April 2026, Volume 37, Issue 2
The judiciary is widely assumed to defend democracy. Yet in reality, even when independent of elected governments, courts can endanger democracy—sometimes by enabling executives and sometimes by aggressively fighting them.
April 2006, Volume 17, Issue 2
Despite hopes that 2005 would see an end to hostilities between rebels and government forces, neither disarmament nor elections took place. How did this once-prosperous country end up on the verge of anarchy and disaster?
July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3
The Editors’ introduction to “Francophone Africa in Flux.”
July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3
Following a military coup in 1999 and flawed and violence-ridden elections in 2000, democracy in Côte d’Ivoire faces an uphill battle against the forces of xenophobia and ethnic chauvinism.
Africans don’t want military rule. They want generals to rid them of bad leaders, and then return to the barracks. But once in power, military leaders often have other ideas.
The continent’s aspiring dictators are attacking term limits with a vengeance, finding new ways to avoid handing over power. But citizens are overwhelmingly against it — and can help keep their leaders in check.
