Subject: Information access

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April 2026, Volume 37, Issue 2

Pluralism, Polarization, and Political Voyeurism

Decentralized governance allows communities to enact policies that reflect their values. But in the digital age, when news spreads far and fast, what’s happening in one place may inflame citizens’ attitudes thousands of miles away, magnifying political differences and division.

January 2026, Volume 37, Issue 1

Inside Modi’s Assault on Academic Freedom

Narendra Modi and his ruling BJP have developed the textbook attack on India’s universities and centers of free thought. It offers a vital warning for other countries where higher education is in danger.

April 2025, Volume 36, Issue 2

How Autocrats Use Proxies to Control the Media

Propaganda is autocrats’ weapon of first resort, allowing them to rely on persuasion rather than violence to achieve their ends. But citizens have grown savvy, so autocrats are taking a new tack: spreading their messages via private news outlets indirectly controlled by regime proxies.

July 2024, Volume 35, Issue 3

Democracy After Truth

A review of The Death of Truth, by Steven Brill, and Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality, by Renée DiResta.

April 2011, Volume 22, Issue 2

FOI Laws Around the World

Are laws guaranteeing citizens freedom of access to public information (FOI laws) among the most important democratic innovations of the last century?

April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2

Pushing for Press Freedom in Liberia

Since its establishment in 1964, the Press Union of Liberia has championed the right of journalists to report freely on events in Liberia and abroad. Political setbacks continue to put it to the test.