Putin Demagoguery: The Threat of State Deception

For years, the Russian government has acted in opposition to growing support for democracy in Eastern Europe. Former Soviet Union members such as Estonia, Latvia, and Ukraine have openly embraced institutions of democracy since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the...

The Fall of Independent Journalism in Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijanian government has continued to silence its own journalists. It has made conscious efforts recently to forcefully stop protests regarding freedom of speech and the wrongful imprisonments of journalists.The silencing of these civil liberties shows its...

Autocratic Regimes: The Importance of Free Media During War

Now that Vladimir Putin has launched a full-scale invasion against Ukraine, it is difficult to argue with the reality that Russia should now be considered a fully autocratic regime. Putin has shown that he is okay with disregarding long-standing international norms by...

The Global Echo of Viktor Orbán’s Populist Cries

On January 3, former U.S. president Donald Trump offered, via his Save America political action committee, an endorsement of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán ahead of the 2022 parliamentary elections in Hungary, in which Orbán will be running for reelection on...

What Does the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Mean for Belarus?

Belarus is widely regarded as an authoritarian state, headed by President Alexander Lukashenko. His most recent, fraudulent reelection in 2020 inspired unprecedented pro-democracy protests, leading to an intense government crackdown. An upcoming constitutional...