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Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, in Brasilia, Brazil, on December 19, 2025.​
Analysis

Post-Bolsonaro, who will lead Brazil’s right?

Three years ago today, supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed Congress and other buildings in Brasília. With Bolsonaro in jail, though, and the election coming in October, his successor as leader of Brazil’s right is unclear.

​Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy listens to US President Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, on December 28, 2025.
Hard Numbers

Hard Numbers: Zelensky wants longer security guarantee, Foreign stocks outperform Wall Street, Israel recognizes Somaliland, Nepal scraps waste scheme, Bukele ready for another decade

​Chief Superintendent of the police force's National Security Department Steve Li Kwai-wah speaks at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts building after the verdict in the national security collusion trial of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, in Hong Kong, China, on December 15, 2025.
Hard Numbers

Hard Numbers: Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai faces life imprisonment, Half of Israelis oppose Netanyahu pardon, Flash floods in Morocco, Romania protests corruption

Election Commission candidates' campaign teams canvassing in permitted areas outside the polling station in Hong Kong on December 7, 2025.
Hard Numbers

Hard Numbers: Hong Kong citizens don’t want to vote, Japan-China tensions rise, Art stolen in Brazil & More

Police officers pass a burnt police armoured personnel carrier after gunmen kidnapped several people from an orphanage in a mountainous community that has been under deadly attacks by armed gangs since the start of this year, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, in Kenscoff, Haiti August 4, 2025.
popular

Then & Now: Can Haiti's government hold an election?

Last fall, Haiti created a transitional presidential council tasked with regaining control over the gang-ravaged Caribbean country and ushering in elections by February 2026.

​US President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei in Washington, D.C., USA, on October 14, 2025.
What We're Watching

What We’re Watching: Trump makes conditional pledge to Argentina’s Milei, Syria’s new leader meets old foe, Cameroon’s opposition leader declares victory

Putting institutions above individuals: Ending impunity to save trust in democracy
UN General Assembly

Putting institutions above individuals: Ending impunity to save trust in democracy

Ambassador Paula Narváez Ojeda warns that when powerful actors break norms without consequences, young people lose faith, further pushing societies toward tribalism and away from respectful debate, amplified by toxic social media dynamics. The fix: put institutions above individuals and make accountability real.

Why is public trust low, and how to fix it
UN General Assembly

Why is public trust low, and how to fix it

Why is trust in democracy so low? Iain Walker, executive director of the newDemocracy Foundation, argues that the incentives of modern elections, which reward demonization and five-second public opinion, make it difficult to solve complex problems. The fix: create spaces for public judgment where citizens have time, information, and a mandate to deliberate.

Democracy 2.0: Delivering on people’s needs
UN General Assembly

Democracy 2.0: Delivering on people’s needs

Are there more autocracies than democracies in the world today, and why does it matter? María del Carmen Sacasa (UNDP LAC) argues we’re in a paradigm shift, not a terminal crisis.

Citizens’ assemblies helped Ireland move from conflict to consensus
UN General Assembly

Citizens’ assemblies helped Ireland move from conflict to consensus

Citizens’ assemblies helped Northern Ireland transform a violent past into today’s deliberative politics. Ambassador Fergal Mythen traces the arc from the New Ireland Forum (1983–84) through national roadshows and town halls to today’s independent citizens’ assemblies, processes that fed into parliament, broadened public understanding, and built “losers’ consent.”