April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
What Putin Fears Most
Forget his excuses. Russia’s autocrat doesn’t worry about NATO. What terrifies him is the prospect of a flourishing Ukrainian democracy.
Free Articles
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
Subversion Inc: The Age of Private Espionage
International spying and digital subversion used to be the province of governments. Now anyone who has the cash can order hi-tech snooping and surveillance. This is a threat to the future of freedom.
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
How Autocrats Weaponize Women’s Rights
Why are authoritarian regimes championing gender equality? Modern dictators want to appear progressive, liberal, and democratic, while distracting from their worst abuses.
January 2022, Volume 33, Issue 1
Coup in Tunisia: Is Democracy Lost?
President Kais Saied’s power grab has crushed Tunisian democracy, returning the country to the old playbook of Arab dictators past and present.
January 2022, Volume 33, Issue 1
The Collapse of Afghanistan
The Afghan republic’s destruction was sewn into its founding. The international community’s missteps are more responsible for its failure than the country’s supposedly endemic corruption.
January 2022, Volume 33, Issue 1
Democracy’s Arc: From Resurgent to Imperiled
Whether democracy regains its footing will depend on how democratic leaders and citizens respond to emboldened authoritarians and the fissures within their own societies.
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
Carl Gershman and the Struggle for Democracy
The National Endowment for Democracy’s founding president made enormous contributions to the fight for freedom and human rights. Reflections on what his 37-year tenure meant for the democratic cause—and this journal.
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
Russia’s Road to Autocracy
Thirty years after the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia is firmly in the grip of an autocrat. Where did Russia’s path go wrong?
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
How Authoritarians Win When They Lose
Turkey’s ruling party has developed a new tool: When its local candidates lose, it dismisses them and appoints its own choice under a guise that maintains the veneer of democracy. It is an autocratic innovation that may soon spread.
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
The Rise of Political Violence in the United States
In a deeply polarized United States, ordinary people now consume and espouse once-radical ideas and are primed to commit violence.
July 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3
Latin America Erupts: Millennial Authoritarianism in El Salvador
Nayib Bukele has developed a blend of political tactics that combines populist appeals and classic autocratic behavior with a polished social-media brand. It poses a dire threat to the country’s democratic institutions.
July 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3
China at the UN: Choking Civil Society
Beijing is using red tape, procedural rules, and a little help from its authoritarian allies to strangle NGOs seeking to participate in the world body.
July 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3
The Future of Platform Power: Making Middleware Work
Bringing middleware from theory to practice will require addressing thorny questions about revenue, cost, feasibility, and privacy.
July 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3
The Future of Platform Power: Solving for a Moving Target
Despite the challenges, middleware offers a legally and politically feasible answer to platforms’ influence over speech.
April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2
China: Totalitarianism’s Long Shadow
China’s fast economic rise has not dented its dictatorship, but Xi Jinping’s neo-Stalinist strategy has unleashed new challenges and tensions for the Communist Party’s long-term prospects for survival.
April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2
Why the Future Is Democratic
The swelling pessimism about democracy’s future is unwarranted. Values focused on human freedom are spreading throughout the world, and suggest that the future of self-government is actually quite bright.
April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2
The Miracle and Tragedy of the 2020 U.S. Election
The covid-19 pandemic nearly upended the U.S. election, but after a rocky primary season changes were made to save it. Alarmingly, however, a large portion of voters have rejected the result. The challenge of overcoming lies about a “rigged” election is great.
January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1
Why Strongmen Win in Weak States
While analysts of populism have focused on economic woes and “cultural backlash,” a thirst for the restoration of order may better explain the appeal of authoritarian populists in fragile democracies where governance is falling short.
January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1
The Three Faces of the Indian State
India’s Constitution has long seemed stable, but the rise of an ethnic, absolute, and opaque state is changing the constitutional order in momentous and disturbing ways.
January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1
The Arab Spring at 10: Kings or People?
A decade ago, Arab peoples stood up and sought to replace their rulers with a more democratic political project. But Arab autocrats have a project of their own. Can the people gain ground in the struggle for self-government, or will their rulers bear it away?