Youngstown

As 2020 field balloons, Democrats struggle to emerge from pack

“The more the merrier!” is the typical response given by various hopefuls when asked about the latest entry to their field. It’s gotten so crowded that cable networks are running back-to-back town halls into the wee hours of the night, and the upcoming debates are being divided into separate rounds just to accommodate everyone. “Can you name all the Democratic candidates from memory?

It’s populism vs. liberal democracy as EU goes to the polls

This could be crunch time for the European Union. As voters elect a new continent-wide parliament this week, both supporters of the European Union and its opponents are casting the poll as a defining moment for the future of the bloc – and perhaps for liberal democracy. “It is for you to decide whether Europe, and the values of progress that it embodies, are to be more than just a passing episode in history,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote in an open letter to Europe’s 400 million electors, warning them against far-right nationalists.

In a world of autocrats, the humble stand out

In an era of strongman rule from Egypt to China, it is refreshing to see a new leader on the world scene who tries not to act like a personal hero but operates with compelling modesty. On Monday, Volodymyr Zelenskiy was sworn in as the elected president of Ukraine. Don’t hang his picture in government offices.

Letter from India: Lessons from an election with 900 million voters

It was the first phase of the largest democratic exercise on earth: India’s general elections. It takes 39 days, about 1 million polling booths, and around 5 million security forces and election workers to reach the country’s nearly 900 million eligible voters.