Democracy and political participation

The fall of Assad’s regime is an opportunity for Western powers to right some of their wrongs in Syria and restore faith in the international rules-based system. But this is, and must be, Syria’s moment to lead.

The 2019 uprising ended violently, but young people’s fight for a better future carries on. Hayder Al Shakeri meets the activists adopting new tactics to tackle Iraq’s most pressing challenge yet.

Without reform of the crucial clothing industry, Yunus and his interim government will struggle to pull off a democratic transition, writes Patrick Schröder.

Here’s what Chatham House’s experts will be keeping their eyes on in the year ahead

With Trump in the White House, a key challenge for Europe will be the growing transatlantic illiberal ties which risk undermining European unity.

Prime Minister Ishiba’s election gamble has failed. Japan now faces another period of political uncertainty, which could affect its international standing.

As tens of thousands take to the streets to protest the election results, Georgia faces a familiar crisis – with a few key differences.

The two countries face unusually consequential elections where their populations must choose between moving unambiguously towards the West – or towards closer ties with Russia.

Incoming Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has called for snap elections in a bid to increase his mandate and put his party’s finance scandal to rest.

A year after 7 October, a viable alternative to the Netanyahu government is needed – alongside international support for those willing to invest in peace.

The economy will be the key issue for voters in Sri Lanka’s upcoming presidential election, set against a backdrop of geopolitical rivalry.

David Weigel and Clare Malone join the podcast to discuss the debate in Philadelphia between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Pollsters say domestic issues will decide the contest in November. Yet the debate showed that America’s international standing and its future global role are still central to this election.

The term is commonly used but fails to describe the hostility between many Republicans and Democrats ahead of the presidential election. Instead, American politics faces a deeper crisis, writes Julia Azari.

The Pulitzer-Prize winning author tells Ben Horton how super-rich autocrats cooperate in organized networks to subvert the liberal democratic order – and what the world must do to stop them.

Jordan’s parliamentary election on 10 September promises to be the most consequential vote since democracy was reintroduced to the kingdom in 1989.

Anne Applebaum joins the podcast to discuss the threat posed to democracy by a network of authoritarian governments around the world.

Tim Walz has been embraced by both moderates and progressives in the Democratic party, but what impact will Kamala Harris’s VP pick have on the outcome of the race?

The interim government must build political consensus to stabilise the economy and improve security. Other countries in the region should take note.

Thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets to protest the outcome of the presidential election. Amidst calls for a recount by Western governments, will Nicolás Maduro remain in power?

Efforts to co-opt opposition and externalize blame are familiar tools in Kenyan politics, but may be ill-equipped to address the demands of a new youth protest phenomenon and the realities of Kenya’s fiscal struggles.

Washington’s sanctions relief helped encourage Maduro to hold elections; but the US could not make them free and fair. Now what?

A competitive election may unseat an authoritarian government that has ruled for a quarter century. But post-election upheaval is a near certainty.

Biden repaired damage to US leadership, delivered economic recovery, and rallied support for Ukraine. The Democratic Party must now unite to protect these achievements.

The former president has united Republicans under a MAGA agenda and a path to victory. But this extraordinary election may soon shift trajectory.

Parliamentary elections are a travesty, and Syrians know it. But the vote plays an important legitimizing role for the Assad regime.

In this episode, recorded to mark the African Union’s African Anti-Corruption Day, the panel discusses Chatham House’s Social Norms and Accountable Governance (SNAG) research project supported by the MacArthur Foundation.

The low turnout in the election of Iran’s first reformist president since 2005 shows an unprecedented disconnect between state and society. To advance his agenda, he must navigate the conservative establishment.

The far right RN may have failed to take power, but France’s political institutions, its place in the world, its financial position and its fragmented society will all be affected by a hung parliament.

New foreign minister Ronald Lamola is a rising political force. He will likely focus more on foreign relations serving domestic economic issues, taking a lower profile than his predecessor.

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.

The paper proposes a definition of sustainable procurement so goods, services, works and utilities achieve value for money on a life-cycle basis.

Over the past 20 years, initiatives to strengthen governance in the forest sector have improved transparency and participation in tropical forest countries.

To the extent that perceptions of a crisis in liberal democracy in Europe can be confirmed, this paper investigates the nature of the problem and its causes.

Although some digital platforms now have an impact on more people’s lives than does any one state authority, the international community has been slow to hold to account these platforms’ activities by reference to human rights law.

International engagement will be critical to the success of Nigeria’s elections, but its international partners – in particular the US – appear less engaged than they were four years ago.