Americans assume that free, fair, and credible elections are essential to democracy. Elsewhere, however, elections are rigged and serve mainly to consolidate the position of a "big man" and his cronies or to legitimate self-perpetuating elites.

South Africa is a notoriously divided nation. There are eleven legal languages and four races with degrees of legal recognition (Indian/Asian, Black, Coloured, and White). Though Black Africans are a…

Fifteen years after the killing of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri roiled Lebanese society, the international tribunal’s ruling has left wide open the question of who at high levels was responsibl…

Fifty years ago, Republicans turned on President Richard Nixon. Today, most of the party continues to stand by Trump. Why the difference? A rise in partisanship.

Earlier this week, Salvadorans headed to the polls to cast their ballots in a presidential runoff election, since on February 2 the candidates failed to reach the 50 percent threshold to avoid a seco…