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Shadows of the Past: How Soviet Inferiority Narratives Hinder Democracy in Moldova and Ukraine
Post-Soviet countries like Ukraine and Moldova are deeply influenced by inferiority narratives — pervasive beliefs of national inadequacy rooted in Soviet-era legacies. This article examines how these narratives shape...
IDC Theme of the Month
From Backsliding to Breakthrough: Civil Society as Democracy's Last Line of Defence
Democracy does not vanish overnight; instead, it erodes step by step. Authoritarianism grows in the cracks, but so does civic resistance. Around the world, civil society is proving that when democratic institutions weaken,...
Courtesy Mathews family
BEIJING
COLUMN 'If Your Mother Says She Loves You, Check It Out'
Learning journalistic and democratic skepticism through my mother-editor.
Photo from the Future of Where
VIENNA AND HOUSTON
FUTURE OF WHERE From Dead Mall to Urban Hotel
Returning the mall to the original Austrian vision.
Photo by Dane Waters
HO CHI MINH CITY
LETTER: What Vietnam's Billboards Don't Say
A 50th anniversary of war reveals a city.
Image generated by Gemini
THE DEMOCRACY COLUMN
COLUMN: An Obituary for the American Republic (1789-2025)
In lieu of flowers, design a new republic.
Photo by Joe Mathews
NAGO (OKINAWA)
NEWSLETTER Against Broligarchy; Participation in Reverse; No Democracy Is...
What's Worth Reading and Watching in Local Democracy
OCEANSIDE
COLUMN A Local Sprint to Transit's Future
Riding across North County San Diego, squinting into the future.
NEW DELHI
ASIA DEMOCRACY CHRONICLES Refused Refuge in Delhi
Delhi Elections Create New Problems for Rohingya Refugees in City
Afghanistan
EDITORIAL This Is Not Science Fiction
No Funds. No Democracy.
ISHIGAKI AND ARBOGA
Can The Western Pacific's Island of Peace Avoid War?
A journalist from Sweden's most militarized town visits Ishigaki, where people fight to avoid war.
HONG KONG
Stories 13629
Conforming Unions to Draconian Laws Erodes Local Liberties