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Johns Hopkins Univ. Press

April 2005, Volume 16, Number 2

Scholarship and Statesmanship
Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Seymour Martin Lipset’s contributions to political science and sociology are not theoretical achievements alone, but reflect his keenly practical moral awareness, his understanding of leadership, and his great love of democracy as the finest form of government ever devised.

The Rise of “Muslim Democracy”
Vali Nasr

The incentives created by competitive elections in a number of Muslim-majority countries are fueling a political trend that roughly resembles the rise of Christian Democracy in twentieth-century Europe

Challenge and Change in East Asia

  1. Constitutionalism on Trial in South Korea
    Hahm Chaihark and Sung Ho Kim
    During the early years of South Korea's transition to democracy, expanding popular rule and deepening individual rights went hand-in-hand. But Roh Moo Hyun's presidency has exposed rifts between majority rule and constitutionalism that the country's judiciary is struggling to bridge.

  2. Taiwan's Year of Stress
    Yun-han Chu
    Thanks to a disputed presidential election and a narrowly divided parliament, Taiwan's politics remains tense. Yet the worst of the conflicts that gripped the island seem to have eased, and the difficult political events of the last few years may have some beneficial effects after all.

  3. "Business Populism" in Thailand

    4. Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker
    Recently reelected premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his “Thais Love Thais” party offer a fusion of populist rhetoric with policies that serve the interests of the Thai business class.

  4. Indonesia’s Quest for Accountable Governance

    5. Muhammad Qodari
    Despite the tsunami tragedy, Indonesians at least can look back on the political events of 2004 with pride. Their country successfully held three major elections and produced a legitimate government. Now the main challenge is to secure regular governmental accountability.

  5. Is Democracy the Only Game in Town?

    6. Doh Chull Shin and Jason Wells
    In three of the six democracies surveyed by the East Asia Barometer, a majority of respondents prefer democracy to its alternatives. In the other three, however, a lingering nostalgia for authoritarianism stands in the way of democratic consolidation.

  6. Facing the Perils of Presidentialism?

    7. Francis Fukuyama, Björn Dressel, and Boo-Seung Chang
    Juan Linz’s 1990 critique of presidentialism in these pages was based largely on the Latin American experience. In the last few years, however, four new Asian democracies have encountered presidential crises. Does Linz’s work hold the secret to what has been ailing these regimes?

Ukraine's Orange Revolution

  1. The Opposition’s Road to Success
    Taras Kuzio
    Ukraine>’s opposition had been trying to oust President Leonid Kuchma’s semi-authoritarian regime since its alleged involvement in the murder of journalist Georgi Gongadze in 2000. What brought success in 2004?

  2. Kuchma’s Failed Authoritarianism
    Lucan A. Way
    Desperate to secure victory for its own candidate in the 2004 presidential election, the incumbent regime undertook an unprecedented campaign of blatant election fraud. But it had underestimated the citizenry that it was trying to deceive.

The End of Postcommunism in Romania
Peter Gross and Vladimir Tismaneanu

The 2004 elections saw the defeat of the former communists who ruled Romania for most of the period since the fall of communism. Will the country’s new, democratic, and pro-European government be able to break with the semi-authoritarian habits of its postcommunist predecessors?

Books in Review

Lipset’s Legacy
Cynthia McClintock
A review of The Democratic Century by Seymour Martin Lipset and Jason M. Lakin.

Freedom’s Edge
Joshua Muravchik
A review of The Democratic Advantage: How Democracies Promote Prosperity and Peace by Morton H. Halperin, Joseph T. Siegle, and Michael M. Weinstein.

Election Watch

Reports on recent elections in Croatia, Ghana, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Moldova, Mozambique, Niger, Palestinian Territories, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, and Ukraine

Documents on Democracy

1.   Excerpts from a February 18 statement by the Lebanese opposition, declaring a “Nonviolent Intifada of Independence and Democracy.”

2.   Excerpts from a speech by Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko, delivered on Kyiv’s Independence Square after he was sworn in on January 23.

3.   Excerpts from Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s October 20 inaugural address.

4.   Excerpts from inaugural remarks by Mahmoud Abbas, delivered after he was sworn in as president of the Palestinian National Authority on January 15.

5.   Excerpts from a collective statement by Togolese civil society organizations, released in response to the unconstitutional appointment of Fauré Gnassingbé as president of Togo, following the death of his father, President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, on February 5.

6.   Excerpts from an appeal to the international community issued by 25 Nepalese human rights organizations on February 5 in response to King Gyanendra’s dismissal of Nepal’s democratically elected government.

7.   Excerpts from Romanian president Traian Basescu’s December 20 inaugural address.
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