Coup plotters rarely die of old age. Yevgeny Prigozhin is dead and the Kremlin is rid of a formidable challenger, but at what price? Brian Klaas explores, in the Atlantic.

The most exciting explanations for Niger’s upheaval are globe-sweeping and probably wrong. Brian Klaas deduces the likeliest explanation, in the Atlantic.

The new normal outside of established, rich democracies is counterfeit democracy—authoritarian rule that pretends to be democratic. And the playbook is being co-opted by wannabe despots everywhere. Brian Klaas explains

After the submarine, the deep-sea experts became coup experts. To understand the weekend’s mercenary mutiny, actual coup expert Brian Klaas outlines what we do know… and what we can’t know, in the Garden of Forking Paths.

A firsthand lesson of how and why disinformation spreads, why it's so sticky in the minds of deluded believers, and how to fight back. Brian Klaas explores, in the Garden of Forking Paths.

In modern discourse, we focus on the politics of the possible, with a sense of futility about real, positive change. According to Brian Klaas, it's time to say what we really want, by embracing the politics of the ideal.

A natural experiment with political lotteries points to the benefits of ensuring that candidates fully represent the demographics of their communities. Brian Klaas explains, in the Garden of Forking Paths.

Pro-democracy movements are missing a key political tool that authoritarian movements have perfected: the power of ritual. It's time to fight back. Brian Klaas writes in the Garden of Forking Paths.

A new political science study looks at the traits of people who support political violence in the United States. They develop a "political violence profile." And the key variables might surprise you. Brian Klaas writes in The Garden of Forking Paths.

If the president condemns a manipulated election in Thailand, the U.S. could lose its oldest Asian ally. Ahead of the Thai elections, Brian Klaas reviews the stakes, in The Atlantic.

Nauru, a tiny little belly button nation in the vast emptiness of the Pacific Ocean, is the most interesting island you've never heard of. Follow Brian Klaas into a history of isolation, sudden riches, lost paradise and uncertain future - a story of globalization and interdependence.

Donald Trump is deeply unpopular outside his base and is facing multiple criminal investigations that could land him in jail. But...he could also win the 2024 US presidential election. Brian Klaas explains how in the Garden of Forking Paths.

Republican States are becoming laboratories for authoritarianism. Brian Klaas explains, in The Atlantic.

Why are humans, aligning themselves into meaningless groups that hate each other more than ever before? Borrowing a whimsical framework from Kurt Vonnegut, Brian Klaas explores the political implications of the karass and the granfalloon in Garden of the Forking Paths.

New research has discovered a new personality trait called "need for chaos." They just want to watch the world burn and they're happy to help democracy end in flames. We must understand them. Brian Klaas explores in the Garden of Forking Paths.

Did Covid-19 come from a raccoon dog or a lab leak? Brian Klaas explores how a more important debate has been hidden from public view in The Garden of Forking Paths…

Would President DeSantis be worse for American democracy than President Trump? Brian Klaas investigates for The Atlantic…

Most encounters with government happen with “street-level bureaucrats.” Brian Klaas tries to figure out what it’s like to be one for The Garden of Forking Paths.

Brian Klaas’ lecture for Science & Cocktails on why we get the wrong leaders and what can be done to put better ones in charge.

In The Garden of Forking Paths, Brian Klaas argues that corruption, lobbying, and improper political influence plague our political systems, wasting money and creating bad governance, and that randomised sting operations could expose this.

Tunisia, the only democracy to grow from the Arab Spring, is returning to dictatorship. The West, which is congratulating itself on defending democracy in Ukraine, is letting democracy die elsewhere. Brian Klaas writes for The Atlantic…

Can incompetent airlines, hospital-billing errors, or a mix-up at the IRS erode our trust in everything? Brian Klaas thinks so, in the Atlantic.

Dark Triad traits are over-represented in positions of power. Are the halls of Congress and Parliament overrun with psychopaths? Brian Klaas for The Garden of Forking Paths.

America's Republican Party is ‘drowning in a cesspool of conspiracy theories and deranged, ratcheting extremism’. Why did that happen—and how can it be reversed? Brian Klaas explores in The Garden of Forking Paths.

The history of conspiracy theories in America has a long past, but the most worrying shifts have happened in the Trump and post-Trump era. Brian Klaas explores for Public Notice.

Understanding how cognitive shortcuts work when processing new information is crucial to understanding modern politics—and it's a facet of cognition that Republicans manipulate extremely effectively. Brian Klaas for The Garden of Forking Paths.

Brazil’s own version of January 6th teaches us about how authoritarian networks spread despotic chaos. Brian Klaas for The Garden of Forking Paths.

Why do we hold ordinary corporate employees to a higher standard than members of Congress? Brian Klaas explores for The Garden of Forking Paths.

From Trump to Matt Gaetz, Steve Bannon, Lauren Boebert, and Jacob Rees-Mogg, so many terrible politicians present themselves as bizarro caricatures. Why? Brian Klaas investigates.

The worst election deniers were defeated in the midterms. Trump is calling to terminate the Constitution. Is America heading toward authoritarianism? If so, can the trend be reversed in time? Brian Klaas explores.