Democracy and political participation

As Trump and Netanyahu fall out over Iran war – and how to end it – the Israeli prime minister is caught between US pressure and domestic opinion ahead of crucial elections.

Iván Cepeda and Abelardo de la Espriella represent opposite ends of the political spectrum. But neither appear to have the solutions to Colombia’s problems.

Political protests by the young have swept the world – but do they feel they are making a difference? To find out, Chatham House canvassed Common Futures Conversations, its global community of under-30s.

Our guests discuss issues surrounding President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s constitutional amendments and possible ways out of the political impasse they created.

New governments in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka have popular mandates for change. But governance is proving challenging.

The Keiko-Sánchez contest in this Sunday’s runoff election could tip the country into a deeper crisis. 

Ethiopia will hold elections on 1 June amid persistent instability and simmering regional tensions.

Beyond the drama of two rival populists, it is crime policy that may swing Brazil’s October election.

Most Israelis support continued conflict with Iran and Hezbollah. But polls show fewer believe in the government’s ability to deliver victory.

Péter Magyar and his Tisza party have won a landslide victory, ending 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s rule. But to what extent voters have also rejected Orbán’s model remains to be seen.

Perhaps, but change will not mean transformation.

The changes will cement Tokayev’s grip on power and could cause tensions with the West as Kazakhstan seeks to emulate the state-led economies of China and the Gulf.

Young people are playing a leading role in the election that they made happen. But they may struggle to translate protest fervour into concrete policy change.

Our analysts discuss the challenges facing Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Bangladesh’s long-awaited election is being shaped by new political forces and intensified information warfare.

The surprise return of the controversial former leader has revealed that Iraq is still a US–Iran battleground.

Amid calls for the international community to ‘unequivocally reject’ the election results, only two real options remain: accept the status quo or engage with the military.

Netanyahu’s government will seek to show strength in the West Bank, but a draft bill poses a looming crisis – as does an investigation into the cross-border attacks of 2023.

The core premise of a local technocratic committee supported by international and regional stakeholders is not unorthodox. But the undefined responsibilities don’t bode well.

Africa can no longer rely on intermittent international attention to safeguard peace, democracy and economic resilience.

Pressure to deliver economic improvement for young people – and questions over his succession – will define the president’s seventh term if he wins as expected.

As the Trump administration enters its crucial second year, polls indicate that much of the American public disapproves of the president and his flagship policies, although views are split along partisan lines.

In the country’s first electoral test since Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power, a continuing cycle of ‘revenge politics’ and economic instability dampen hopes for democratic reform, writes James Orr.

The new director of Chatham House’s Africa Programme on the day a former Nigerian President ended up in a police van outside the institute, what the world can learn from African solidarity and the growing power of Afrobeats music.

Hopes that reform of Iraq’s political system would be possible from within have been dashed by the poor electoral performance of candidates associated with the Tishreen protest movement.

Once envied for its political stability, Tanzania is forever changed after the election day killings of protesters. The government’s diversion of blame risks compounding the damage ahead of more planned demonstrations.

The new bill gives Pakistan’s army and army chief unprecedented powers. It could also have serious implications for regional tensions and fan the flames of border insurgencies.

Hasina’s conviction, and a referendum on a roadmap of reforms, could open the door to a new multipolar role for Bangladesh.

The controversial re-election of 92-year-old President Paul Biya for an eighth term has sparked protests in Cameroon. The failure to prepare a constitutional transition plan risks further destabilizing the country.

This episode discusses the lead-up to Tanzania’s election and the long-term future for the country.

The success of the US plan for a peaceful and prosperous Venezuela hinges on establishing and sustaining an effective, independent judicial system, and improving protection of private property, contract rights and human rights.

As Venezuela adjusts to the post-Maduro era, calls for elections are growing among the opposition and foreign governments. The urgent question is how to act quickly enough to take advantage of the new political situation without neglecting the unavoidably complex political and institutional preparatory reforms essential for ensuring credible elections.

Using the 2025 Chatham House survey of Ukrainian civil society organizations, this research paper explores how the state, communities, citizens and external donors can cooperate in Ukraine’s reconstruction.

