new head of the IAEA was the United States’ preferred candidate. But, as global tensions rise, he quickly needs to prove his independence.
Can Culture, Not Blood, Make You Italian?
A new generation of students raised and schooled in Italy are pushing to reform outdated citizenship laws that reward those with Italian bloodlines rather than people who have lived in the country all their lives.
With the Help of Russian Fighters, Libya’s Haftar Could Take Tripoli
But Russian aid will come at a cost.
What Trump Gets Right About Alliances
The president is correct to call the bluff of rich allies who free-ride on U.S. military might.
Iran Goes on the Offensive in Iraq
Tehran funnels in missiles while Trump reportedly mulls a big increase in U.S. troops.
Galleries
A Week in World Photos
Migrants in Bosnia, a swan roundup in Germany, and protests in Bolivia, Zimbabwe, and Hong Kong.
30 Years Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Celebration and uncertainty in Germany as communism crumbled on Nov. 9, 1989.
Why Trade Wars Are Inevitable
Trump’s trade wars aren’t just about him or China—but global economic imbalances that the next U.S. administration will still have to address.
The Internet Broke the News Industry—and Can Fix It, Too
The only way to save journalism is to make readers direct participants in making, and paying for, the media.
Repent for Your Frequent Flyer Miles!
Feeling guilty for the carbon burned on your last flight? The Germans have a word for that.
The Women Who Shaped Obama’s Foreign Policy
Two new memoirs by Samantha Power and Susan Rice show how idealists became insiders—and what was lost along the way.