Carnegie Democracy

In India, the Battle for Free and Fair Elections Begins Long Before Election Day There is a need to fix errors in electoral rolls, ensure an independent Election Commission, transparency in political funding, and guardrails against the weaponization of investigative agencies.

For decades, India’s elections have been the envy of the democratic world.

But @milanv.bsky.social writes for @thediplomat.com that its electoral system has been tarnished by controversy, weakened institutions, skewed finance rules, and weaponized investigations.

Government shutdowns halting public services, like the current one in the U.S., are not common across democracies, Andrew O’Donohue told @foreignpolicy.com

The Stunning Reversal in U.S.-India Relations Why is Donald Trump turning on his ideological ally Narendra Modi?

Why is Donald Trump turning on his ideological ally Narendra Modi? How is India responding?

Read @newyorker.com's interview with @milanv.bsky.social:

The TikTok Deal Is America’s White Flag in the Tech War With China Beijing will still retain considerable influence over the U.S. version of the app.

🆕The TikTok deal leaves big national security loopholes. But the Trump administration may collect billions from the transaction.

Is the U.S. president abandoning America’s tech war against China? Read the latest from @stevenfeldstein.bsky.social in @foreignpolicy.com ⬇️

Confronting Backlash Against Europe’s Green Transition Greenlash is driven by an increasingly diverse set of actors. It is also prompting groups in favor of ambitious climate action to seek more effective strategies.

For more, check out Erin's recent piece with Richard Youngs: carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

YouTube video by Carnegie Explains Why Are French Farmers Protesting Again?

Today, French farmers held a day of protest, driving tractors to Versailles palace. Erin Jones connects protests like this to other recent examples of “greenlash” across Europe in a new short for @carnegieendowment.org:

YouTube video by Kellogg Institute Global Democracy Series: The Future of US Development and Democracy Promotion with Thomas Carothe...

🚨🗣️"Democracy support was beneficial to the U.S.

It wasn't a charity crusade. The U.S. is a safer, stronger, more prosperous country in a more democratic world."

Tom Carothers tells Patrick McQuestion on the @kellogginstitute.bsky.social Global Stage podcast.
‼️Listen:

For Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications Strategies To avoid irrelevance when they are needed most, experts and nonpartisan analysts must rethink not just their channels of communication but also their theory of influence.

People like me, who have spent a lifetime building credibility, face a real problem when most Americans no longer trust institutions. We need to face the new terms of trust for our expertise to matter. Renée DiResta@noUpside & I wrote this to explain why & how: carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Gracious Losers Are a Win for Democracy Last year was a watershed one for incumbent leaders on the African continent conceding elections graciously. Supporters can draw lessons to support future peaceful transitions.

The election in Malawi kicked off a busy fall on the African continent, with 7 more presidential contests scheduled in 2025.

How can democracy's supporters encourage more gracious concessions? @CarnegieEndow @AfricaCarnegie

‼️Frances Brown and Margot Treadwell offer some ideas here:

U.S. Political Interventionism Under Trump Despite promising not to lecture other countries on “how to live,” the Trump administration is intervening with increasing frequency and force in the political affairs of other countries.

🆕Despite promising not to lecture other countries on “how to live,” the Trump admin is intervening frequently and forcefully in other countries' political affairs.

But to what effect? Thomas Carothers and @oliverstuenkel.bsky.social write for @carnegieendowment.org ⬇️

President Chakwera in Malawi has joined a positive trend of incumbent leaders conceding electoral defeat on the African continent.

As Frances Brown and Margot Treadwell wrote for @carnegieendowment.org, gracious losers are a win for democracy.📑⤵️
carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

For Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications Strategies To avoid irrelevance when they are needed most, experts and nonpartisan analysts must rethink not just their channels of communication but also their theory of influence.

Reports and op-eds still matter. But public opinion today is shaped by influencers, algorithms, and audiences. Experts risk irrelevance if they don’t adapt.

In their @carnegieendowment.org paper, @noupside.bsky.social and @rachelkleinfeld.bsky.social suggest high impact strategies⤵️

The EU’s Dead-on-Arrival Pact for the Mediterranean The EU’s new Pact for the Mediterranean aims to reshape the bloc’s relations with its Southern neighborhood. But the initiative lacks concrete measures to address societal divides and the region’s pre...

The EU’s new Pact for the Mediterranean is dead on arrival, writes @richardyoungs.bsky.social for @carnegieeurope.bsky.social

Will the pared-down, instrumentalized policy even serve the EU's own interests? Read here⤵️

At International Day of Democracy event in Brussels #IDDBrussels @richardyoungs.bsky.social from @carnegiedcg.bsky.social and @europeandemocracyhub.epd.eu explaining we are living a renewed activism phase with new civic movements all around the world

Confronting Backlash Against Europe’s Green Transition Greenlash is driven by an increasingly diverse set of actors. It is also prompting groups in favor of ambitious climate action to seek more effective strategies.

