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European Union officials and western Balkans leaders watch a traditional dance performance during the Berlin Process Leaders' Summit to address the integration of the European Union, in Tirana on October 16, 2023. Female dancers perform in the foreground wearing traditional Albanian costumes and white head coverings. Behind them, attending officials applaud, against a backdrop of national flags. (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

A Troubling Omen for Ukraine in the EU’s Balkan Membership Struggles

Russia's 2022 invasion eased enlargement fatigue a bit, but the long-delayed Western Balkans process is instructive. The EU must do better.
Brazilian Justice and Public Security Minister Flavio Dino holds a replica of the 1988 Brazilian Constitution that was stolen from the Supreme Court after supporters of Brazil's far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro raided federal buildings, at the Ministry of Justice in Brasilia on January 13, 2023. Dino said he will deliver the replica to the President of the Supreme Court, Rosa Weber. (Photo by SERGIO LIMA/AFP via Getty Images)

Amid Courts’ Role in US Democracy Struggle, Look to Lessons from Abroad

Countries that maintained their democracies have had courts that rose to the occasion to safeguard a country’s constitution or rule of law.

On Eve of Elections, Polish Democracy is Subverted by Autocratic Media Advantage

Pro-democracy allies and organizations should call out such media capture and other tools of domestic election interference.
Tucker Carlson speaks during the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) Feszt on August 7, 2021 in Esztergom, Hungary. The multiday political event was organized by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), a privately managed foundation that had recently received more than $1.7 billion in government money and assets. The leader of its main board is Balazs Orban, who is not related to Prime Minister Viktor Orban, but was a state secretary in the prime minister's office at the time and currently serves as his political director. Balazs Orban said at the time that MCC's priority is promoting "patriotism" among the next generation of Hungary's leaders. In the foreground of the photo is a woman, seen from behind, holding a dog and wearing a red hat that, according to another photo in the series, says, "Tucker MAGA." (Photo by Janos Kummer/Getty Images)

Tucker Carlson, Viktor Orbán and the Anti-Democracy Playbook

Americans should pay attention to how Hungary lost its democracy, as their own leaders on the right embrace a similar course.
A large banner reads "2022 CPAC Hungary." Viktor Orban stands at a podium and addresses a crowd, standing between an American and a Hungarian flag.

The Global Far-Right Authoritarian Alliance Threatening US Democracy – And How to Weaken It

Authoritarians across the globe are collaborating. To counter them, those interested in protecting democracy must do the same.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stands behind a podium as he addresses the parliament to mark the opening of the new legislative year, in the stark white hall of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, on October 1, 2022. Erdogan warned that Turkey would not ratify the NATO membership bids of Sweden and Finland until the two Nordic countries "kept" promises they had made to Ankara. (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey’s Erdoğan Deploys Sweden and Finland’s NATO Membership Bids to Further His Repression

Any accession deal must ensure the potential newest members don’t flout the rule of law that helps underpin the strength of the alliance.

US, EU Face Higher Hurdles Now for Action Against Orbán’s Tightening Grip in Hungary

His landslide re-election and Russia's war on Ukraine makes pushback on the region's autocratization harder -- and more needed -- than ever.
(L-R) Germany's Social Democratic SPD outgoing party co-leader Norbert Walter-Borjans, designated German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, parliamentary group leader of Germany's social democratic SPD party Rolf Muetzenich, Germany's Social Democratic SPD party co-leader Saskia Esken, co-leader of Germany's The Greens (Die Gruenen) party and designated Minister for Economy and Climate Robert Habeck, Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP) leader and designated Finance Minister Christian Lindner, parliamentary group co-leader of Germany's The Greens (Die Gruenen) party Katrin Goering-Eckardt (hidden), Federal Party Secretary of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and designated Transport Minister Volker Wissing, co-leader of Germany's The Greens (Die Gruenen) party and designated Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and parliamentary group co-leader of Germany's The Greens (Die Gruenen) party Anton Hofreiter pose on stage after a signing ceremony in Berlin on December 7, 2021, where leading members of Germany's social democratic SPD party, the Greens and the free democratic FDP party sealed their coalition deal to form a new government. Olaf Scholz led his Social Democrats to victory against Angela Merkel's conservative CDU-CSU bloc in an landmark election in September 2021, as the veteran chancellor prepared to leave politics after four consecutive terms in office. (Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)

How Germany’s New Government Might Pursue Its “Values-Based” Foreign Policy in Europe

It aims to show that sticking to principles on the one hand and seeking constructive dialogue on the other are not mutually exclusive.
This picture shows detainees inside the soundproof glass dock of the courtroom during the trial of 700 defendants, including Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, widely known as Shawkan, in the capital Cairo, on Sept. 8, 2018. Shawkan, who earlier that year received UNESCO's World Freedom Prize, was sentenced to five years in prison. He had been arrested in 2013 while covering a demonstration. Including time served, he was finally freed in March 2019, but required to be under police supervision for five more years.

When US Security and Democracy Interests Clash

How to break six common and unhelpful patterns in US engagement with security partners that abuse rights or democratic standards.
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission and representatives of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI or TSI) takes part in a TSI Summit, on September 18, 2018 at the Cotroceni Palace, the Romanian Presidency headquarters in Bucharest. Delegates sit around a large round table, and press can be seen taking photos and video behind many of the delegates.

Safeguarding Democracy Among Eastern Europe’s Three Seas

With EU and US help, the Three Seas Initiative can resist Russia's and China's designs on the region by promoting transparency, prosperity, and development.
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks with Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during a round table meeting during an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, on December 10, 2020. They stand talking, not actually sitting at the table. They all wear face masks. Behind them a wall is covered with a banner reading “European Council.”

Polish Government’s Attacks on Rule of Law Violate Not Only EU Norms but International Law

The repeated violations of fundamental rights and principles corrode the very foundations of the democracy Poland fought so hard to win.
A billboard shows Chinese President Xi Jinping next to the National Assembly building in Belgrade on March 30, 2020, as Serbia has introduced curfew from 5 pm to 5 am (from 3 pm to 5 am on weekends) for entire population except those authorised and night shift workers.

Beware a China-Russia Nexus in Central Europe Amid US-EU Neglect

A transatlantic response must document the threat, make it a priority, and convey that observing international law and established norms is non-negotiable.
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