The Dalai Lama has announced that he intends to reincarnate, paving the way for a successor to take on a mantle stretching back 500 years after his death.

The Dalai Lama has announced that he will have a successor after his death, continuing a centuries-old tradition that has become a flashpoint in the struggle with China’s Communist Party over Tibet’s future.

As China grows more assertive in extending its authoritarianism beyond its borders, this succession question tests whether democratic nations still believe some principles transcend pragmatism.