Illustration by Be Boggs.
Letters to Zócalo
Seeking a Politics of Solidarity in Putin’s Russia
In a Country Where Nothing Changes, a 23-Year-Old Finds Hope Outside the Electoral System
In 2013, when I was 13, one of the oldest comedy TV programs in Russia released a sketch in which a group of musicians performed a version of Queen’s “I Want to Break Free” satirizing the country.
The lyrics went: “The roads in this country are like cars in this country. Like the salaries, the football, the communal services, and, of course, the cinema …” When Freddie Mercury sang “God knows,” it was twisted to sound like the Russian equivalent of “shit.”
As the audience laughed, another actor approached the band to …
On the Campaign Trail With a Russian Antiwar Candidate
Thousands of People Came Out to Support Boris Nadezhdin’s Presidential Run. They Refuse to Lose Hope
In December 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin officially announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. It had long been clear that he had plans to aim for his fifth …
Will Indonesia’s Youth Install a Political Dynasty?
On TikTok, Gen Z Voters See the Candidates as Father Figures and Kindly Uncles. They Don’t Get the Whole Story
President Suharto’s New Order regime was a dictatorship in which he often liked to refer to the Indonesian nation as a “family” with himself at the helm—a patriarchal …
An Election Without Artists
The Outgoing Indonesian President’s Campaigns Inspired Songs, Paintings, and Poems. Creatives’ Silence in This Race Speaks Volumes
The absence of art in Indonesia’s presidential election has been noticeable.
Back in 2014, when Joko Widodo—known as Jokowi—campaigned to become the seventh president of this republic, …
Can a Third of My Neighbors Really Be Far-Right Extremists?
I Joined a United Germany When the Wall Fell. Now I Fear for Its Future
I grew up in East Germany, in the former German Democratic Republic, and I am still here today.
In the fall of 1989, we liberated ourselves from dictatorial conditions through a …
Pakistan’s General Election Is a Generals’
Election
Since the Country’s Founding, the Military Has Ruled Over Civilian Affairs—This Vote Won’t Change That
Maybe it’s best to ask if Pakistan’s 2024 election is to be called a general election, or a generals’ election.
As a lawyer and rule of law consultant for different development …
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