Why freedom is making a comeback

• Higher growth, faster decisions, more admiration: for years it looked as if autocratic systems were superior to western democracies. But now the situation is changing.
• Autocrats like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping are facing unaccustomed resistance. Whether the people in Ukraine or demonstrators in China: the desire for a self-determined future is unmistakable.
• The Harvard political scientist Daniel Ziblatt, author of “Why Democracies Fail”, also sees signs of hope in the uprisings in Iran and China. Read here why he warns against deglobalization at the same time.

Air Alert is a constant companion of Anastasiia Verba. Before the war, the 29-year-old was guiding tourists around Lviv, the city in western Ukraine formerly known as Lemberg. Now Russian rockets are hitting here too, far behind the front.