International | New cold war, new compromises

How Vladimir Putin provokes—and complicates—the struggle against autocracy

As in the old cold war, ugly trade-offs are inevitable

THE STRUGGLE between autocracy and democracy is “the defining challenge of our time”, President Joe Biden said in December at a virtual “Summit for Democracy”. Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine offers evidence he was right. With missiles and tanks, an autocrat is trying to snuff out a freely elected government.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “New cold war, new compromises”

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