The Alaska summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin struck an uncanny resemblance to the Washington-Moscow meetings of the Cold War. But 2025 is not 1985. Washington and Moscow cannot simply redraw the map without Ukraine and Europe at the table. How should the war in Ukraine end?
Sharp partisan divides and bitter social rivalries are increasingly spiraling into zero-sum conflicts. The antidote to such hatred and violence, argues one JoD author, is direct, face-to-face dialogue among neighbors and communities.
Trump and Putin’s meeting in Alaska underscored how they see the world in the same way, while highlighting the deepening divisions that are weakening the Western democratic alliance.
The world increasingly appears afflicted by “us-them” divides that breed anger, resentment, and violence. But across the globe small local groups are mounting a thoughtful resistance against polarization and hate.
Democracy is in decline, growing weaker from within. But why? And can we reverse the damage before it’s too late?
Steadfast, nonviolent movements are often the most effective way to counter an authoritarian. These essays explain how to start, sharpen, and sustain a movement.
They have been smart, creative, leaderless, and transparent. And they aren’t targeting any one politician or party. They aim to change the entire system.
The small South American country has become a strategic foothold for authoritarian powers. Its election is hugely important for the future of democracy across the region.
On International Youth Day 2025, the Journal of Democracy celebrates the creativity, determination, and courage of young people across the world fighting for democracy.
The international drug trade has ravaged Latin America. Drug cartels and organized crime groups have grown powerful enough in some countries to infiltrate and even challenge the power of the state. As demand for drugs and profits soars, violence, death, and displacement rain down upon communities, leaving democracy and the economy in shambles.
There’s a fine line between genuine cybersecurity and digital authoritarianism. Many autocrats use the pretext of digital order to surveil, silence, and suppress their citizens. State cyber repression creates a climate of fear around social media and the internet, shrinking one of the last remaining spaces for free speech.
The hope was that President Hakainde Hichilema would bring much-needed reform and openness. Instead, he has ushered in new laws that are silencing dissent and free expression.
From the early days of this journal to our most recent issue, the JoD editors have compiled ten essays we think you should not miss this summer.
In the shadow of Gaza’s destruction, the Jordanian regime has quietly repressed one of the main sources of the country’s political activism.
The latest issue of the Journal of Democracy answers some of today’s most pressing questions about democracy, and features essays on Iran, Turkey, Tanzania, the Philippines, and more. But it all goes behind a paywall after July 31. Don’t miss your chance to read the entire issue for free!
The drama of the country’s divided government just played out in a failed, high-stakes vote to recall two-dozen opposition legislators. How both sides respond could determine the fate of Taiwan’s democracy.
In the July issue of the Journal of Democracy, Stanley Bill and Ben Stanley unpack the trilemma that post-illiberal leaders face and explain why illiberals stand to benefit.
A year ago Nicolás Maduro stole Venezuela’s election and entrenched his power by jailing and killing those who opposed him. But the world’s democracies don’t need to sit on the sidelines. Here is how they can raise the costs for Maduro.
After years of increasingly authoritarian rule, Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu Hassan was hailed as a democratic reformer. But as Dan Paget and Aikande Clement Kwayu write in the July issue of the JoD, the president is more performer than reformer, relying on theatrics to delay real reform while sharpening her tools of repression.
Thailand’s current crisis may finally end the cycle of populism and polarization that has crippled its democratic aspirations. But it is also revealing that there are far worse forces undermining Thai democracy.
