China and East Asian Democracy: The Coming Wave
If there is going to be a great advance of democracy in this decade, it is most likely going to emanate from East Asia.
Volume 23, Issue 1
If there is going to be a great advance of democracy in this decade, it is most likely going to emanate from East Asia.
The legitimacy and appeal of democracy in East Asia will depend on how democratic countries in the region stack up against China.
Is “authoritarian resilience” in China a passing phenomenon, or is it something more durable?
If the PRC moves toward democracy, it is likely to be in some part due to the influence of Taiwan.
Morocco was not immune to the 2011 upheavals in the Arab world, but the country’s monarchy deftly managed the crisis through cosmetic constitutional reform.
Indonesia, a populous, poor, predominantly Muslim society, has been able to maintain democracy thanks to a vibrant associational life.
The AKP’s 2011 election victory confirmed its status as the dominant force in Turkish politics, but also sparked fears that its unchecked power might threaten civil liberties. Now it must face the challenges of adopting a new constitution and dealing with the Kurdish question.
Recent years have seen a transformation in Turkish civil-military relations—away from the traditional picture of weak elected officials overseen by a strong military, to one of a strengthened civilian government and a military with decreased influence. This article explores the questions of how this transformation has occurred, whether it will last, and what it indicates…
In the West, Turkey is considered a model for a secular democracy in the Muslim world, yet the country finds itself mired in a crisis of civil rights and liberties under a third term of the pro-Islamic AKP government. Ironically, while the government maintains a discourse on political reform—including constitutional amendments—the country is bitterly divided…
Turkish state policy toward the Kurds, the Republic of Turkey’s largest ethnic minority, has evolved from denial and mandatory assimilation to cultural recognition to acknowledgement of the Kurds’ contested status as a political problem demanding political solutions. The election of 36 Kurdish-nationalist lawmakers, most of whom now sit in parliament as representatives of the Peace…
A groundbreaking new survey shows that democracy assistance is highly valued by its recipients but that there remains room for improvement.
Social activist Anna Hazare’s hunger strike has helped to turn the world’s attention to India’s rampant corruption.
India’s Right to Information Act discourages corruption by giving every citizen the right to access information from any public authority.
Contrary to popular wisdom, emerging democracies might be better off with a majoritarian electoral system rather than one based on proportional representation.
Evidence from waves of democratization shows proportional election systems, however imperfect, to be the better option in most contexts.
A review of Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War by Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way.
Reports on elections in Argentina, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Cameroon, The Gambia, Guatemala, Guyana, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia, Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Poland, Russia, Tunisia, Zambia.
Excerpts from: the concession speech of former Zambian president Rupiah Banda; the inauguration speech of Zambian president Michael Sata; the “Russia Development Index 2010–2011” report.