THE COLD WAR WITHIN
If the old Cold War was a twilight struggle between and among states, the new Cold War is a subtler and stealthier struggle within states.
Like the old Cold War, today’s version is also a normative struggle. On one side are liberal values like respect for institutions, the rule of law, transparency, accountability, individual liberties, and the sanctity of contracts. And on the other side is an authoritarian populism one based on patronage, institutionalized kleptocracy, the merger of money and power, informal rules, ad hoc power networks, sham institutions, and arbitrary rule.
It is a battle that is playing out across the Western world and the stakes couldn’t be higher. And it is a battle in which Russia and other authoritarian actors are trying to tip the scales.
On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with former USAID official Jonathan Katz, the senior director for the Anti-Corruption, Democracy, and Security Project at The Brookings Institution, and Corina Rebegia, a non-resident fellow with Accountability Lab and a democratic governance and foreign policy expert who served as a senior advisor at the National Democratic Institute from 2021-25.
Enjoy…
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SHOW NOTES
The Brookings Institution’s Democracy Playbook, which was referenced in the podcast, can be accessed here. Johnathan Katz’s other work can be accessed here.
Corina Rebegia’s recently published work can be accessed here, here, here, here, here, and here.
The Power Vertical Newsletter on Substack can be accessed here. Recently published work by Brian Whitmore can be accessed here, here, here, and here. Please follow Brian Whitmore and The Power Vertical on Bluesky@powervertical.bsky.social