Corruption has caused a crisis of trust in Nigeria’s institutions and society at large. Bringing together reformers across sectors can help change underlying social norms that perpetuate corruption, thus supporting meaningful action against it.

Peru has the potential to play a major role in supply chains for the global energy transition. But its fractured politics is holding it back. Broad-based, inclusive dialogues between government, civil society and private sector interests are essential to build a more equitable and sustainable mining economy.

Corruption is a persistent problem in Nigeria’s judicial system and public procurement. This paper presents survey data on public attitudes, and explores how these can be harnessed to drive anti-corruption efforts forward.

The sustained backing of reform-minded officials within Iraq, alongside durable support from international stakeholders, will be essential to fostering an environment in which young political and civil society actors and entrepreneurs can work together to overcome systemic barriers to change.

Tanzania’s rising economic influence and its ambitions for major cross-border infrastructure projects demand a more proactive approach to foreign policy. The policy review currently under way is a chance for the country to reach its potential as a regional leader and reliable global partner.

For Western governments, India’s status as the world’s largest democracy is one of the key pillars for engagement with New Delhi, even though India rarely uses democracy promotion as an overt tool of its foreign policy. There is potential, too, for an erosion of India’s democratic credentials to limit the scope for cooperation in particularly sensitive areas, and to raise questions about India’s claim to offer a worldview that is non-Western but not explicitly anti-Western.

This paper explores how mechanisms nominally designed to deliver democratic and accountable governance in Iraq often fail to do so in practice. It offers a plan to tackle the problem by connecting and mobilizing networks of reformers across state and society.

Political settlements in Iraq, Lebanon and Libya have long relied on deals between elites to ensure ‘stability’, but the resulting power-sharing systems fuel corruption and have led to disastrous governance failings. To improve the daily lives of citizens under these settlements, international policymakers must focus on increasing the accountability of elites.

Civic freedoms and space are critical to stable, profitable and sustainable business environments. But investor awareness remains limited.

How might a post-Putin Russia look to the outside world? Duncan Allan presents some potential outcomes based on a scenario of a Russian defeat in Ukraine.

To reinvigorate multilateral human rights diplomacy and overcome the challenge of US–China polarization, powerful states must engage with innovative ideas and new leadership emerging from the Global South.

Belarus – seen as a ‘vassal state’ of Russia – presents challenges for Western policymakers seeking to end repressions and support its pro-democracy movement.

This paper explores the ever-shifting identity and political strategy of Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and offers a sociological analysis of his voter base.

From the international through to the local level, inclusive approaches are needed to ensure effective governance of forests and promote the sustainable use of land.

How increasing economic and political inequality and the ‘depoliticization’ of economic policymaking, through technocratic management insulated from national-level parliamentary scrutiny, have contributed to the crisis of democracy in Europe.

Nigeria’s young democracy has been undermined by corruption in the form of vote markets. Using survey evidence, this paper examines the drivers of vote-selling.

Populist partisanship remains a feature of South Korean politics, but is the country really in the grip of ‘democratic decay’?

Political and religious elites are increasingly capturing Iraq’s cultural heritage for sectarian and commercial purposes, reducing its role as a public good and further dividing Iraqi society.

The UK’s current approach to anti-kleptocracy damages its rule of law, its standing as an opponent of international corruption and the integrity of important domestic institutions.

This paper examines why successive updates to Iraq’s electoral laws have failed to reform the dynamics of government formation.

This paper examines why some Nigerian parents, often acting against their own beliefs, pay bribes to ensure their children’s exam success.

The resilience of Ukraine’s system of crony capitalism is the underlying obstacle to the development of fully functioning democratic institutions and rule of law, writes John Lough

For Hezbollah, having hybrid status is ideal for maintaining its objective of possessing and exercising power without responsibility to the Lebanese people, writes Lina Khatib.

Corruption has led to the near collapse of the state in Lebanon. While the introduction of legal measures to tackle this issue is a positive step, the effectiveness of these reforms remains uncertain.

This paper explores how political parties compete and cooperate for power in formal institutions in the Iraqi state, notably through appointing senior civil servants to do their bidding.

Ukraine’s media sector faces a wide range of challenges – not least the influence of oligarchs and politicians. This paper explores efforts to improve professional standards and public trust.

This paper explores European populist movements and their impact on the liberal international order.