Category: Event

Democratic politics depends on the messy, sometimes bitter competition of parties and ideas — opposition is how citizens hold power to account. But in democracies around the world, healthy rivalry is hardening into something more corrosive: the tendency to see political opponents as enemies, not rivals.

Democratic government — ideally — provides channels for resolving conflict among competing groups and interests, defusing hostilities before they explode into physical violence. It has never worked perfectly.

With news of a rogue AI jumping developers’ guardrails, authoritarian governments harnessing its power to ramp up repression, and companies laying off scores of workers, it might be tempting to dismiss the good this technology can do. That would be a mistake, according to Alex Gladstein.

Readers come to the Journal of Democracy seeking a deeper understanding of what democracy is and how it works best, insights and analysis on the latest democratic developments around the world, and a lens through which to interpret events in their own backyard.

Since winning Turkey’s 2023 national election, President Erdoğan and the ruling AK Party have seen their popularity plummet. In response, they’ve ramped up their repression of the main opposition party — most notably, jailing its presidential candidate, Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and removing party leader Özgür Özel.

Thousands of workers lost their jobs last week — laid off by CEOs anticipating sweeping changes to their businesses made possible by the latest advances in artificial intelligence.

Iran has been plagued by economic turmoil and popular unrest in recent years as international sanctions stiffened and citizens bucked against the regime’s grip on civil life.

Last December, a group of elite special-forces members attempted to overthrow Benin’s elected government. This was just the latest in a spate of African coup attempts, both successful and unsuccessful, in the last half-decade.

Since U.S. forces removed Venezuelan autocrat Nicolás Maduro on January 3, the country’s future has been in question. Will the longtime Chavista regime remain in charge, or will Venezuela democratize?

Liberal democracy combines majority rule with the protection of minority rights. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt wrote last year in the Journal of Democracy that while some institutions which limit the power of electoral majorities are essential to liberal democracy, others are not only unnecessary but may even distort political competition.

In recent years, we have seen young people across the world take to the streets in huge numbers. Propelled by economic precarity, exclusion from power, and elite corruption, Gen Z protesters have been risking severe repression despite little hope of bringing lasting change.

Uganda’s longtime ruler, Yoweri Museveni, and pop star–turned–freedom fighter Bobi Wine, along with six other candidates, are facing off today in the country’s presidential election.

U.S. forces captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife and delivered them to New York City to stand trial on charges of drug trafficking and narcoterrorism. Maduro may be gone, but his regime remains intact with his appointed deputy now at the reins.

When a democratically elected president acts undemocratically, how do you hold him accountable? It isn’t easy. Most leaders — even those who attempt to hold power through coups — evade justice.

Last week, a Bangladeshi court convicted deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina of crimes against humanity and sentenced her to death. Hasina, now exiled in India, was ousted by a student uprising in August 2024 after unleashing a vicious crackdown on protesters, killing more than a thousand.

Gulf monarchies are exerting influence all over the world — in sports, media, entertainment, and politics. Where their human-rights records once drew censure, these oil-rich kingdoms are now being courted and their leaders welcomed in Western halls of power. How have these countries remained bastions of repression while white-washing their reputations? The following Journal of Democracy essays…

“As U.S. military assets accumulate in the Caribbean and diplomatic pressure on the Nicolás Maduro regime intensifies,” writes José Ramón Morales-Arilla in a new Journal of Democracy online exclusive, “two starkly different visions of Venezuela’s future dominate policy discussions.”

On 8 December 2024, a coalition of Islamic militants toppled the brutal Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, whose family had ruled the country for more than half a century.

Tanzania’s Independence Day was Tuesday, barely a month since the shocking and brutal crackdown on thousands of protesters decrying the country’s sham election.

Autocrats around the world have been innovating new ways to steal elections, manipulating rules and revising laws to keep themselves in power for as long as possible.

Why are would-be strongmen so unlikely to succeed in undoing democracy? What steps can we take to protect democracies from advanced AI? Should we be worried about the Gulf states’ growing influence?

With democracy in trouble across the globe, it’s easy to forget how and why a steady succession of dictatorships fell in the last half of the twentieth century. Democracy’s strengths, and its record, should give cause for hope at a moment when autocracy appears ascendent.

Last week, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to adopt a resolution condemning the United States’ “commercial and financial embargo” against Cuba. The outcome came as no surprise.

When María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month, she made sure to emphasize that her accomplishments were not hers alone — they were shared with countless other activists agitating for democracy in Venezuela.

When democracies are clearly outperforming autocracies in so many ways, why the widespread disenchantment with democratic government? Why are democracy and human-rights activists across the globe turning to Bitcoin?

The list of democratic countries suffering from polarized politics is long and growing. The Czech Republic — one of postcommunist Europe’s strongest democracies — is the latest to join.

The newly aggressive U.S. policy toward Nicolás Maduro and his autocratic regime, including the recent sinking of alleged Venezuelan drug boats, did not come out of nowhere.

When voters are asked to cast ballots for or against important national policies — whether to draft or adopt a new constitution, to abolish or reinstate term limits, or, perhaps most famously, to leave or remain in the European Union — they take that job seriously. Yet national referendums are not always put forward in…

On this International Day of Democracy, we reflect on democracy’s inherent value, try to understand why faith in self-rule is waning, and consider what we can do to strengthen the cause, sharing a selection of milestone essays to aid in this effort.

Rachel Kleinfeld and Nicole Bibbins Sedaca detail the dangers of deep polarization and lay out steps that leaders and citizens can take to stop the violence.

Democracy’s very survival is at the top of our readers’ minds this month. Democratic backsliding is a major concern, but democratic resilience appears shaky at best. Can anything be done? Read this month’s top ten essays to find out.

Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Narendra Modi, along with the presidents of Turkey, Iran, and other states are working together to amass power at home and project it abroad. These essays explain how they’re doing this, and what democracies can do to prevent it.

Essays that highlight the role of labor in the fight for democracy and good government across the globe — from Africa and the Americas to Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and beyond.

On International Youth Day 2025, the Journal of Democracy celebrates the creativity, determination, and courage of young people across the world fighting for democracy.

Donald Trump won a second — and, this time, overwhelming — victory on November 5. As the United States and the world take stock, the Journal of Democracy is looking back at 2016 and Trump’s unlikely rise to power.

Founded on 1 October 1949, the People’s Republic of China has entered a new age, as Xi centralizes power in his own hands and abandons the ideological openness of the reform era. Carl Minzner explains why China is entering a dangerous new chapter.

The 2024 International Day of Democracy is spotlighting the potential of artificial intelligence to improve governance while also recognizing the risks it poses. Over the last year, the Journal of Democracy has published some of the world’s leading AI experts on the promise and peril it presents for democracy.