The Latest Breaking News from Democracy

Fifty years ago Friday, burglars broke into the Watergate Hotel in Washington, the first chapter of a story that would transform American politics. The anniversary comes as Congress investigates the greatest constitutional crisis since then. Just as Watergate-era leaders instituted important reforms to address the weaknesses of the system that…

US has slipped in democracy rankings in recent years

‘The treacherous plan was no less ambitious than to steal America’s democracy’

President Kais Saied has gathered nearly all state power in his hands after dismantling much of Tunisia's young democracy over 11 turbulent months. But as he prepares for a referendum to approve his changes, challenges loom ever larger.

Myanmar ruling military on Thursday defended a planned execution of two prominent democracy figures as lawful and required, defying international criticism for resuming capital punishment after a three-decade hiatus.

Botched assault on cradle of American democracy by misguided Donald Trump supporters remembered as deeply shameful climax to his chaotic and divisive reign

Last month we listed some encouraging examples of candidates who won recent Republican primaries despite rejecting former President Donald Trump’s false claim of a stolen 2020 election. Now comes The Washington Post to establish, ominously, that this isn’t necessarily the norm in this midterm election year. An analysis by the…

A handful of countries, most notably Australia, impose mandatory voting, with citizens facing fines and punishments if they don’t appear at the polls. And every few years, somebody proposes bringing this practice to the United States as a good-government reform that would allegedly improve the health of our democracy.

In our book “100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting,” E.J. Dionne and I make a case for universal voting — that voting should be a required civic duty for every American citizen.