October 2023, Volume 34, Issue 4
Generative AI can flood the media, internet, and even personal correspondence, sowing confusion for voters and government officials alike. If we fail to act, mounting mistrust will polarize our societies and tear at our institutions.
July 2024, Volume 35, Issue 3
If democracies did a better job “delivering” for their citizens, so the thinking goes, people would not be so ready to embrace antidemocratic alternatives. Not so. This conventional wisdom about democratic backsliding is seldom true and often not accurate at all.
July 2023, Volume 34, Issue 3
People obsess over where Russia’s democracy went wrong. The truth is it did not fail: Russia’s democratic transition never got off the starting blocks.
July 2024, Volume 35, Issue 3
The “crisis” of democracy is a crisis of representation. New parties, some of which are populist in troublingly illiberal ways, are arising from this moment. The danger that they pose is not that they are antidemocratic, but that they are antiliberal.
How Autocrats Weaponize AI — And How to Fight Back | Albert Cevallos
Artificial Intelligence has become autocrats’ newest tool for surveilling, targeting, and crushing dissent. But this supercharged technology doesn’t need to favor tyrants. Activists must learn how to harness it in the fight for freedom.
Why Russians Are Souring on Putin’s War | Thomas Sherlock
Vladimir Putin wants to stir patriotic fervor for his war in Ukraine. But most Russians don’t think the war is worth the cost, and it’s putting the Kremlin in a bind.
Will the German Center Hold? | Michael Bröning
Although Germans flooded the polls, the country is deeply polarized and politically fragmented. Germany’s centrists need to deliver on voters’ concerns. If they don’t, the far-right AfD is waiting in the wings.
News & Updates
March 2025
On March 11, Ukraine agreed to a thirty-day ceasefire with Russia. But Vladimir Putin is holding out, insisting that his harsh demands must first be met. Does Putin really hold all the bargaining chips, or is he weaker than we think?
March 2025
Police in Manila arrested former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte on an ICC warrant for crimes against humanity. His daughter, Vice-President Sara Duterte, was impeached a month ago. The following Journal of Democracy essays chart the twists and turns of Philippine politics and the long-running feud between the Duterte and Marcos political clans.
Most Read
Citizens across the globe still value democracy, but they have become dissatisfied with the way it is working. A new era of representation is in order — one featuring more diverse leaders, responsive politicians, and empowered publics.
Nicolás Maduro brazenly stole Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, despite a free, fair, and transparent ballot count that showed a clear opposition victory. Why would an autocrat want to maintain one of the world’s best voting systems?
Covid-19 swept across Latin America with devastating effects. But it had unexpected positive consequences too, as citizens ousted inept politicians and pushed back against the inequities laid bare by the pandemic.
Even as Georgia lurches toward autocracy, the country’s pluralism and democratic culture are deepening. What can Georgia’s contradictory trends reveal about democratic resilience?
If democracies did a better job “delivering” for their citizens, so the thinking goes, people would not be so ready to embrace antidemocratic alternatives. Not so. This conventional wisdom about democratic backsliding is seldom true and often not accurate at…
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By Danielle Allen and E. Glen Weyl
Advanced AI poses twin perils: the collapse of democratic control over key state functions and the concentration of political and economic power in the hands of the few.
Plus the entire January 2024 issue, available free of charge for a limited time.
