The erosion of democracy in places like Brazil, which votes in a presidential election Sunday, has led U.S. President Joe Biden to declare the contest between democracy and autocracy as the defining battle of our times. But if the past few years have seen a crisis of democracy, they’ve also seen a crisis of autocracy.
For anyone wondering how Russian President Vladimir Putin would respond to the Ukrainian military’s recent gains, this week offered a clarifying and horrifying answer. In a speech Wednesday, Putin announced a partial mobilization of Russia’s military reserves in an effort to shore up the Russian army’s collapsing front lines.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, observers have been keeping a close eye on how much support China might lend its isolated partner. Though China has offered a much-needed diplomatic lifeline to Vladimir Putin in the face of Western efforts to make him a global pariah, Xi Jinping’s patience now seems to have worn thin.
Just days after Liz Truss became the U.K.’s fourth prime minister in six years, Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in the country’s history, died at the age of 96. The wide range of reactions to her death, both within the U.K. and around the world, say a lot about the country, but also about current global politics.
Chileans will vote Sunday to determine whether to approve a new draft constitution, the culmination of a process that began with spontaneous protests in October 2019. The most recent polling shows the “No” camp with a significant but narrowing lead. But whether or not the constitution passes, Chile is in for a period of uncertainty.