When democracies are clearly outperforming autocracies in so many ways, why the widespread disenchantment with democratic government? Why are democracy and human-rights activists across the globe turning to Bitcoin? And what’s behind autocratic leaders increasingly attacking and repressing citizens outside their borders?
The latest issue of the Journal of Democracy features insights on these questions, plus much more.
Don’t miss your chance to read the entire issue for free!
What Democracy Does … And Does Not Do
People are losing faith in democracy’s ability to deliver social progress. But are democracies better than autocracies at promoting economic growth, alleviating poverty, and creating healthier, more educated, and more peaceful societies? On all counts, the answer is yes.
Maya TudorWhy Bitcoin Is Freedom Money
Today, governments can see who buys what, who pays whom, and who donates to which cause. But they cannot easily trace or confiscate Bitcoin. The digital currency offers a lifeline to democratic movements operating in the most repressive places.
Alex GladsteinThe Golden Age of Transnational Repression
Authoritarian regimes are targeting exiles and diaspora communities in more places than ever before. Activists, journalists, and regular people living abroad must watch their backs, because these governments now have the power to suppress dissent even outside their borders.
Nate SchenkkanCuba’s Mafia State
When the Soviet Union fell, Cuba did not democratize but instead was turned into a raw kleptocracy by Communist Party insiders. Decades later, this “mafia” has driven the country into the worst crisis in its history.
Juan Antonio BlancoWhat Political Scientists Owe Democracy
When Israel’s democratic safeguards came under attack, Israeli political scientists felt they had a duty to spread a shared, nonpartisan understanding of the dangers of democratic backsliding. Here is how they organized, built channels of communication, and reached the public.
Hanna Lerner, Osnat Akirav, Liron Lavi, Yael Shomer, and Gayil TalshirHow Oppositions Turn Authoritarian
Conventional wisdom says that, once in power, opposition parties will return backsliding countries to the democratic path. In reality, not only is this not true, but it is not uncommon for the opposition to adopt the autocratic habits of the regime they replaced.
Donghyun Danny Choi and Fiona Shen-BayhWhy Bolivia’s MAS Collapsed
Evo Morales’s Movement Toward Socialism transformed Bolivian politics. But after almost two decades in power, the party is unraveling. No longer the country’s anchor, the MAS has become a major driver of instability and political decay.
Santiago AnriaThe Threat to Latin American Term Limits
Latin America remains haunted by the specter of “strongman” rule. Term limits have been a way of guarding against this threat, but aspiring autocrats have now found a new avenue to bypass this barrier to power: courts of law.
Benjamin N. Gedan and Elias FrenchIs Costa Rica’s Democracy Failing?
Although an island of stability and democracy in a region often short of both, Costa Ricans’ faith in government is declining as the challenge of financing its costly welfare state grows. This democratic stalwart is no longer immune to the appeal of populism.
Forrest D. Colburn and Andrea M. PradoWhy Senegal’s Democracy Survived
After a turbulent election cycle, with an incumbent leader postponing the vote and putting his thumb on the scale, voters elected a new president and, for the third time in Senegalese history, a new ruling party. How did the country keep its democracy from crumbling?
Ibrahima Fall and Catherine Lena KellyAI’s Real Dangers For Democracy
Artificial intelligence and its effects on democracy are a matter of choice, not fate. The concerns are longer term than the recent spate of worry about “generative” AI would suggest. The democratic conversation about AI has hardly begun.
Dean Jackson and Samuel C. Woolley
China’s AI-Powered Surveillance State
The Chinese Communist Party is dreaming an authoritarian techno-dream that is a democrat’s nightmare: ever more fine-grained state control made possible by using AI networks to pry and spy everywhere. But human unpredictability remains a force the party-state cannot tame.
Valentin Weber
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