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Democracy in Retrograde pdf download

Who Decides What Is Democratic?

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.

How Women Make the World Safe for Democracy

On International Women’s Day 2024, the Journal of Democracy celebrates the achievements of all women and highlights the transformative power of women’s political participation and activism.

Three Must Reads from the October Issue!

How can liberal democrats take advantage of nationalism’s enduring appeal? How can Western democracies reduce rising political violence? And how can they protect freedom of expression while also preventing the harms such freedom might cause? The following essays from our new issue provide key answers to these important questions.

Four Must-Reads from the April Issue! 

What explains democracy’s declining fortunes — governments’ failure to deliver or institutions’ failure to stop power-hungry leaders? Why Ukraine’s defeat would jeopardize the entire liberal-democratic order. And how Syria must navigate the complexities of transitional justice and sectarian violence now that the hard work of rebuilding has begun.

The War in Ukraine Two Years On

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.

New JoD Available Now

Essays on Eygpt and Syria in latest issue of the Journal of Democracy, as well as Francis Fukuyama and Marc F. Plattner on governance and democracy & essays on the “Arab Spring,” Paraguay, Malaysia, & more.

October 15, 2013

Tocqueville’s Lessons for America on the Fourth of July

Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is as insightful today as in 1835. On this Fourth of July, the Journal of Democracy is sharing three essays reflecting on the prescience of Tocqueville’s observations from nearly two centuries ago.

The Fight for Democracy in Europe

Fed up with corrupt and increasingly autocratic rule, citizens in Georgia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia have been rising up in protest.

Getting Over the Third Wave

Samuel Huntington’s classic theory offered a new way of understanding democracy’s global trajectory. But amid rising populism and increasingly aggressive authoritarian leaders, has Huntington’s thesis outlived its usefulness?

Is India Still a Democracy?

Democratic institutions, norms, and practices have been under threat in India. Should the country’s democracy fail, it will affect not only the lives of 1.4 billion Indians, but also democracy movements around the world.

December’s Most-Read Essays

As 2024 draws to a close, democracy faces urgent threats: increasing aggression from Russia and China, rapidly advancing AI, heightened polarization, and populist leaders in India and elsewhere bending democracy to their will. Here are the Journal of Democracy’s ten most-read essays over the past month.

The Perils of Kenya’s New Power-Sharing Deal

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.

In Latin America, Democracy Hangs in the Balance

Mexico’s ruling party is using its majority to overhaul democratic institutions. Venezuela’s autocrat, Nicolás Maduro, has been sworn in for a third term after stealing an election he clearly lost. And the legacy of covid-19 is still shaping the region’s politics. The following JoD essays unpack the latest in Latin American democracy.

Will the Far Right Run the EU?

A week from today, voters across all 27 European Union countries will head to the polls to elect the next European Parliament. The following Journal of Democracy essays chronicle the far right’s rise across Europe and consider the dangers it presents in the region and beyond.

What Mattered to You in 2022

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.

Mexico’s Democratic Disaster

Mexico’s president recently signed into law a series of reforms that bulldoze the country’s judicial system and eviscerate democratic checks on executive power. Amrit Singh and Gianmarco Coronado Graci explain why this is even worse than it seems.