The Terrifying Inadequacy of American Election Law
The country has narrowly averted catastrophic deadlocks over the presidential-election outcome before. We may not be so fortunate in 2020.
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VladisChern / Getty / The Atlantic America’s COVID-19 Disaster Is a Setback for Democracy
If the country’s institutions cannot function effectively during a crisis, and especially if a view takes hold that authoritarian regimes are managing the crisis more decisively, a grim future lies ahead.
Drew Angerer / Getty China's Surveillance State Should Scare Everyone
The country is perfecting a vast network of digital espionage as a means of social control—with implications for democracies worldwide.
Thomas Peter / Reuters There Is a Peaceful Way Out of the North Korea Crisis
Kim Jong Un’s nuclear and missile programs represent one of the most dangerous challenges since the end of the Cold War. But there are opportunities to stop them.
Damir Sagolj / Reuters A 'City on a Hill' as a Fortress in a Moat
The notion that one form of prejudice can defeat another is an illusion.
Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images The Most Urgent Questions About the Russia Hacks
No foreign power has ever intervened to try to shape a U.S. election with this kind of sophistication and potency.
Kim Kyung Hoon / Reuters Russia and the Threat to Liberal Democracy
How Vladimir Putin is making the world safe for autocracy
Reuters via Sputnik It Could Happen Here
Democracy is facing setbacks around the world, but there hasn't been reason to doubt America's resilience—until now.
Reuters What Is America Fighting For?
The United States has been at war with ISIS for more than a year. But you cannot beat a surging ideology without a higher sense of purpose.
Jacky Naegelen / Reuters Ending the Presidential-Debate Duopoly
Including a third-party candidate would reinvigorate American democracy.
Jason Reed / Reuters
