Lewis d’Avigdor, PhD, is the managing director of Small Planet Institute. A former lawyer and historian who taught at Cornell, Harvard, and Wheaton College, he focuses on American and African-American politics and culture.
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Hope in a time of democratic decline
Two major reports released this year tell a grim story: Global freedom continues to decline and the US has lost its longstanding classification a liberal democracy. But hope lies in the data.
October 2, 2026
