January 2005

Volume 16, Issue 1

Building Democracy After Conflict

Building Democracy After Conflict: ‘Stateness’ First

World events-recent, current, and almost certainly to come-drive home the truth that before there can be a democratic state, there must first be a functioning state, period. Creating workable states where they have been destroyed or have barely existed yields to none among the challenges of our time.

The Referendum in Venezuela

Hong Kong’s Democrats Stumble

The democratic forces had an uphill climb going into the September 2004 legislative elections, but they made unforced errors as well. What were these, and how can the democrats do better next time?

Election Watch

Repots on elections in Afghanistan, Botswana, Czech Republic, Ghana, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Namibia, Niger, Romania, Slovenia, Tunisia, Ukraine, and Uruguay.

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a declaration issued by the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba; an open letter issued by leading democrats decrying Russian president Vladimir Putin’s series of “reforms”;  a statement issued by forty leading civil society groups from the Middle East and North Africa; an open letter issued in response to the initiation of criminal…