The history of the 20th century shows that democracies sometimes must pursue seemingly undemocratic measures against those whose pursuit of power is motivated by a desire to abolish democracy altogether. Arguments that such a response is self-defeating do not withstand scrutiny.
In June 2026, the European Commission proposed a Tax Omnibus package to simplify the EU’s direct taxA direct tax is levied on individuals and organizations and is not expected to be passed on to another payer (unlike indirect taxes such as sales and excise taxes), though economic incidence can still fall upon others. Often with…
Prime minister Andy Burnham arrives at 10 Downing Street. Picture by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street Andy Burnham, the UK’s new prime minister, has marked his first full day in office by making a number of changes to how government works, including the creation of an Office for the Prime Minister and the…
For our nation’s semiquincentennial, my son and I headed down to Colonial Williamsburg from New York City to hear the Declaration of Independence read from the old state Capitol—the very same place the document was read aloud 250 years ago. Having spent considerable time visiting Williamsburg during the COVID-19 lockdowns, we wanted to revisit one…
Ottawa/Alberta pipeline deal—a high-risk road with many bumps ahead beng Fri, 07/17/2026 – 08:28 EST. READ TIME 3 MIN. Back in November 2025, the federal government and the Alberta government jointly announced they’d come to an agreement—a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)—that would create a pathway for Alberta to get a pipeline built to carry oilsands…
en English Politics Jul 15, 2026 Anne O. Krueger Few countries better illustrate the difficult trade-off between democratic principles and strategic necessity than Turkey. As the country’s geopolitical and economic importance grows, NATO allies are becoming increasingly willing to overlook President…
The work summarized here was presented as the Arnold Zellner Memorial Keynote Address at the 46th International Symposium on Forecasting in Montreal, June 2026. Generative AI was used as an editing tool and helped with references and literature review. I thank Martín (Tincho) Almuzara for ongoing discussions on the topics in this paper. The views…
BUDAPEST—One major lesson from the political catastrophes of the 20th century appears paradoxical: Democracies sometimes must pursue seemingly undemocratic measures against those who would cynically exploit the system to gain power and then abolish democracy altogether. The problem, of course, is that such measures invite charges that democracy has already abolished itself.