democracy
20 Apr
Indians begin voting on Friday in what will be the world's biggest-ever election, with nearly a billion registered voters.
20 Mar
With 63 democracies now outnumbered by 74 autocracies, a new Bertelsmann Foundation report highlights a global shift away from democratic governance, exacerbated by recent geopolitical events and the COVID-19 pandemic.
5 Mar
Lola Shoneyin is a Nigerian author and poet. One of her latest projects is a stunning poem entitled "A Fragile State". It's part of a project undertaken by the Financial Times, centered on the theme of "Democracy 2024". She joined us for Perspective.
4 Mar
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party has won a record fourth straight term in power. But the election victory was tarnished by significantly low voter turnout and the main opposition’s boycott.
6 Feb
Protests, riots and a crackdown have erupted in Senegal after the term-limited outgoing president, Macky Sall, suddenly announced a six-month election delay, this on the very day the official campaign to pick his successor was due to start.
9 Jan
With over 4 billion people – or half the world's population – set to vote in elections in 2024, this is one of the biggest election years in world history. We take a look at why some papers are worried that democracy could take a hit in all corners of the globe. We also take a closer look at South Africa's ICC genocide claim targeting Israel and finish with the surprising revelation that mice can be great cleaners.
4 Jan
The far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) is flying high in the polls. In 2024, it expects success in regional elections in eastern Germany and the vote for the European Parliament.
23 Dec
Six minors are standing trial in Paris for their alleged role in the killing of a teacher. But some feel the authorities are missing this opportunity to examine the state of freedom of expression in France.
13 Dec
West Africa's regional bloc ECOWAS on Sunday set up a committee of three leaders to negotiate with Niger's military junta on a transition to democratic rule and to consider easing sanctions, a communique said after an annual summit.
18 Nov
Over the course of two weeks, starting on September 19, some 100,000 Armenians fled the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in an exodus prompted by Azerbaijan’s invasion of the contested region, which had been governed by ethnic Armenians for some three decades. In Perspective, we spoke to Richard Giragosian, the founding director of the Regional Studies Center – an independent think-tank in Yerevan – to discuss Azerbaijan’s recent takeover.
14 Oct 2023
The one thing almost everyone in Poland seems to agree on is that Sunday's elections are the most important the country has held since 1989 and the fall of communism. And they're on a knife-edge. The ruling nationalist Law and Justice party, known by its Polish acronym PiS, is aiming for a historic third term.
24 Sep 2023
What makes mainstream German society tick? The Friedrich Ebert Foundation regularly takes a closer look at this question with its long-term study. Its latest findings have raised alarm.
Latest
2 hours ago
Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.
6 hours ago
With less than 100 days to go until the Paris 2024 Olympics, we’re looking into whether or not they will be a healthy investment for Paris and France as a whole. Will the Games boost the French economy? Or will the costs outweigh the benefits?
6 hours ago
Film critic Lisa Nesselson speaks to Eve Jackson about the week's film news, including "The Fall Guy" with Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling, Philippe Caland's three films "Hollywood Buddha", "Ripple Effect" and "The Guru and the Gypsy", plus Luana Bajrami's "Phantom Youth". We finish with Lisa convincing Eve that a film about old French people is entertaining: Claus Drexel's documentary "Les Vieux", which translates as "Old Folks".
7 hours ago
The Iran-backed rebel group has begun to extend its power locally and regionally. However its policies are far from good governance, exacerbating the humanitarian situation and the economic crisis across Yemen.
7 hours ago
rge swathes of Asia continue to swelter though a dramatic heatwave that has topped temperature records all the way from India to the Philippines. Bangladesh has faced the hottest April on record, with temperatures forcing millions of children to stay home from school and making working in the scorching heat difficult for millions. The heatwave is also leading to water shortages. But that term is one that water supply expert Isha Ray from the University of California, Berkeley does not like. She has been speaking at a conference in Paris called "Facing Environmental Crisis in South Asia" and told us in Perspective why she thinks the term is misleading.
7 hours ago
Armed assailants kidnapped a senior judge in Pakistan's restive northwest, news media reported on Sunday, as the county experiences a surge in violence.
Some 15 men on motorbikes stopped the vehicle of Judge Shakirullah Marwat, according to officials cited by the AP news agency.