April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
The Rebirth of the Liberal World Order?
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has done something for the world’s democrats they could seemingly not do for themselves—given them renewed unity, purpose, and resolve.
January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
Fighting Terrorism: The Democracy Advantage
Despite worries that terror groups can turn open societies’ very openness against them, the numbers reveal that liberal democracies enjoy significant advantages in resisting the threat of terrorism.
April 2025, Volume 36, Issue 2
“Forever Has Fallen”: The End of Syria’s Assad
Syrians rejoiced when Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell. After decades of dictatorship and civil war, Syrians must now rebuild their country while seeking justice for the victims of authoritarian rule.
October 2023, Volume 34, Issue 4
AI and Catastrophic Risk
AI with superhuman abilities could emerge within the next few years, and there is currently no guarantee that we will be able to control them. We must act now to protect democracy, human rights, and our very existence.
January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1
Why Strongmen Win in Weak States
While analysts of populism have focused on economic woes and “cultural backlash,” a thirst for the restoration of order may better explain the appeal of authoritarian populists in fragile democracies where governance is falling short.
October 2023, Volume 34, Issue 4
How AI Threatens Democracy
Generative AI can flood the media, internet, and even personal correspondence, sowing confusion for voters and government officials alike. If we fail to act, mounting mistrust will polarize our societies and tear at our institutions.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
China’s Threat to Global Democracy
The Chinese Communist Party is deadly serious about its authoritarian designs, and it is bent on promoting them. It is time for the world’s democracies to get serious, too.
July 2022, Volume 33, Issue 3
Bread and Autocracy in Putin’s Russia
The Kremlin wields food as a weapon and a shield against Western interference. But Putin’s push for food autarky could backfire, driving up prices and turning Russians against the regime.
October 2019, Volume 30, Issue 4
Sudan’s Uprising: The Fall of a Dictator
Amid mass protests, the personalist autocracy of longtime Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir fell to an April 2019 coup. With the country now being governed by a council composed of both opposition leaders and powerful security-service coupmakers, prospects for democratization remain uncertain.
April 2025, Volume 36, Issue 2
David vs. Goliath: Defeating Russian Autocracy
Ukraine versus Russia is a modern David versus Goliath conflict that matters not only for the future of Ukraine, but for that of democracy itself.
July 2022, Volume 33, Issue 3
How Viktor Orbán Wins
The case of Hungary shows how autocrats can rig elections legally, using legislative majorities to change the law and neutralize the opposition at every turn, no matter what strategy they adopt.
October 2023, Volume 34, Issue 4
How Financial Secrecy Undermines Democracy
An expansive underworld of hidden wealth lies beneath the everyday economy. This stealth network of tax havens, secret trusts, and offshore accounts is weakening democratic institutions and fueling our worst enemies.
October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4
China’s Age of Counterreform
The People’s Republic of China has entered a new age, abandoning the ideological openness of the reform era and the socialist legacy of the revolutionary period. Under Xi Jinping, regime stability trumps all — and the PRC is weaker and less stable as a result.
July 2024, Volume 35, Issue 3
Who Decides What Is Democratic?
The “crisis” of democracy is a crisis of representation. New parties, some of which are populist in troublingly illiberal ways, are arising from this moment. The danger that they pose is not that they are antidemocratic, but that they are antiliberal.
October 2009, Volume 20, Issue 4
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: a statement issued by Iranian opposition candidate Mir Hosein Musavi; the Organization of American States’ resolution suspending Honduras from the organization; UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon’s message to the fifth ministerial conference of the Community of Democracies; a speech given newly re-elected Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh.
October 2018, Volume 29, Issue 4
Understanding Authoritarian Regionalism
Taking advantage of broad global respect for regionalism, authoritarian regimes are using their own regional organizations to bolster fellow autocracies. These groupings offer a mechanism for lending legitimacy, redistributing resources, and insulating members from democratic influences.
January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1
The Three Faces of the Indian State
India’s Constitution has long seemed stable, but the rise of an ethnic, absolute, and opaque state is changing the constitutional order in momentous and disturbing ways.
April 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2
The Ex-Presidents
What makes elected leaders step down at the appointed hour, and what do they have to look forward to once their terms end? A look at the political afterlives of world leaders tells us that the future prospects of presidents and premiers may well affect their behavior while in office.
October 2022, Volume 33, Issue 4
How to Compete in Unfair Elections
Opposition movements often boycott rigged polls rather than risk legitimizing an autocrat. It is usually a mistake. Here is the playbook for how one opposition seized the advantage.
October 1997, Volume 8, Issue 4
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Albania, Bolivia, Congo-Brazzaville, Croatia, Liberia, Mali, Mexico.