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Susan Stokes

Susan Stokes

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Susan Stokes is Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and Faculty Director of the Chicago Center on Democracy. She is the author, most recently, of the forthcoming Trash-Talking Democracy: Why Leaders Erode Their Democracies and How to Stop Them (Princeton University Press, 2025).

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  1. Inequality Spurs Democratic Backsliding
    sstokes4_Scott OlsonGetty Images_trump Scott Olson/Getty Images

    Inequality Spurs Democratic Backsliding

    Jul 11, 2024 Susan Stokes shows that countries with fairer economies are less likely to succumb to authoritarian populism.

  2. Neutralizing Trump’s Big Lies
    sstokes3_Jabin BotsfordThe Washington Post via Getty Images_trump Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

    Neutralizing Trump’s Big Lies

    Jun 27, 2023 Susan Stokes sees reason to believe that even Republican voters can be persuaded to face facts.

  3. No Impunity for Insurrectionists
    sstokes2_SERGIO LIMAAFP via Getty Images_brazil SERGIO LIMA/AFP via Getty Images

    No Impunity for Insurrectionists

    Jan 10, 2023 Susan Stokes explains why indicting former leaders like Jair Bolsonaro or Donald Trump is both right and necessary.

  4. The Global Struggle for Democracy Is in Ukraine
    sstokes1_ Chris McGrathGetty Images_ukraine russia Chris McGrathGetty Images
    Free to read

    The Global Struggle for Democracy Is in Ukraine

    Mar 4, 2022 Susan Stokes hopes that Russia’s invasion will instill a renewed sense of common purpose among free societies.

  1. samadashvili3_ GIORGI ARJEVANIDZEAFP via Getty Images_georgia elections GIORGI ARJEVANIDZE/AFP via Getty Images

    The End of Georgia’s European Dream?

    Salome Samadashvili

    Initial evidence suggests that the victory of the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party in the recent parliamentary election reflects widespread fraud. If the West fails to support democratic opposition parties in challenging the results, Georgia’s 30-year-old democracy could come to an end.

    urges Western leaders to take steps to halt the country’s slide into authoritarianism.
  2. grigaitedaugirde1_Alex GottschalkDeFodi Images via Getty Images_icc Alex GottschalkDeFodi Images via Getty Images

    Belarus in the Dock

    Gabija Grigaitė-Daugirdė & Aarif Abraham explain why Lithuania is requesting an International Criminal Court investigation into its neighbor.
  3. jschwartz1_EonerenGetty Images_sustainabilityfinance Eoneren/Getty Images

    Where Financial Innovation Meets Sustainable Development

    Jordan Schwartz explains why new instruments must be standardized and integrated into developing countries’ economic policies.
  4. rzlawrence1_MEGAN JELINGERAFP via Getty Images_us manufacturing MEGAN JELINGER/AFP via Getty Images

    No President Can Revive US Manufacturing Employment

    Robert Z. Lawrence explains why there is no going back to the heyday of middle-class factory jobs for low-skilled workers.
  5. bailey1_The Washington PostContributorGettyImages_election_polling_screen The Washington Post/Contributor/Getty Images

    Is Political Polling Broken?

    Michael A. Bailey urges pollsters to stop thinking in terms of random samples and instead focus on diagnosing non-response bias.
  6. fischer221_MAXIM SHIPENKOVPOOLAFP via Getty Images_BRICSputinxi Maxim Shipenkov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

    Don’t Dismiss the BRICS

    Joschka Fischer thinks it would be a serious mistake for Western strategists to ignore the bloc and what it represents.
  7. krueger80_PUNIT PARANJPEAFP via Getty Images_india PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images

    Can India Become a Developed Economy by Mid-Century?

    Anne O. Krueger urges policymakers to resume key structural reforms and streamline regulations that stifle business activity.
  8. posner36_Scott OlsonGetty Images_trumpsupporters Scott Olson/Getty Images

    Why Many Workers Now Vote Republican

    Eric Posner explains how the failures of neoliberalism came to benefit the traditional party of business.
  9. ito41_Takashi AoyamaGetty Images_japan election Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images

    Japan’s Electoral Stalemate

    Takatoshi Ito considers the political and economic implications of the ruling bloc’s loss of its parliamentary majority.

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