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| Johns Hopkins Univ. Press |
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July 2005, Volume 16, Number 3
Transitions from PostcommunismMichael McFaul
The years since 2000 have seen a surprising new wave of democratic breakthroughs in postcommunist lands as varied as Serbia, Georgia, and Ukraine. Can we identify any factors common to each case?
International Linkage and Democratization
Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way
The role of international factors varied greatly across the post-Cold War transitions to democracy, but the intensity and results of external democratizing pressure depended on two variables: linkage to the West and Western leverage.
The New Iraq
- Democratic Institutions and Performance
Adeed Dawisha
Even after its successful elections, Iraq remains a divided society. Democracy did not create these divisions, but it could be the key to managing them. - The Sistani Factor
Ahmed H. al-Rahim
For the Shi'ite majority and its senior religious leader, the January elections played out against the background of a longing for justice that has deep spiritual sources as well as more recent sociopolitical roots. - The Uses of Historical Memory
Eric Davis
If Iraq is to become the free and self-governing country that an overwhelming majority of its citizens want it to be, a "useable past" made accessible by historical memory will be vital.
Sultan Tepe
Is the Islamic-oriented party that has ruled since 2002 really the harbinger of "Muslim democracy," or is it somethingmore familiar in Turkish politics: a hierarchical group none too closely in touch with society and overly focused on one man?
Gauging Arab Support for Democracy
Mark Tessler and Eleanor Gao
Despite some moves toward liberalization in the past three decades, all Arab-majority countries remain authoritarian. Nonetheless, opinion surveys show that popular support for democracy in this part of the world is high.
A Fresh Look at Semipresidentialism
- Variations on a Theme
Robert Elgie
The regime type known as semipresidentialism became a popular choice during the "third wave" of democratization. But some variations of this constitutional arrangement are more conducive to democracy than others. - The Russian Predicament
Timothy J. Colton and Cindy Skach
At the end of the Cold War, semipresidentialism became the modal constitution of the postcommunist world. In Russia and other post-Soviet states, however, this system of government has impeded consolidation.
Wendy Hunter and Timothy J. Power
Many saw the election of Workers' Party leader Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva to the Brazilian presidency in October 2002 as the beginning of an era. Two years into his first term, Lula has yet to live up to that expectation.
Costa Rica: Paradise in Doubt
Fabrice Lehoucq
Once routinely praised as the "Switzerland of Central America," Costa Rica has in recent years begun to show troubling signs of having a political system that citizens feel is not keeping faith with them.
Promoting Transparency in Angola
John McMillan
Natural-resource wealth has been at the root of Angola's corruption and authoritarianism. By giving leverage to those pushing for reform, however, it has also become a key factor in the struggle for accountability.
Books in Review
- The Quintessential Dissident
Vitali Silitski
A review of The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror by Natan Sharansky.
Election Watch
- Reports on recent elections in Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Togo, and Zimbabwe.
Documents on Democracy
- Excerpts from a joint statement to the Kyrgyz nation issued by Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko and Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili on March 31.
- Excerpts from the Madrid Agenda, adopted by the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism, and Security in Madrid on March 8-11.
- Excerpts from a letter to Javier Solana, EU high representative for common foreign and security policy and José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, issued by five hundred Chinese human rights and democracy activists in response to signs that the European Union would lift the arms embargo imposed on Beijing following the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
- Excerpts from the third UN Development Programme Arab Human Development Report, entitled Towards Freedom in the Arab World, released on April 5 in Amman, Jordan.
- Excerpts from a secret audio message recorded by Thich Quang Do, Buddhist monk and deputy leader of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, for the annual session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, held March 14-April 22 in Geneva.
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