
Who Is South Korea’s New President?
South Koreans just elected a new president. Will he be good for South Korean democracy?
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South Koreans just elected a new president. Will he be good for South Korean democracy?
A free market can foster pluralism and insulate civilians from authoritarian coercion. But money used the wrong way has enormous potential for destruction. The Journal of Democracy essays below, free for a limited time, explore the complex relationship between capitalism and democracy.
Syria is at a critical juncture. It’s up to the new government — and the people — to chart a more inclusive, transparent, and prosperous way forward. The Journal of Democracy essays below examine the challenges and opportunities Syria now faces.
In the July issue of the Journal of Democracy, Stanley Bill and Ben Stanley unpack the trilemma that post-illiberal leaders face and explain why illiberals stand to benefit.
Steadfast, nonviolent movements are often the most effective way to counter an authoritarian. These essays explain how to start, sharpen, and sustain a movement.
The Alaska summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin struck an uncanny resemblance to the Washington-Moscow meetings of the Cold War. But 2025 is not 1985. Washington and Moscow cannot simply redraw the map without Ukraine and Europe at the table. How should the war in Ukraine end?
Vladimir Putin may have imprisoned, tortured, and killed the brilliant opposition leader, but even now Navalny is a threat to the corrupt autocracy he has built.
What’s causing the global democratic recession? What would a Ukrainian loss to Russia mean for democracies around the world? How should Syria approach building a just and democratic society? Don’t miss your chance to read the April issue for free!
The popular social media app, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance and used by 170 million Americans, is raising national security questions about data privacy and malign foreign influence.
The latest issue of the Journal of Democracy covers important and alarming global trends, including political polarization and rising illiberalism, as well the struggle between autocrats and democrats in Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and beyond. Read it before it goes behind a paywall.
Across Europe — from Spain to Germany and Sweden to Italy — right-wing parties are gaining ground. The following Journal of Democracy essays, free for a limited time, cover the European far right’s recent successes, and what they mean for the region’s democratic future.
The Journal of Democracy essays below, free for a limited time, chart the trials and triumphs of Kenya’s democracy over the last two decades — plus key essays on the theory and practice of political power sharing.
Election observers are the first line of defense for democratic rights and freedoms, and they work in some of the most challenging places. They deserve the same protections as human-rights defenders.
Putin’s war on Ukraine, AI’s threat to democracy, and democracy’s crisis of confidence have been at the forefront of readers’ minds this month. Read May’s top 10 essays for free now!
Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Narendra Modi, along with the presidents of Turkey, Iran, and other states are working together to amass power at home and project it abroad. These essays explain how they’re doing this, and what democracies can do to prevent it.
Ecuador’s presidents have a history of asking the public to back their initiatives rather than building political coalitions to accomplish their goals. The country’s current president is no different — and it comes at a high cost.
“Every opportunity must be used to speak out . . . I love Russia. My intellect tells me that it is better to live in a free and prosperous country than in a corrupt and impoverished one.”
She was just elected Mexico’s first woman president in a landslide. The future of Mexico’s democracy rests on whether she can break from her predecessor’s ways and carve her own democratic path.
The small South American country has become a strategic foothold for authoritarian powers. Its election is hugely important for the future of democracy across the region.
Herbert Kickl and his far-right allies have never hidden their contempt for democratic norms, and they are rising in the polls. But those who want to preserve Austria’s democracy may have one last chance.