List of Theory articles
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Taika Waititi and Roman Griffin Davis in the 2019 film Jojo Rabbit. Fascists Know How to Turn Mockery Into Power
Satirists who mean to cut down fascists can end up boosting their ideas.
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President of Belarus Alexandr Lukashenko wipes his face as he gives a speech during a rally of his supporters in Independence Square in Minsk on Aug. 16. Lukashenko’s Fall Is Happening Hard and Fast
The Belarusian dictator bet everything on force. Now he's becoming a dangerous joke.
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Demonstrators gather on 16th Street across from Lafayette Park while protesting peacefully against police brutality and racism on June 6 in Washington, DC. Why Protests Threaten Dictatorships but Make Democracies Stronger
Democracies have greater legitimacy because citizens largely support the system and its institutions. Dictatorships rely on performance—and they fail when they don’t produce results.
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Anne Applebaum in Udine, Italy, on Jan. 26, 2019. The Tragic Romance of the Nostalgic Western Liberal
Anne Applebaum wants to understand rising illiberalism but is clinging to a Cold War moral framework that no longer applies.
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U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres meets Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2018. China’s Soft-Power Grab
Beijing is ramping up support for U.N. and a host of other international organizations, racking up more influence even as Washington is in headlong retreat.
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A person wearing a QAnon T-shirt takes part in a rally in Brooklyn, New York, on Aug. 9. QAnon Destroys Lives. Now It’s Coming for Congress.
It’s hard—but possible—to save people from the conspiracy theory’s grip.
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The pro-democracy media tycoon and Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai is escorted by police on Aug. 11, after being arrested in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Police Mix Colonial and Communist Brutality
As Beijing cracks down, it turns to familiar tools of repression.
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U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping Washington Needs a Better Plan for Competing With China
U.S. China policy is heavy on rhetoric and light on goals. Articulating a clear set of objectives—from trade to defense—will help policymakers focus their efforts.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin talks to his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev in Baku, Azerbaijan in December 2003. Putin Is Ruling Russia Like a Central Asian Dictator
The Kremlin didn’t invent term limit resets and constitutional referendums. The autocratic leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan blazed the trail.
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Police officers stand guard outside the headquarters of Russia's Federal Security Services (FSB) in central Moscow on July 7, 2020. Putin’s Security Forces Are Increasingly Unsure About Putin
Anti-government protests are growing, and the Kremlin doesn’t have stormtroopers willing to mount a crackdown.
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An Al-Jazeera channel's journalist stands inside the defendants cage with his colleagues during their trial for allegedly supporting the Muslim Brotherhood at Cairo's Tora prison on March 22, 2014. Arab Dictators Are Learning to Love Collective Punishment
Middle Eastern regimes increasingly aren’t just targeting dissidents—they’re going after their entire families.
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Coal heavers wear sandwich boards to protest against low wages in 1921. When Everything Is a Crisis, Nothing Is
Invoking crisis is a favorite tactic of dictators—and widespread misuse of the word robs it of its power.
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Policemen march in front of the U.S. consulate in Chengdu, China on July 26. The Chengdu mission was ordered shut in retaliation for the forced closure of Beijing's consulate in Houston, Texas. Is This the Beginning of a New Cold War With China?
The clash between Washington and Beijing could be the start of a new ideological confrontation—or the inevitable fallout from a power transition.
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Reenactors dressed as Greek hoplites attack Persians during an event to commemorate the 2,500-year anniversary of the Battle of Marathon in Marathon, Greece, on Sept. 10, 2011. Oh God, Not the Peloponnesian War Again
Western strategists need to learn some new history. Here are eight suggestions from Asia.
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Freight trucks arrive at the Port of Dover before departing by cross-channel ferry in Dover on the south coast of England on July 12. How to Deglobalize
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, politicians are calling for a rethinking of global supply chains. If they are serious, they’ll need to proceed carefully.
