3198 Results
What might the sudden collapse of Syria’s dictatorship mean for Egypt? As Shady ElGhazaly Harb explains in a new Journal of Democracy online exclusive, the military — long Sisi’s strongest backer — may now be more tempted to turn against the autocrat.
ABOUT THE EVENT The reasons for the failure of democracy to take hold in Russia and for its current backsliding in Central Europe are complex, but one important and often neglected factor is what Ivan Krastev (in a July 2018 article in the Journal of Democracy) has called “Imitation and Its Discontents.” Following the collapse of communism, the…
November 5, 2018
Billions in much-needed American military aid are now headed for Ukraine. The following Journal of Democracy essays demonstrate what it will take to reverse the course of this war of attrition, and why this struggle is a “contest between democracy and dictatorship.”
Beijing is bent on curbing democratic freedoms and imposing totalitarianism at home and abroad. The following Journal of Democracy essays dissect China’s influence operations and offer ways for even fragile democracies to combat autocratic influence.
The May 2025 Philippine midterms are just the latest chapter in a yearslong feud between the Marcos and Duterte clans. These essays below plot the twists and turns of the political drama, and explain why it’s really a diversion from meaningful democratic reform.
The French president made a big bet, and the far right lost.
Most of the world’s democracies remain extremely vulnerable to sharp-power threats. The following Journal of Democracy essays explore how authoritarians weaponize universities, technologies, media, entertainment, and culture to attempt to crack democracy’s foundations.
The biggest election in this “year of elections” is finally over. In contests across the world, voters have spoken. But what do their choices tell us about the state of democracy globally?
Commentary on Leslie Anderson and Larry Dodd's July 2009 essay on Nicaragua's 2008 municipal elections.
January 1, 2010
Mexico launched a radical overhaul of its judiciary on June 1 with its first-ever judicial election. The controversial plan risks weakening judicial independence, checks on presidential power, and democracy itself.
Egypt’s upcoming presidential elections are a sham. But the opposition can still take advantage of this moment to push for genuine reforms that the country desperately needs.
On November 19, a Hong Kong court sentenced 45 prominent prodemocracy activists to years in prison in the biggest crackdown yet under the city’s draconian, Beijing-imposed National Security Law. The Journal of Democracy essays below, free for a limited time, detail Hong Kong’s decades-long fight for freedom, and the CCP’s unrelenting repression.
Thai politics appears to be in a loop, with the military keeping people’s democratic hopes under wraps. But there is reason to believe the streets won’t be quiet for long.
A string of Kremlin-backed military coups have brought a collection of juntas to power. The West should resist calls to placate them, and instead stick to its values and push for a return to civilian rule.
Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began one year ago. The war has inflicted a heavy toll on Russia in addition to the mass carnage in Ukraine. But Ukrainians are fighting valiantly and finding creative means of resistance.
Activists are fighting for democracy’s freedoms across the globe. They do so at tremendous personal risk, facing arrest, imprisonment, and the fear they will never see their loved ones again. Read the inspiring words of former political prisoners from Tunisia, Russia, Egypt, China, Malaysia, and Burma.
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.
Authoritarians can manipulate the law to rationalize their rule, but the law can equally serve to check authoritarian power. The Journal of Democracy essays below explore the dynamics between leaders and the law. Read for free now.
France is burning through prime ministers and Macron’s political gambles are going bust. The French president needs to change his tactics before it’s too late.
