Russia appears intent on destroying Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Ukrainians are buckling down and facing up to a cold, dark winter. Camping stoves are at a premium.

The 2024 campaign is already quietly underway. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is courting Donald Trump’s supporters, while trying not to draw the former president’s ire.

The ascent of Xi loyalists to top Communist Party positions this week promises Xi Jinping an iron grip over China’s government for at least the next five years. But prizing loyalty above all else doesn’t guarantee stability.

In our progress roundup, government and citizen objectives aligned and voters signaled approval for a family code that includes same-sex marriage in Cuba, and sending fewer people to prison in Oklahoma.

Our 10 picks for this month include books about U.S. presidents shaped by conflicts, a Mexican American community disrupted by deportation, a soldier’s atonement for wartime deeds, and a neighborhood changed by one man’s decency.  

The biggest bombshell coming out of a week-long gathering of China’s ruling Communist Party was not that long-time leader Xi Jinping further consolidated power for another five-year term. Rather it was the surprising ejection of a potential successor to Xi – Hu Chunhua – from the powerful 24-member Politburo.

The ejection was not only of a presumed rival but also of a style of leadership that many Chinese people now prefer as their personal grievances toward the party keep expanding.

As he climbed the party’s hierarchy over decades, Mr. Hu – the son of farmers – was often depicted by the official press as a humble listener, open-minded to criticism and reform. While still loyal to Mr. Xi and the party in imposing firm control over places such as Tibet, he also displayed a willingness to mediate disputes, such as in Guangdong province between local journalists and party censors.

In meetings with foreign officials, too, his willingness to deliberate was also noted. “He genuinely paid interest and attention to what I had to say, as well as to my colleagues from other chambers,” Joerg Wuttke, president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, told Reuters. He was comfortable enough to make a light joke about the European chamber’s long list of complaints about China’s policy. “Other leaders would not have taken that quite (as) well,” said Mr. Wuttke.

China’s Communist Party has long had a tradition of channeling public grievances through private petitions to local officials. Mr. Xi has shifted that process more to the courts where the party has greater control. Now in seeming to rule for life, he has surrounded himself mainly with loyalists who may not challenge him. The world has seen how such a consolidation of power has played out in Russia under Vladimir Putin. His close allies may have avoided telling him of the potential problems in invading Ukraine.

In a 2021 global index by the University of Gothenburg, the level of deliberation in governance has gone down in 32 countries in the previous decade. The index describes deliberation as a “respectful dialogue among informed and competent participants who are open to persuasion.”

Within the secretive politics of China, Mr. Hu was representative of a “populist” faction that sought to listen to the people in order to correct the party’s policies. For dictators, however, listening can be dangerous if the people see their grievances not being met. The rise of China as a peaceful power may depend on whether enough leaders in the party can use their deliberative powers to change the country’s course.