Collection
Saving Democracy from Self-Destruction
![How Do You Know if Your Vote is Counted?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/72fb3119-ab82-456e-b5ab-991174b6fde2/52184422502_87473dc00e_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=1542%2C0%2C2535%2C3795&w=400)
There’s nothing so sacred — or lately, so contested — as casting a ballot. But once the circle is filled, the screen is pressed, or the hole is punched, how can we be sure our...
![Is the Weakest Branch Becoming the Most Dangerous?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/2c4bcd9e-e1d4-4192-bfb3-868529352bf5/52186392326_82701b383a_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C8256%2C4646&w=400)
As Alexander Hamilton famously wrote in the Federalist Papers, the judiciary is the weakest of our three branches of government. Without “purse” or “sword,” the US Supreme Cou...
![A Tribute to Madeleine Albright: The Power of Global Diplomacy](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/a7ca7a9e-5302-4818-b4f7-1b4d5b8e7b3f/52182278007_66f2177543_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C18%2C5892%2C3316&w=400)
Secretary Madeleine K. Albright served as a trustee of the Aspen Institute from 2002 until her passing in March of this year. In 1997, she was appointed by President Bill Clin...
![This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future (Book Talk)](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/8316b032-c684-44bb-a0eb-7e6ea82c17d5/52181225173_1bae1c8e0a_o1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5816%2C3274&w=400)
Over the last two years, the nation seems to have been broken. Against the background of a politicized pandemic, there was a verbal and legal assault on democracy predicated o...
![The Future of the Republican Party](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/4851cfd1-dcd2-4e79-bf02-261f56136c79/52178615508_307a71efed_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=2736%2C0%2C2543%2C3810&w=400)
The 2022 primary season continues to unfold as a test of former President Trump’s hold over the Republican party. What have electoral results thus far told us about how intern...
![Reimagining the Future of the Democratic Party](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/c749263e-66df-409a-b2d7-1cf2f363383e/52177732784_1c983e80ab_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5049%2C2838&w=400)
“Follow the science” has become a Democratic mantra, but many Americans are wary of experts and believe elites look down on them. Have Democrats become too identified with tec...
![Will Democracy Self-Destruct?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ab01c0af-cefb-40cb-a810-a3b030799fdc/52177661606_f9d5a1ebe3_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C78%2C4999%2C2814&w=400)
In the last decade, the people of democratic societies across the globe have elected autocratic leaders. These populist strongmen have undermined democratic institutions with...
![Why Democracy is in Peril and What We Can Do about It](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/03c962db-5f7f-4a4d-aa4e-497c3683f70e/52178737794_b81c82cf8d_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=653%2C64%2C7603%2C4275&w=400)
Our politics is polarized, and, with Donald Trump poised for a comeback, democracy is in peril. Drawing on themes from his book, The Tyranny of Merit: Can We Find the Common G...
![Putin & Xi: Studies in Grievance](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/06a3bd7e-1e39-46b0-b453-8726fa7ddbd5/aif-2022-grievance.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C1600%2C901&w=400)
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, foreign policy strategists continue to debate what motivates Russian President Vladimir Putin and what could be his endgame. Not f...