January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
Hong Kong’s Native Son
A review of The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic, by Mark L. Clifford.
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January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
A review of The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic, by Mark L. Clifford.
The biggest election in this “year of elections” is finally over. In contests across the world, voters have spoken. But what do their choices tell us about the state of democracy globally?
April 2004, Volume 15, Issue 2
Excerpts from a United Nations report on the feasibility of early elections and possible alternatives in Iraq; an inaugural address by Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili delivered in Tbilisi on January 25; a letter signed by more than 100 reformist Iranian parliamentarians criticizing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for approving the Guardian Council disqualification of more…
July 2018, Volume 29, Issue 3
Reports on elections in Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Colombia, Hungary, Lebanon, Malaysia, Montenegro, Paraguay, Slovenia, Timor-Leste, Turkey, and Venezuela.
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
Are the “virtuous circles” crucial to good governance always the product of long-term developments under unique historical circumstances, or can they be started or accelerated by wise policies?
October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4
Read the full essay here. This essay argues that the sources of the current revival of Russian authoritarianism lie in the country’s economic and political history. Among the major factors behind President Putin’s rise and consolidation of power, it cites an ideological overemphasis on the state that fosters hostility toward human rights and liberties; deeply…
July 2013, Volume 24, Issue 3
The Hashemite monarchy still fails to understand the challenges that threaten Jordan’s political order. The old playbook of limited, manipulated reform is no longer enough, but key players fail to realize it.
January 2008, Volume 19, Issue 1
Excerpts from: a Washington Post op-ed written by U Gambira, a pseudonym for the leader of the All-Burma Monks Alliance; remarks by Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, accepting the W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award; the keynote address given by Indonesian president Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the 40th Annual Conference of the International Association of Political…
April 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2
A review of The Handbook of National Legislatures: A Global Survey by M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig, and Legislative Power in Emerging African Democracies edited by Joel D. Barkan.
“The Journal of Democracy is far and away the most important forum for current debates about the nature and spread of liberal democracy around the world, and an indispensable tool for anybody interested in comparative politics or international relations. It is a model for how to present serious intellectual content in a clear and accessible…
July 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3
A review of Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East by Shadi Hamid.
July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3
A review of MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman, by Ben Hubbard.
The government has spent billions preparing to host the 2022 World Cup. Never mind the abusive labor practices and human rights violations. It’s betting that your love of the “beautiful game” will make you more fond of this tiny Gulf state, too.
Authoritarians are evolving — becoming more unconstrained and repressive at home, and more destructive on the global stage. The following essays unpack the authoritarians’ toolkit, revealing their strategies for taking power and upending the liberal world order.
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
A review of The Lady and the Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi by Peter Popham.
How does a Russian autocrat celebrate Victory Day while losing a war? Expect lies, myths, and propaganda. May 2022 By Olexiy Minakov Every year on May 9, Russia celebrates Victory Day to mark the 1945 triumph of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazism. The spirit of militant Russian patriotism reaches its apogee on…
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
Excerpts from: the Berlin Declaration; an interview with Thich Quang Do—winner of the 2006 Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize for Human Rights Defenders; a speech delivered by Romanian president Traian Băsescu.
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April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
Conspiracy theories are not the sole preserve of dictatorships, but a global phenomenon. Worse, the political competition that is inherent to democracy is driving the spread of lies, fake schemes, and half-truths.
April 2025, Volume 36, Issue 2
Delivery matters, but so do leaders’ actions. Why have so many, in both strong and weak economies, been pushing against democratic constraints on their power, and why have those constraints failed to contain them?