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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. wagner30_HoustonChronicleHearstNewspapersGettyImages_us_solar_plant_danger Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers/Getty Images

    What Will Trump’s Victory Mean for the Climate?

    Gernot Wagner notes that the president-elect’s proposed policies will mainly harm America, not the global energy transition.
  2. benami219_MANDEL NGANAFP via Getty Images_trumpnetanyahu Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

    The Causes and Consequences of Trump’s Comeback

    Shlomo Ben-Ami considers the reasons for – and implications of – US Democrats’ resounding election failure.
  3. buruma219_AngelaWeissGettyImages_hinchcliffe_trump_rally2 Angela Weiss/Getty Images

    The Laugh Is on the Democrats

    Ian Buruma sees Donald Trump’s victory as a rebellion of the culturally dispossessed who relish his insult comedy.
  4. crider2_EuropaPressNewsGettyImages_teresa_ribera Europa Press News/Getty Images

    The EU Must Break Up Big Tech

    Cori Crider explains how reining in digital giants’ outsize power would boost competition and help combat climate change.
  5. macron9_Sanja DjordjevicGetty Images_solidaritysustainabilityworld Sanja Djordjevic/Getty Images

    The Case for Solidarity Levies

    A promising way to mobilize more climate finance for developing countries is to expand the use of “solidarity levies”: global levies on carbon dioxide emissions and other economic activities that channel proceeds to developing countries. The benefits of scaling up such measures would be far-reaching.

  6. leonard105_JONATHAN ERNSTPOOLAFP via Getty Images_trump europe JONATHAN ERNSTPOOLAFP via Getty Images

    Living in Trump’s World

    Mark Leonard explains what European leaders must do to prepare for the radical changes promised by the US president-elect.
  7. op_whatley22_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_trump Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    PS Roundtable: The Return of Trump

    PS Commentators

    Although Americans – and the world – have been spared the kind of agonizing uncertainty that followed the 2020 election, a different kind of uncertainty has set in. While few doubt that Donald Trump's comeback will have far-reaching implications, most observers are only beginning to come to grips with what those could be.

    consider what the outcome of the 2024 US presidential election will mean for America and the world.
  8. deschutter8_melitasGetty Images_mentalhealth melitas/Getty Images

    Inequality Is Destroying Mental Health

    Olivier De Schutter & Kate Pickett propose raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy to improve well-being in unequal countries.
  9. krueger36_Feng LiGetty Images_china trade Feng Li/Getty Images

    How Europe Could Benefit from Trump’s Second Term

    Daniel Gros urges policymakers to focus on defusing trade tensions with the bloc’s largest export partner.

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