Narration: Writing and Policy Associate James Lewis

Here's what you need to know about democracy this week:

• Double the Budget of Every Congressional Office

As the problems in congress grow in complexity congressional offices have shrunk. The under-funding of congressional offices is creating a crisis in expertise in our legislature, which lobbyists have been happy to fill.

• Twitter's Dictator Problem

Last week, the co-founder and CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, announced that he was stepping down from his role and is soon to leave the company altogether. While Twitter tries to determine how it can better coexist with American democracy, it has an even more convoluted arrangement to sort out with authoritarian governments around the world.

Narration: Writing & Policy Associate James Lewis

Here's what you need to know about democracy this week:

• Can the Greens help Germany grow a backbone?

As Angela Merkel steps down from her role as Chancellor of Germany, a new coalition government is coming in. While most attention is focused on the new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, the appointment of Annalena Baerbock of the Green Party to Foreign Minister might make the biggest difference to European security.

• Why are so many candidates in Latin America extremists?

November featured a whirlwind of elections across Latin America, and in most cases there were popular extremist candidates whose interest in radical change seemed greater than their faith in democracy. Is democracy failing to improve people’s lives??

Narration: James Lewis

Here's what you need to know about democracy this week

• Was Trump too moderate?

Glenn Youngkin’s victory in Virginia seemed to suggest that toning down Trump’s style without repudiating him could keep his base happy while winning over moderates and reclaiming the suburbs for Republicans. But what if you ran a campaign that was even more extreme than Trump’s?

• Are helpless people the perfect weapon?

Refugees mostly from Middle Eastern countries are gathering on the border between Belarus and EU countries. Is this dictators’ new plot to undermine democracies?