Turkey’s Make-or-Break Election
The forces that brought Erdoğan to power may be his downfall in Turkey’s May 14 elections. Here are a selection of key Journal of Democracy essays from the last two decades of his rule.
JoD Online
The April 2023 Issue
Our just-released April issue, featuring “The Putin Myth” by Kathryn Stoner, is free through May 15.
Why Democracy Survives: A Debate
Even in an era haunted by democratic decline, Jason Brownlee and Kenny Miao find that wealthy democracies are unlikely to collapse in their contribution to the October 2022 Journal of Democracy. Six top experts in the field debate their conclusions.
Ashutosh Varshney’s Greatest Hits
With India’s next general election just a year away, here are five of his Journal of Democracy essays that offer critical analysis of the world’s largest democracy at a crucial time.
Three Essays on the Power of Women
To mark International Women’s Day, the Journal of Democracy looks at how women are shaping the fight for freedom.
The War in Ukraine One Year On
Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began one year ago. The war has inflicted a heavy toll on Russia in addition to the mass carnage in Ukraine. But Ukrainians are fighting valiantly and finding creative means of resistance.
Michael McFaul’s Greatest Hits
Ten of the former ambassador’s best JoD essays spanning the last thirty years.
The Top 10 Most-Read Journal of Democracy Essays of 2022
The Journal of Democracy has analyzed democracy’s fortunes across the globe, from Ukraine to Afghanistan and the Philippines, from Hungary to Tunisia. Here are our top-ten most-read essays from 2022.
What Mattered to You in 2022
In 2022, we began publishing shorter, exclusively online pieces. No topic mattered more to you than Russia’s disastrous war in Ukraine. We also published essays from the sharpest minds on protests in China and Iran, instability in Pakistan, and more.
Autocracy Inc: How the World’s Authoritarians Work Together
Pulitzer-Prize winning historian and Journal of Democracy editorial board member Anne Applebaum delivered the 19th Annual Seymour Martin Lipset Lecture, and then sat down for a conversation with Journal coeditor William J. Dobson. Read more here.
December 1, 2022
How Qatar Is Using the World Cup to Clean Up Its Image
The 2022 World Cup has just kicked off in Qatar. Long before the first match, the small Arab monarchy made a bet that investing billions in the “beautiful game” might do wonders for their reputation, too.
Michael Ignatieff on the Democracy Paradox Podcast
Host Justin Kempf interviews Michael Ignatieff, author of “The Politics of Enemies,” on the contentious nature of democratic politics—and what happens when the tension grows too great.
Democracy and Political Violence
As political polarization deepens in the world’s democracies, political violence is on the rise. And in the wake of these acts, conspiracy theories often bloom. We offer three essays that look at these forces that threaten to upend democracy, and what must be done to overcome them.
How Xi Jinping Is Remaking China
At the Chinese Communist Party’s Twentieth National Congress last week, Xi Jinping secured a third term as Party secretary. But the most important development wasn’t Xi extending his rule or the Party’s elevation of new leaders. Rather, Xi made clear that the era of Chinese economic growth above all else was over. Now the Party’s…
The Rise of the Xi Jinping Era
China’s Twentieth Party Congress opened this week in Beijing. President Xi Jinping is widely expected to cement his position as Chinese Communist Party leader for an unprecedented third term.
Minxin Pei’s Essay Featured in the Washington Post
Fareed Zakaria cites Pei’s “China: Totalitarianism’s Long Shadow” to explain the durability of China’s single-party regime.
Journal of Democracy Featured in the LA Times
The LA Times’ Matt Pearce cites JoD editor Will Dobson and cofounder Larry Diamond in his article on U.S. media’s growing efforts to defend democracy.
Larry Diamond’s Greatest Hits
Larry Diamond, the leading scholar of democracy, helped to found the Journal of Democracy more than 32 years ago. “Democracy’s Arc: From Resurgent to Imperiled,” published on the eve of the war in Ukraine, was his final essay as our coeditor. But Larry penned numerous pieces for the Journal. Ten of these landmark essays are…
A Global Turning Point for Democracy? A Celebration of Larry Diamond
Journal coeditors Will Dobson and Tarek Masoud joined former coeditor Larry Diamond for a conversation on the future of democracy. At the event, Diamond was awarded NED’s Democracy Service Medal.
May 18, 2022
Sharp Power Research Portal
The International Forum for Democratic Studies’ Sharp Power Research Portal is a tool for researchers, journalists, policymakers, and activists to recognize patterns of authoritarian influence in several domains. It includes over 750 resources providing research, reporting, and analysis.