By Eliza Newlin Carney There was plenty of hand wringing over the state of democracy at home and abroad in 2022. Extremists appeared poised to sabotage elections in the U.S., …

By Eliza Newlin Carney If the social media universe no longer revolves around Facebook, which is losing users, credibility and market share, what will take its place? Donald Trump’s much-hyped Truth Social platform has drawn notice lately, but a glitchy rollout, plus the built-in limits on the far-right echo chamber…

By Eliza Newlin Carney From omicron infections to climate disasters, gun deaths, economic uncertainty, congressional stalemate and ongoing threats to democracy, Americans arguably have more to worry about than celebrate this holiday season. Yet bad times also have a way of bringing out the best in people, and nowhere is…

By Eliza Newlin Carney In the quest for civic success stories, the very last place to look might appear to be climate news. The best efforts of the United Nations Climate Change conference will not be enough to avert the worst effects of warming, scientists say. This is why youth…

By Eliza Newlin Carney Writings that predict democracy’s demise are commonplace these days, from books like “How Democracies Die” and “Twilight of Democracy” to articles like policy expert Robert Kagan’s Washington Post essay warning of “mass violence” amid a “constitutional crisis.” The apocalyptic tone of much democracy writing is unsurprising…

By Eliza Newlin Carney The election is over but the voting wars continue, and a wave of new state laws to restrict access to the polls has stirred national controversy. …

By Eliza Newlin Carney One of Donald Trump’s very last acts as president was to release a report by his “1776 Commission” that trumpeted “patriotic education,” defended the Founding Fathers’ ownership of slaves, likened progressives to Mussolini, and was roundly denounced by historians. Four days later, one of President…

By Eliza Newlin Carney The presidential election is over, despite ongoing efforts to rewrite history. President Donald Trump’s failure to subvert the will of the voters is thanks largely to a half-dozen guardrails that held fast against an extreme democracy stress test, as I wrote in The Fulcrum. …

By Eliza Newlin Carney Election Day is here, and Americans are on edge. Storefronts and office buildings are boarded up in anticipation of street violence. Partisans on both sides are warning that the opposition will rig the outcome. At this moment of national anxiety and even paranoia, it behooves us…