July 2002, Volume 13, Issue 3
The Balkans: Democracy Without Choices
The gravest challenges facing democracy in the Balkans are problems not of ethnicity or postcommunism, but of citizen disaffection and disillusionment.
Region: Comparative Theoretical General
July 2002, Volume 13, Issue 3
Democracy in Real Time
Globalization has fostered the spread of “democracy as procedure,” but it is much less favorable to the spread of “democracy as culture.”
July 2002, Volume 13, Issue 3
Middle East Studies After 9/11: An Exit from Arab Autocracy
While many experts recommend postponing democratization pending the rise of a middle class, a directly political strategy may well be better.
July 2002, Volume 13, Issue 3
Thinking Big
A review of “Arguing Comparative Politics” by Alfred Stepan.
April 2002, Volume 13, Issue 2
Elections Without Democracy: Thinking About Hybrid Regimes
Many countries have adopted the form of democracy with little of its substance. This makes the task of classifying regimes more difficult, but also more important.
April 2002, Volume 13, Issue 2
Elections Without Democracy: The Menu of Manipulation
Elections, usually taken to be a hallmark of democracy,can also become a tool of authoritarian powerholders seeking to legitimate their rule.
April 2002, Volume 13, Issue 2
Elections Without Democracy: The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism
In recent years, new types of nondemocratic government have come to the fore,notably competitive authoritarianism.Such regimes, though not democratic,feature arenas of contestation in which opposition forces can challenge,and even oust,authoritarian incumbents.
April 2002, Volume 13, Issue 2
A New Look at Federalism: The Import of Institutions
A new research project suggests that federalism enhances the ability of regimes to accommodate territorially based minorities. Federal systems, except when imposed by an outside power, significantly help to preserve the peace.
April 2002, Volume 13, Issue 2
A New Look at Federalism: Electoral Rules and Governability
The effects of electoral systems and of federalism are usually examined separately, but a review of the leading federations shows that it is essential to consider the interaction between the two in designing democratic institutions.
April 2002, Volume 13, Issue 2
Electoral Systems for Divided Societies
Political scientists have long theorized that the use of “preferential” election systems can help promote successful conflict management in divided societies. As it turns out, evidence from five real-world cases supports this conclusion.
January 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1
The End of the Transition Paradigm
Must countries where authoritarian regimes have fallen therefore be "in transition" to democracy? Many democracy promoters seem to think so. Yet trends on the ground in country after country are raising doubts about whether it is true or useful to think of democracy's prospects in this way.
January 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1
The 2001 Freedom House Survey: Muslim Countries and the Democracy Gap
The year 2001 saw modest gains in the strengthening and consolidation of democracy worldwide, but in predominantly Muslim countries-especially the Arab states-the status of freedom and democracy lags far behind the rest of the world.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Public Opinion and Direct Democracy
Direct democracy has come in for praise as being closer to the people’s will than representative democracy. A closer look at the sources of public support, however, reveals some surprises.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Books in Review: Defying the Odds
A review of "Building the Rule of Law: Francis Nyalali and the Road to Judicial Independence in Africa." By Jennifer A. Widner.
July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3
Bringing Democracy into International Law
The evidence clearly points to the growing incorporation into international law of the right to democratic governance.
July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3
Women and Democracy: Regional Differences and Contrasting Views
An increase in women’s political mobilization has accompanied the global trend toward democratization, but women’s movements have taken diverse paths in different regions of the world.
July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3
Women and Democracy: Cultural Obstacles to Equal Representation
A country’s level of female political representation cannot be explained solely in terms of socioeconomic factors and political institutions. The evidence shows that political culture also matters.
July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3
Books in Review: Two Models of Democracy
A review of “Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries, ” by Arend Lijphart; and “Elections as Instruments of Democracy: Majoritarian and Proportional Views,” by G. Bingham Powell, Jr.
April 2001, Volume 12, Issue 2
Books in Review: Rediscovering Culture
A review of Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress, edited by Lawrence E. Harrison and Samuel P. Huntington.
January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1
Political Competition and Economic Growth
Under many nondemocratic systems, good policy is bad politics, and bad policy helps leaders stay in office. The result is poorer performance in terms of economic growth.
January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1
The 2000 Freedom House Survey: Gains Offset Losses
Promising advances in the status of freedom in the world during the past year have been matched by significant disappointments.
January 2001, Volume 12, Issue 1
Books in Review: Politics and Development
A review of "Democracy and Development: Political Institutions and Well-being in the World 1950-1990." By Adam Przeworski, Michael E. Alvarez, Jose Antonio Cheibub, and Fernando Limongi.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Religion, Democracy, and the “Twin Tolerations”
Are all, or only some, of the world’s religious systems politically compatible with democracy?
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Comparing East Asia and Latin America: Stirrings of Mutual Recognition
Global trends toward economic and political liberalization are presenting East Asian and Latin American democracies with increasingly convergent international opportunities and constraints.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Comparing East Asia and Latin America: Dimensions of Development
Such a comparison clearly shows a higher prevalence of democracy in Latin America and a better economic performance in East Asia. The two regions are likely to converge on both dimensions, but the gaps will remain.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Comparing East Asia and Latin America: Capital Mobility and Democratic Stability
Despite the persistent doomsaying about the political consequences of untrammeled international capital flows, financial liberalization may actually contribute to democratic consolidation.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Books in Review: Nurturing Nationalism
A review of Jack Snyder's From Voting to Violence.
July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3
Markets, Law, and Democracy
The experience of “bandit capitalism” or “tyrant capitalism” in postcommunist societies shows that markets cannot work properly without a community of trust and mutual respect. Such a community can be achieved only where there is a rule of law, applied by able and independent judges.
July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3
Is Pakistan the (Reverse) Wave of the Future?
Pakistan’s descent into authoritarian rule starkly depicts the “triple crisis of governance” that threatens many third-wave democracies. If these problems of governance are not addressed, a new “reverse wave” of democratization could be imminent.
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
Democracy, Dictatorship, and Infant Mortality
A country's political regime, regardless of its level of development, affects its social performance. Fewer children die in democracies than in dictatorships.
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
Books in Review: Explaining Communism’s Appeal
A review of Francois Furet's last book, The Passing of an Illusion.
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
Democracy in the World: Introduction
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
The March of Equality
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
The Judiciary and the Rule of Law
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
The Indispensability of Political Parties
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
From the Press to the Media
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
Civil Society and the “Art of Association”
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
Lawyers and Liberal Democracy
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
The Challenge of an Asymmetrical World
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
Democracy’s Triumph, Philosophy’s Peril
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
The Cultural Challenge to Individualism
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
The Perils of Prosperity
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
Compassion and the Softening of Mores
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
Women, Equality, and the Family
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
The End of Revolution?
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
Did Tocqueville Foresee Totalitarianism?
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
The 1999 Freedom House Survey: A Century of Progress
July 1999, Volume 10, Issue 3
From Liberalism to Liberal Democracy
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
The Decline of Illiberal Democracy
October 1998, Volume 9, Issue 4
The Dynamics of Democratic Exclusion
October 1998, Volume 9, Issue 4
Liberalism of Sorts
A review of After 1989: Morals, Revolution, and Civil Society by Ralf Dahrendorf
Democracy in Decline?
For almost a decade, Freedom House’s annual survey has highlighted a decline in democracy in most regions of the globe. Some analysts say this shows that the world has entered a "democratic recession." Others dispute that interpretation, emphasizing democracy’s success in maintaining the huge gains it made during the last quarter of the twentieth century.