Michael McFaul’s Greatest Hits
Ten of the former ambassador’s best JoD essays spanning the last thirty years.
1927 Results
Ten of the former ambassador’s best JoD essays spanning the last thirty years.
Is global democracy really in freefall? Here’s what they think.
Two years ago, Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands have been wounded or killed in this war of attrition. The following Journal of Democracy essays reveal the impulses that led Putin to launch this brutal campaign and the resilience of those fighting to stop him.
The Mexican military has a larger role governing the country than at any time in the past eighty years. The following Journal of Democracy essays uncover and analyze the democratic and antidemocratic forces at work within Mexico’s institutions.
Coups are a direct assault on democracy. And militaries can be pivotal to whether a coup succeeds or fails. The following Journal of Democracy essays examine what makes coups more likely, and how democracies can keep the military brass from seizing power.
Reports on elections in Rwanda, Syria, and Venezuela.
The United States, like other polarized democracies, is in turmoil. Increasing radicalism, intolerance, and violence continue to rock the country in the run-up to the November election. These essays reflect on this polarization and how to protect ourselves from the damage it is inflicting.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu-nationalist BJP explicitly exclude and routinely attack the country’s largest minority, but the political opposition is silent, too afraid to jeopardize its base of support. These essays explore India’s complex democratic history and its prospects for the future.
Romania is the latest example of rising far-right populism across Europe. The essays below examine the forces driving these illiberal political movements.
In a new online exclusive, Journal of Democracy cofounder Marc Plattner examines both what unites and distinguishes liberalism and democracy — and what liberal democracies must do to remain free.
After years of increasingly authoritarian rule, Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu Hassan was hailed as a democratic reformer. But as Dan Paget and Aikande Clement Kwayu write in the July issue of the JoD, the president is more performer than reformer, relying on theatrics to delay real reform while sharpening her tools of repression.
Sharp partisan divides and bitter social rivalries are increasingly spiraling into zero-sum conflicts. The antidote to such hatred and violence, argues one JoD author, is direct, face-to-face dialogue among neighbors and communities.
Aspiring authoritarians share some common tactics for trying to dismantle a democracy. But recent cases also reveal lessons on how to defend against these attacks and slow the threat of democratic backsliding.
On this International Day of Democracy, we reflect on democracy’s inherent value, try to understand why faith in self-rule is waning, and consider what we can do to strengthen the cause, sharing a selection of milestone essays to aid in this effort.
MarĂa Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize has made her the face of the struggle for democracy in Venezuela. But throughout the opposition, women are the backbone of the fight against Nicolás Maduro’s corrupt authoritarian regime.
Deo Pondu Maheshe, director of the Centre d'Etudes et d'Encadrement pour la Participation au Developpement Endogene, comments on David Peterson's essay, "Burundi's Transition: A Beacon for Central Africa," which appeared in the January 2006 issue of the Journal of Democracy.
January 30, 2006
Reports on elections in Algeria, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Kiribati, Sint Maarten, and Sri Lanka.
Journal of Democracy essays go beyond the page. Here are five recent podcasts featuring JoD authors discussing their essays with historians, journalists, students, and democracy scholars. Listen, read, and learn!
Should Ukraine end the war with Russia at the bargaining table or in the trenches? Can democratic institutions survive when they empower minorities over the majority? Is democracy better suited than authoritarianism to confront climate change? The new issue of the Journal of Democracy provides key insights and answers to some of today’s most pressing…