Gorbachev’s Enduring Legacy
The last Soviet leader brought down his regime and ended the Cold War. The free world owes him a debt of gratitude. | By Lucan Ahmad Way
3046 Results
The last Soviet leader brought down his regime and ended the Cold War. The free world owes him a debt of gratitude. | By Lucan Ahmad Way
April 2005, Volume 16, Issue 2
Excerpts from: a statement by the Lebanese opposition; a speech by Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko; Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s inaugural address; inaugural remarks by Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority; a collective statement by Togolese civil society organizations; an appeal to the international community by 25 Nepalese human rights organizations; Romanian president…
October 2012, Volume 23, Issue 4
Although active or retired military officers still hold top government posts, direct rule by the military as an institution is over, at least for now.
October 2011, Volume 22, Issue 4
A review of The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution by Francis Fukuyama.
July 1994, Volume 5, Issue 3
Excerpts from: South African President Nelson Mandela’s inaugural speech; Salvadoran president Armando Calderón Sol’s inaugural speech; a presentation speech by Yelena Bonner, the widow of Andrei D. Sakharov.
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.
July 2013, Volume 24, Issue 3
Authoritarian regimes that have their origins in revolutionary struggle have a much higher survival rate than other brands of authoritarianism. What accounts for their durability?
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
Read the full essay here. The debate on the compatibility of Islamism and democracy has tended to focus on two main scenarios. In the first, Islamist political parties become agents for democratization through their participation in freely held elections. In the second, Islamists use the democratic process to gain control and establish an antidemocratic regime—the…
April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
Excerpts from: The Declaration of Free Citizens by Vietnamese bloggers; Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; a letter issued by the Anglican bishop of the Diocese of Colombo; the inaugural address of South Korean president Park Geun-hye; a speech given by Shin Dong-hyuk who fled North Korea.
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October 2018, Volume 29, Issue 4
What factors help a democracy to survive a crisis? A study of cases in which democracy suffered a steep decline, yet ultimately recovered and endured, offers new insights. In moments of crisis, unelected and nonmajoritarian actors can play a pivotal role.
July 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3
Is Russia formidable? The answer, two new books argue, lies in the highly centralized inner workings of Putin’s autocracy.
January 2022, Volume 33, Issue 1
Information is being weaponized against democracy. Democratic societies need new ways to keep media free, accurate, and authentic.
July 2005, Volume 16, Issue 3
Once routinely praised as the "Switzerland of Central America," Costa Rica has in recent years begun to show troubling signs of having a political system that citizens feel is not keeping faith with them.
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
Around the world, democracy has lost steam. If we are to regain the momentum, we must harness these essential elements and wage the struggle with the conviction that the times demand.
July 2016, Volume 27, Issue 3
Latin America’s largest country has managed vastly to enlarge the share of its citizens who can take part in politics and need no longer live in poverty, and has robust horizontal accountability to boot. Vertical accountability, however, has suffered.
July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
Maria Sarungi Tsehai refuses to be silent; Ekrem İmamoğlu’s letter from prison; a Venezuelan opposition leader’s final message before his arrest; a 19-year-old Russian dissident’s final court statement; Dominican protesters and journalists march for freedom of the press; and the Tiananmen Mothers remember the massacre.
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
International spying and digital subversion used to be the province of governments. Now anyone who has the cash can order hi-tech snooping and surveillance. This is a threat to the future of freedom.
October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4
A review of China’s Eurasian Century? Political and Strategic Implications of the Belt and Road Initiative by Nadège Rolland.
April 2009, Volume 20, Issue 2
Excerpts from: Charter 08, an open letter calling for a political system in China based on human rights and democracy; an ECOWAS statement condemning the military coup in Guinea; the inauguration speech of new Ghanaian president John Evans; statements issued commending the conduct of Iraq’s January 31 provincial elections.