Democracy’s Most Dangerous Assumptions
It is tempting to believe the horrors of the past will not haunt our future. Vladimir Putin is proving that we hold such beliefs at our peril.
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It is tempting to believe the horrors of the past will not haunt our future. Vladimir Putin is proving that we hold such beliefs at our peril.
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
Malawi is a “hard place” for democracy—its economy struggles and state capacity is weak. So how has it avoided the pitfalls that have doomed so many others?
Beijing assaults Taiwan with a nonstop barrage of conspiracy theories and lies to undermine people’s faith in democracy — and China’s efforts are getting more sophisticated. Taiwan must do even more to fight back.
January 2012, Volume 23, Issue 1
Morocco was not immune to the 2011 upheavals in the Arab world, but the country’s monarchy deftly managed the crisis through cosmetic constitutional reform.
April 2004, Volume 15, Issue 2
That modern democracy first arose with the ambit of Western Christianity is far from an accident. Today, the major Christain communions largely support democracy, even while necessarily retaining the right to criticize democratic decisions in the name fo religious truth claims.
October 2008, Volume 19, Issue 4
Reports on elections in Angola, Cambodia, Grenada, Hong Kong, Macedonia, Mongolia, and Zimbabwe.
July 2002, Volume 13, Issue 3
Democracy promotion is a cause-oriented mission, but a good deal of hard-headed realism goes into program planning and work.
July 2022, Volume 33, Issue 3
Volodymyr Zelensky is far more than a brave wartime leader. He began changing the tenor and direction of Ukrainian politics long before the people made him their president.
January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1
Democracies must grapple not only with the proliferation of AI to authoritarian and illiberal regimes, but also with the temptation that AI poses for democratic governments themselves.
Many derided it as naïve idealism, but the vision undergirding the Freedom Agenda offers lessons for the biggest global tests of our time.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
A review of This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality by Peter Pomerantsev.
October 2010, Volume 21, Issue 4
Yemen today finds itself gripped by a set of crises that threatens its very unity as a country. Only a turn toward democratic dialogue offers a way out.
January 2024, Volume 35, Issue 1
Separatists encounter a fundamental paradox: The very political flexibility that allows their aspirations to flourish in a democratic setting also provides the tools to snuff out their movements. It explains why they almost never succeed.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
Reports on elections in Burundi, Guyana, Mali, Poland, Serbia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Suriname, and Vanuatu.
April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
Should Brussels intervene to protect democracy within EU member states? Does Europe have the tools it would need to do so effectively? Recent developments in Hungary and Romania show the importance of addressing these questions sooner rather than later.
For twenty years, the Russian autocrat enjoyed a string of good fortune in coming to power and cementing his rule. He had raised Russia’s standing in the world. Then he invaded Ukraine. | Michael McFaul
January 2013, Volume 24, Issue 1
A review of The Soldier and the Changing State: Building Democratic Armies in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas by Zoltan Barany.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
A leading Russian oppositionist speaks out against continuing official assaults on self-government and human rights.
April 2011, Volume 22, Issue 2
Reports on recent elections in Belarus, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Haiti, Kosovo, Niger, Samoa, and Uganda.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine isn’t just another land grab. It’s an attempt to recolonize lost empire, and threatens to return us to the age of conquest. | Renée de Nevers and Brian D. Taylor