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July 1999, Volume 10, Issue 3

Democracy as a Universal Value

The recognition of democracy as a universally relevant system is a major revolution in thinking, and one of the main contributions of the twentieth century. While not yet universally practiced, democracy is now being taken as generally right.

January 2006, Volume 17, Issue 1

Election Watch

Reports on elections in Afghanistan, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Chile, Egypt, Gabon, Haiti, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Poland, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Venezuela.

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October 2022, Volume 33, Issue 4

The Politics of Enemies

Democracy’s meaning has always been contested. Letting that struggle become a battle between existential foes risks upending the whole democratic project.

July 2000, Volume 11, Issue 3

Election Watch

Reports on elections in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Georgia, Haiti, Iran, Peru, Russia, Senegal, South Korea, Suriname, Taiwan, Thailand, and Venezuela.

April 2004, Volume 15, Issue 2

Election Watch

Reports on elections in Georgia, Guatemala, Guinea, Iran, Russia, and Serbia.

January 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1

Election Watch

Reports on elections in Azerbaijan, Croatia, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Mauritania, Rwanda, and Serbia.

January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the G7 Charlevoix Commitment on Defending Democracy from Foreign Threats; victory speech by Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro; inaugural address by Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador; inaugural address by Maldivian president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih; remarks by Angolan journalist Rafael Marques; and address by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Washington Declaration.

April 2014, Volume 25, Issue 2

Election Watch

Reports on elections in Bangladesh, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, and Thailand.

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July 2024, Volume 35, Issue 3

Misunderstanding Democratic Backsliding

If democracies did a better job “delivering” for their citizens, so the thinking goes, people would not be so ready to embrace antidemocratic alternatives. Not so. This conventional wisdom about democratic backsliding is seldom true and often not accurate at all.

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October 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4

Why Bitcoin Is Freedom Money

Today, governments can see who buys what, who pays whom, and who donates to which cause. But they cannot easily trace or confiscate Bitcoin. The digital currency offers a lifeline to democratic movements operating in the most repressive places.

January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Iranian women’s rights activist Shaparak Shajarizadeh’s speech accepting the Morris B. Abram award; the World Uyghur Congress statement for the UN’s 75th anniversary; call by NGOs for the release of human-rights advocate Ramy Kamel in Egypt; NGO statement on the police response to Thai prodemocracy protests; statement of support for LGBTI activists in Poland; statement…

July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3

Election Watch

Reports on elections in Albania, Benin, Chad, Guyana, Iran, Micronesia, Mongolia, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Uganda, and Yugoslavia (Montenegro).

How Thai Activists Outsmarted the Generals

The regime tilted the playing field to its advantage, but it didn’t matter. Thailand’s opposition won with creativity, shrewd tactics, and a strategy that united the people. | Srdja Popovic and Steve Parks

January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1

Transition Leaders Speak

A review of Democratic Transitions: Conversations with World Leaders, edited by Sergio Bitar and Abraham F. Lowenthal.