"The Journal of Democracy is far and away the most important forum for current debates about the nature and spread of liberal democracy around the world, and an indispensable tool for anybody interested in comparative politics or international relations. It is a model for how to present serious intellectual content in a clear and accessible way, and a standing rebuke to both the slop that often passes for political journalism and the irrelevant gibberish that often passes for social science."
–Gideon Rose, managing editor Foreign Affairs

The Journal's Influence

Relationship to the National Endowment for Democracy and International Forum for
Democratic Studies

Relationship to The Johns Hopkins University Press

Praise for the Journal

"The Journal of Democracy has shown a consistent devotion to high standards of scholarship in its efforts to promote an understanding of what makes democracy work and what makes it fail."
–The Times Literary Supplement

"The Journal of Democracy is an invaluable resource for those struggling to achieve democracy abroad and those who endeavor to aid in their efforts in this country."
–The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan

"I rely on the Journal of Democracy to provide me with first rate articles on the manifold aspects of democracy. I know of no other journal that fulfills this important purpose."
–Robert A. Dahl, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Yale University

"No printed media has done more for promoting the values of democracy, for diffusing relevant information about it, and for housing interesting and intelligent reflections on this topic. Justifiably, in Latin America the Journal of Democracy is widely read and discussed, not only among academics but also policy-makers and advisors."
–Guillermo O’Donnell, Senior Faculty Fellow of the Kellog Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame

“The Journal of Democracy has become the premier destination both for academic specialists on democracy and for practitioners trying to secure basic human rights and build democratic institutions. It is here where all of the most important ideas start.”
–Francis Fukuyama, Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy, The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies

"The Journal of Democracy is a vital tool in the global enhancement of democracy...unique for its treatment in depth of democracy's prospects, difficulties, and philosophical significance."
–Zbigniew Brzezinski, counselor and trustee at the Center for Strategic & International Studies

"The Journal of Democracy is indispensable to all students and supporters of democracy around the world. The Journal brings together the best of current scholarship and the wisest of political advocacy to create a mix that informs the mind and stirs the conscience. Everywhere I go to speak someone mentions a recent Journal article he or she has read. I cannot think of another journal of which the same may be said."
–Jean Bethke Elshtain, Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics, The University of Chicago

“The Journal of Democracy is unique in dealing with the democratic transformation of societies on both the philosophical and policy levels. Following the collapse of communism, it became the leading forum for discussion of the major challenges facing the post-totalitarian world, and it has played a crucial role in forming a community of scholars and policy makers concerned with both political and economic reform.”
–Lilia Shevtsova, Senior Associate, Russian Domestic Politics and Political Institutions Program Co-Chair, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

“I can write about the Journal of Democracy as a contributor, a reader, and a subscriber. This journal gave me a chance to be a part of the global community of researchers involved in intellectually exciting and practically important dialogue. . . . [A]s one of the very few subscribers to the Journal in Georgia I know that the copy that is kept in the library of my organization constitutes the object of great interest—and sometimes envy—for fellow-researchers and students in my country, and as some people have said to me, of the treasures of our small library. . . . [The] Journal of Democracy is an extremely successful project. . . . [I]t managed to gather thoughtful people from all over the globe: It gave voice to diversity of insights and perspectives. . . . [The Journal also] succeeded in being highly professional without excluding laymen through purely academic jargon. It is this combination of true universalism, reader-friendliness, and scholarly rigor that makes it such an indispensable resource for so many people of different cultural or professional backgrounds.”
–Ghia Nodia, Chairman of the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development, Georgia