1952 Results
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?
Autocrats around the world have been innovating new ways to steal elections, manipulating rules and revising laws to keep themselves in power for as long as possible.
Tanzania’s Independence Day was Tuesday, barely a month since the shocking and brutal crackdown on thousands of protesters decrying the country’s sham election.
Gulf monarchies are exerting influence all over the world — in sports, media, entertainment, and politics. Where their human-rights records once drew censure, these oil-rich kingdoms are now being courted and their leaders welcomed in Western halls of power. How have these countries remained bastions of repression while white-washing their reputations? The following Journal of Democracy essays…
This year of elections, just over halfway through, has been nothing short of dramatic, with shocks, upsets, protests, and political violence — most notably, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump last weekend. Democracy is being tested as increasingly polarized voters head to the polls. Will it succumb to division and distrust, or will it withstand its present trials?
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!
In 2022, we began publishing shorter, exclusively online pieces. No topic mattered more to you than Russia’s disastrous war in Ukraine. We also published essays from the sharpest minds on protests in China and Iran, instability in Pakistan, and more.
The country’s polls were marred by delayed results and charges of rigging. Worse, they might plunge Pakistan into an even deeper political crisis.
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.
