Content

Freedom and Prosperity Around the World

Mar 18, 2026

Italy faces a dangerous gap between stability on paper and citizens’ lived experience

By Massimo Morelli

Giorgia Meloni’s three-year tenure as prime minister is unusually long by recent Italian standards. As her government faces its biggest test yet with a referendum on judicial reforms, what explains Meloni’s relative stability—and the frequent turnover that preceded it? A deep dive into economic and political indicators sheds light on Italy’s path forward.

Elections Fiscal and Structural Reform

Freedom and Prosperity Around the World

Mar 16, 2026

Weakening democratic checks and regional insecurity put Benin’s future at risk

By Gilles Olakounlé Yabi

Benin’s democratic gains since 1990 have eroded over the past decade amid growing executive centralization, shrinking political competition, and rising insecurity. Renewing strong institutions and political openness is key to shared prosperity.

Africa Elections

Dispatches

Mar 12, 2026

To succeed, Trump’s Shield of the Americas should focus on institutions as well as cartels

By Henrique Arevalo Poincot

The strongest defense is a hemisphere where institutions are resilient enough to resist and dismantle criminal networks.

Americas Central America

Dispatches

Mar 10, 2026

Has the EU found a ‘magic bullet’ to its enlargement conundrum or a new distraction?

By Agon Maliqi

A proposal for European Union enlargement would offer new member states a kind of second-class status, effectively creating a two-tier EU.

European Union Eurozone

MENASource

Mar 5, 2026

The hidden friction with Reza Pahlavi and the Iranian opposition

By Marjan Keypour Greenblatt

Beneath the criticisms of the former crown prince lies a quieter fault line—one that is less about capacity and more about ideology.

Iran Political Reform

Freedom and Prosperity Around the World

Feb 20, 2026

Tunisia needs both bread and freedom

By Ameni Mehrez

Tunisia was one of the Arab Spring's success stories, with dramatic increases in political freedom after the 2011 uprising. Fifteen years on, the country's experience shows how intertwined freedom and prosperity are. With economic opportunity not matching the increases in political voice, frustration and unrest has followed.

Democratic Transitions Fiscal and Structural Reform

UkraineAlert

Feb 5, 2026

Ukrainian democracy is proving its resilience in wartime conditions

By Oleksiy Goncharenko

Since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion four years ago, Ukrainians have accepted the necessity of wartime measures to concentrate power while remaining committed to safeguarding the country's hard-won democratic gains, writes Oleksiy Goncharenko.

Civil Society Conflict

Dispatches

Feb 3, 2026

Why the Trump administration is refusing to accept a third term for Iraq’s Nouri al-Maliki

By Rend Al-Rahim, Victoria J. Taylor 

That the United States would seek to block Maliki from a third term as prime minister is unsurprising given the disastrous record of his premiership from 2006 to 2014.

Elections Iraq

UkraineAlert

Jan 29, 2026

Ukraine changes tone on Belarus and engages exiled opposition

By Hanna Liubakova

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held his first official meeting with exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya last weekend in the latest indication of a significant Ukrainian policy shift toward the country’s northern neighbor, writes Hanna Liubakova.

Belarus Conflict

Dispatches

Jan 20, 2026

What to watch in Guatemala’s year of institutional reset

By Henrique Arevalo Poincot

With several important leadership positions scheduled to see changes, 2026 may be the year that Guatemala takes back its captured institutions.

Central America Corruption

Experts

Events