House money
Why are countries around the world developing virtual legal tenders? Roger Huang on the origins, implementation, and implications of central bank digital currencies.
Untouchable
Why has Bitcoin become so popular with dissidents living in dictatorships? Farida Nabourema on what the emerging technology has in common with an old suitcase stuffed with cash.
Cash grab
What is financial repression? Félix Maradiaga on how autocratic regimes are using the global banking system, international law, and new technologies in an old struggle to suppress dissent and hold power.
The custom of dons
If Donald Trump isn’t an autocrat, what is he? Stephen Hanson on the old historical model for the new American presidency.
‘It’s a hydra’
What can democracies do about autocratic interference? Josh Rudolph on the challenges of resistance and resiliency.
Enigmas
What exactly is the problem here? Justin Callais on the ambiguities of corruption.
Organized crime
Why do dictators keep disrupting so many other countries? Miranda Patrucić on what China and Russia are doing in neighboring nations, developing states, and the world’s most powerful democracies.
Broad daylight
How common is the corruption of public officials in the U.S.? Ben Freeman on what America’s “authoritarian friends” from the Persian Gulf are doing in Washington, D.C.
Coming home to roost
How much is Iran driving the conflict in the Middle East? Alex Vatanka on the Islamic Republic’s relationship with Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis—and the tension between its ideology of revolution and instinct for self-preservation.
Note: Friends like these
Friends like these. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, don’t usually issue