🪴"Greenlash is driving a reconfiguration of EU-level political alliances and prizing apart the decades-long, mainstream pro-European coalition."

Erin Jones and Richard Youngs break down the drivers of European greenlash and how activists can respond⏬

🆕U.S. interventionism in European domestic politics is a feature, not a bug, of the new political reality, writes Tom Carothers for @carnegieeurope.bsky.social.

But U.S. democratic erosion could be an opportunity for Europe to reenergize its global purpose.⤵️

America can still stop the cycle of political violence [FREE TO READ] Politicians of all stripes must recognise that no one is safe from this scourge

"Political violence starts spiralling when ordinary people, as opposed to the unstable or disturbed, get in on the act,"
@rachelkleinfeld.bsky.social writes for @financialtimes.com

Reversing course requires swift prosecution, regardless of political affiliation.

The Widespread Fallout of Israel’s Qatar Strikes The operation against Hamas in Doha has eliminated the notion that the Middle East can rely on America for protection of its lands.

Arab leaders are coordinating their responses to the Israeli strike on Qatar at an emergency summit in Doha today.

For @carnegieendowment.org, Sarah Yerkes and other Carnegie scholars explain how the fallout will reshape security dynamics in the Middle East and beyond.

Brazil’s Historic Conviction Can the country’s democracy heal from the Bolsonaro era while resisting U.S. intimidation?

With the conviction of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian democracy has survived its most acute stress test, writes @oliverstuenkel.bsky.social for @foreignpolicy.com.

But challenges remain. The Supreme Court must now step back. And the Trump administration may push back.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/12/b...

The Trump administration’s condemnation of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction is just the latest in a string of attacks on judges at home and abroad.

@carnegiedcg.bsky.social’s Thomas Carothers, for @washingtonpost.com: www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

10 Political Violence Experts on What Comes Next for America Can America escape the spiral of political violence after Charlie Kirk’s killing?

🗣️"We could be headed for a cycle of tit-for-tat violence in the U.S. that we haven’t seen, at least in decades."

Dalya Berkowitz tells @politico.com that unless politicians and the public change course, it will be hard to reestablish a norm of nonviolence🔽
www.politico.com/news/magazin...

How to Prevent Political Violence | Journal of Democracy Political violence is rising in wealthy democracies. Polarized societies and bitter party politics are putting candidates and election officials in serious peril. Political leaders, more than anyone…

The murder of Charlie Kirk raises serious fears about an escalating cycle of political violence in the U.S.

In their @jodemocracy.bsky.social essay "How to Prevent Political Violence," @rachelkleinfeld.bsky.social and Nicole Bibbins Sedaca suggest responses to reduce attacks⤵️

Confronting Backlash Against Europe’s Green Transition Greenlash is driven by an increasingly diverse set of actors. It is also prompting groups in favor of ambitious climate action to seek more effective strategies.

Europe's "greenlash"🪴🥊 is not just from the far right.

Erin Jones and Richard Youngs report for @carnegieendowment.org that elite and grassroots pushback to the Green Deal is dividing EU institutions, national legislatures, and civil society. Activists must adapt.⤵️

For Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications Strategies To avoid irrelevance when they are needed most, experts and nonpartisan analysts must rethink not just their channels of communication but also their theory of influence.

🆕For expertise to matter, nonpartisan institutions need to rethink their comms strategies and theories of influence, argue @noupside.bsky.social and @rachelkleinfeld.bsky.social.

In a new paper for @carnegieendowment.org , they offer strategic recommendations↘️

U.S. Democratic Backsliding in Comparative Perspective The erosion of U.S. democracy under President Donald Trump shares many features with other prominent cases of democratic backsliding. Yet a close comparative look highlights important distinctive elem...

Read the full piece here:

Writing for @nytopinion.nytimes.com today, Thomas B. Edsall quotes McKenzie Carrier and Thomas Carothers's recent paper:

YouTube video by TWP Community of Practice What Future for International Democracy Support? - TWP Community of Practice Webinar

Given strategies that are not working like they used to and a slashed budget, how does international democracy support need to change? What Future for International Democracy Support? - TWP Community of Practice Webinar: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8-O...

The court of public opinion: The limited effects of elite rhetoric about prosecuting political leaders Abstract. Criminal prosecutions of political leaders have become salient election issues in the United States and globally, yet few studies have examined h

Public statements by Donald Trump and prosecutor Jack Smith during Trump's criminal trial had strikingly limited effects on public opinion of Trump.

New research by Daniel B. Markovits and Andrew O'Donohue suggests that pre-existing opinions hold fast.⤵️⤵️