Threat to US democracy imperils democracy the world over

Eurasia Group released our annual Top Risks at the start of the month and just like last year, the United States ranks at the top of the list. Unlike last year though, our concerns for the US extend far beyond the next calendar year.

Let's start with a statement that in typical times would be utterly uncontroversial - there was a clear winner in US presidential elections. That winner was Joe Biden. Yet nearly half of all Americans refuse to accept that Biden won the presidency legitimately. As the shameful events at the US Capitol on January 6 showed, a smaller set of Americans are even willing to use violence to prove that point.

Democracies depend on widespread faith that the political will of the people is being honored; it's been true of every advanced industrial democracy in the post-war era. But the 2020 election and its turbulent aftermath have shown that can...