April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
Tunisia’s Endless Transition?
A domestic pact may be needed to end a dictatorship, but what happens when that pact itself becomes one of the chief obstacles to deeper democratization?
Articles
April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
Argentina: Peronism Returns
Out of power and with promises to jumpstart a lagging economy, the fractured Peronists reunified and reclaimed the presidency. Now they must deliver what voters want.
April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
The Freedom House Survey for 2019: The Leaderless Struggle for Democracy
In 2019, the global democratic recession deepened, while protest movements proliferated around the world, fighting largely without leaders or support from major democracies.
April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
Algeria: When Elections Hurt Democracy
Algeria’s massive wave of protesters wanted to put an end to sham elections. While the leaderless movement succeeded for a time, its failure showcased the lengths to which a country’s ruling elite will go to maintain its hold on power.
April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
A Lost Decade for Third-Wave Democracies?
Ordinary citizens in East Asia, Latin America, and Africa are increasingly disappointed with democracy and its ability to deliver.
April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
The Polarization Paradox
A review of Democracies Divided: The Global Challenge of Political Polarization, edited by Thomas Carothers and Andrew O’Donohue.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
Democracy Embattled
Despite being in a “slump,” democracy shows vivid signs of its persisting appeal.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
30 Years of World Politics: What Has Changed?
Democracies are grappling with an era of transformation: Identity is increasingly replacing economics as the major axis of world politics. Technological change has deepened social fragmentation, and trust in institutions is falling. As our most basic assumptions come under question, can liberal democracy rebuild itself?
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
The End of History Revisited
Is liberal democracy the endpoint of history? The ongoing democratic recession, growing disaffection among citizens, and rising populism pose new challenges to this view. Yet testing Francis Fukuyama’s much-criticized thesis requires us to consider not only liberal democracy’s internal contradictions, but also those of its authoritarian rivals.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
Breaking Out of the Democratic Slump
There is still an opportunity to pull the world out of its democratic slump. What is most needed is democratic conviction and resolve.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
The New Competitive Authoritarianism
In recent years competitive authoritarianism has emerged in some countries with relatively strong democratic traditions and institutions.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
The Fear of Shrinking Numbers
Illiberalism can drive away a country’s young people, and with them the future.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
Democracy’s Inevitable Elites
Robert Michels’s classic work on the “iron law of oligarchy” can help us to understand why there is so much dissatisfaction with representative democracy.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
The Rise and Fall of Good-Governance Promotion
Anticorruption has become universally accepted as a norm; that may tell us something about why it struggles in practice.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
The Instinct for Freedom
The mass protests that have taken place in 2019 in Hong Kong and elsewhere show that people’s desire for liberty cannot be extinguished.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
Rejuvenating Democracy Promotion
It is imperative to rethink how democracy support fits into today’s turbulent and threatening international political landscape.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
The Cutting Edge of Sharp Power
Democratic societies must address the spread of technology developed in authoritarian settings while continuing to uphold democratic norms.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
Russia’s Ukraine Obsession
Lacking any ideas for shoring up Russian society, Putin has settled on picking a fight with Ukraine.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
China: From Tiananmen to Neo-Stalinism
To grasp why post-Mao China’s remarkable economic development has not aided democracy, we must look first at the policies of top Chinese leaders.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
The Puzzle of Authoritarian Legitimacy
Why do East and Southeast Asia’s autocracies enjoy more support from their publics than do the region’s democracies?