Mexico launched a radical overhaul of its judiciary on June 1 with its first-ever judicial election. The controversial plan risks weakening judicial independence, checks on presidential power, and democracy itself.
Political blunders, distrust of elites, and Donald Tusk’s inability to deliver on his promises helped make an unknown, far-right former bodyguard the country’s next president. Worse, it will be far harder now to safeguard Polish democracy.
Los bosques amazónicos de Bolivia se están convirtiendo en tierra arrasada, con millones de acres perdidos cada año a causa de incendios descontrolados. Peor aún, este desastre está siendo provocado por un gobierno más interesado en obtener ganancias corruptas que en proteger a su pueblo y su fauna.
South Koreans just elected a new president. Will he be good for South Korean democracy?
South Koreans have elected Lee Jae-myung president. Will he be a pragmatic democratic reformer? Or will he continue the polarizing political warfare of recent South Korean leaders?
Voters across the world see democracy as unresponsive, out of touch, inept, and even corrupt. Something needs to change, but no one can agree on what. What democracy needs, Joel Day argues in a new Journal of Democracy online exclusive, is a single bold and effective reform plan.
So, why don’t they want to fix it?
South Korea is about to elect a new president. North Korea has changed in recent years. Seoul’s approach to the Kim regime must change to reflect new risks — and Korea’s democratic strength.
Putin’s war on Ukraine, AI’s threat to democracy, and democracy’s crisis of confidence have been at the forefront of readers’ minds this month. Read May’s top 10 essays for free now!
Romania is the latest example of rising far-right populism across Europe. The essays below examine the forces driving these illiberal political movements.
Romania’s democracy just survived a near-death experience, but it may be more vulnerable going forward. How far can leaders go in defending democracy without compromising their claim to represent the people?
On Tuesday, May 13, the United States announced it would lift longstanding sanctions on Syria. Reintegrating into the global economy could lay the foundations for Syria’s stability and prosperity. In the Journal of Democracy’s latest issue, leading scholars unpack Assad’s unexpected fall, and the reasons for hope that Syria will flourish.
Bolivia’s Amazon forests are becoming scorched earth, with millions of acres lost each year to raging fires. Worse, this disaster is being caused by a government more interested in corrupt profits than protecting its people and wildlife.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist BJP explicitly exclude and routinely attack the country’s largest minority, but the political opposition is silent, too afraid to jeopardize its base of support. These essays explore India’s complex democratic history and its prospects for the future.
Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way’s landmark 2002 essay clarified the shifting democratic landscape of the late twentieth century. Now, competitive authoritarianism more than anything else explains the state of global democracy today.
The Chinese Communist Party is attempting to rename the Tibetan people’s homeland, part of a wider effort to eradicate Tibet’s cultural identity. For Tibet, it’s more than just a name.
Determined to project their influence abroad, authoritarian regimes are subverting international rules and norms while disguising their misdeeds. The easiest way to do this? Convince the world they are benign, upstanding members of the international community.
Authoritarians are developing new tools to project their malign influence across the globe. The world of sports can teach us a lot about the games they play.
How do autocrats control the media? Will Syria be free now that Assad has fallen? What’s to blame for democratic backsliding? Why must Ukraine win? The April issue of the Journal of Democracy tackles some of today’s most pressing questions.
Washington is pressuring Ukraine to agree to a peace deal with Russia that bows to many Russian demands while leaving Ukraine vulnerable. Robert Person argues that Putin cannot be trusted and Kyiv must not surrender to these demands.
