List of Authoritarianism articles
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People wearing black and holding up posters of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi mourn the death of the president at Valiasr Square in Tehran. Raisi’s Death Represents a Tipping Point for Iran
But it won’t change Tehran’s domestic or foreign policy.
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Orban stands before mics held up by journalists. Is ‘the Media’ Really Under Attack?
We need a new framework to understand how today’s autocrats control public opinion.
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Workers at a construction site of the new administrative capital of Egypt, an unfinished skyscraper is in the background. A Tale of Two Megalopolises
What new cities in Saudi Arabia and Egypt tell us about their autocrats.
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A woman wearing a dress with floral details and loose sleeves looks straight ahead. She is flanked by flags and statues of large cats in the background. ‘The Regime’ Misunderstands Autocracy
HBO’s new miniseries displays an undeniably American nonchalance toward power.
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A collage illustration shows half of the face of Joseph Stalin and half of the face of a larger Vladimir Putin alongside a star with a Z on top of it. Russia Is Back to the Stalinist Future
With a Soviet-style election, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has come full circle.
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Local residents listen to the Turkish President's speech next to his a banner with his portrait during a rally in the Beyoglu district on the eve of the presidential and parliamentary elections, on the European side of Istanbul, on May 13, 2023. Images) Local Elections Will Soon Decide Turkey’s Future
If Erdogan’s party wins back the country’s biggest cities, big shifts in Turkish politics could follow.
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People walks past traditional Russian matryoshka dolls portraying Russian and Soviet leaders (from L) Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Boris Yeltsin, Mikhail Gorbachev, Konstantin Chernenko, Vladimir Andropov, Leonid Brezhnev, Nikita Khrushchev, Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin displayed in a gift shop in downtown Moscow on Dec. 16, 2018. Soviet Succession Was Bad. America’s Is Worse.
Authoritarian elites often botch undemocratic transitions. Choosing to return Trump to office would be an own-goal of historic proportions.
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Protesters hold Taiwan’s flag as they confront supporters of Chinese President Xi Jinping during demonstrations at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. Beijing’s Blind Spot on Taiwan
China’s hard-line stance on reunification is fueling anxiety about lost freedoms and bolstering a distinct Taiwanese identity.
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The leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement, Ismail Haniyeh, shakes hands with Iranian Chief of Staff for the Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri and the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard force, General Hossein Salami, during the swearing in ceremony for Iran's new president at the parliament in the Islamic republic's capital Tehran on August 5, 2021. The 7 Reasons Iran Won’t Fight for Hamas
A close look at Tehran’s thinking about escalating the war in Gaza.
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An illustration of Imelda Marcos holding a parasol as she lounges on the sand, leaning on skulls, as shoes and palm fronts swirl around her. The Fabulous Mythmaking of Imelda Marcos
A new novel claws back history from a family that would otherwise have it disappear.
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Iranian students attend a parliament session in Tehran on November 15, 2009. Iran Is Doubling Down on Headscarves
One year after an uprising over women’s rights, the government has passed a harsh new hijab law.
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A group of police officers, wearing short-sleeved uniform shirts and matching hats, chat with each other as they stand on a sidewalk outside Hong Kong's High Court. Skyscrapers and a cloudy sky are visible behind the officers. Hong Kong’s Bureaucrats Don’t Make Good Authoritarians
Local officials are inflexible about implementing Beijing’s orders.
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A mural depicting Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s first supreme leader after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, is pictured as women walk along Enghelab Square in central Tehran on Sept. 10. Why Did Last Year’s Protest Movement in Iran Fail?
The supreme leader learned what not to do from the Shah.
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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022. The End of America’s Middle East
The region’s four major countries have all forfeited Washington’s trust.
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An illustration shows a figure laying down beneath the pavement, palms facing up, underneath a Russian tan with the word prisposoblenchestvo, referring to conformism, written in Cyrillic letters. Wartime Russians Fall Back on an Ancient Survival Strategy
Conformism and acquiescence have a long tradition in a culture of chaos and repression.
