July 2022, Volume 33, Issue 3
Do Russians Support Putin?
More than window dressing, public-opinion surveys and elections provide a crucial insight into the Russian people’s relationship with their regime.
2778 Results
Democracy in Retrograde pdf download
July 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3
The End of the Transitions Era?
Regime change will always be a feature of political life, but we are unlikely to see again transitions to democracy on the scale of the “third wave.”
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
Exchange: The Sequencing “Fallacy”
Countries taking the initial steps from dictatorship toward electoral politics are especially prone to civil and international war. Yet states endowed with coherent institutions—such as a functioning bureaucracy and the elements needed to construct a sound legal system—have often been able to democratize peacefully and successfully. Consequently, whenever possible, efforts to promote democracy should try…
July 2006, Volume 17, Issue 3
Reforming Intelligence: Democracy and Effectiveness
Reforming national intelligence communities is a critical, if often overlooked, task facing democratizing countries. Happily, intelligence agencies brought under civilian, democratic control may also becomes better at their core job of protecting free nations from deadly threats.
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
Why Democracy Fuels Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracy theories are not the sole preserve of dictatorships, but a global phenomenon. Worse, the political competition that is inherent to democracy is driving the spread of lies, fake schemes, and half-truths.
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
Russian Democracy in Eclipse: The Next Generation
Hopes for democratization now rest on the shoulders of the young. Who are they, what do they believe, and what are their political leanings? Survey data offer some clues.
July 2003, Volume 14, Issue 3
Tibet: The Exiles’ Journey
Almost a half-century after being forced from their homeland, Tibetans abroad, led by the Dalai Lama, have democratized their institutions in hopes that they may one day form the basis for a free and self-governing Tibet.
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
A Strange Defense of Climate Democracy
The democracy versus “eco-authoritarianism” dilemma is false. The answer is more and better democracy.
April 1996, Volume 7, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: Sergei Kovalev’s letter of resignation from the President’s Human Rights Commission in Russia; Haitian president René Préval’s inaugural address; the initial declaration of the Cuban Council (Concilio Cubano).
July 2011, Volume 22, Issue 3
Comparing Latin Democracies
A review of The Quality of Democracy in Latin America, edited by Daniel H. Levine and José E. Molina.
January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: “A Republican Manifesto: A Model for Overcoming Iran’s Political Deadlock” by Iranian investigative journalist Akbar Ganji; opening remarks and acceptance speeches from the fifteenth annual W. Averell Harriman Democracy Awards; “Community of Democracies statement on Terrorism.”
July 2019, Volume 30, Issue 3
Polarization versus Democracy
Why do ordinary people vote to return to office undemocratic incumbents? New survey experiments in several countries suggest that many voters are willing to put their partisan interests above democratic principles—a finding that may be key to understanding democratic backsliding.
January 2010, Volume 21, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: Ayman Nour’s video message to the National Endowment for Democracy’s conference, “Middle Eastern Democrats and Their Vision of the Future”; Wang Lixiong’s speech accepting the Light of Truth Award; Ladan Boroumand’s speech accepting the Lech Wałęsa Prize; the “EU Agenda for Action”—the annex to the “Conclusions on Democracy Support in the EU’s External Relations”
July 1997, Volume 8, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the acceptance speech of Martin Lee, Democracy Award recipient; Saudi prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saoud’s opening address at the Second Conference of Arab NGOs; Angolan National Assembly chairman Roberto de Almeida’s speech; Czech president Václav Havel’s statement.
January 1998, Volume 9, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng’s opening statement; Chinese president Jiang Zemin’s statement; Organization of American States Charter amendment; Iranian president Mohammad Khatami’s inaugural address; National Endowment for Democracy president Carl Gershman’s keynote conference speech.
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
South Africa After Apartheid: The First Decade
Over the ten years since its first nonracial elections in 1994, South Africa has seen its democratic order become more firmly institutionalized, even as the electoral dominance of the ANC has continued to grow.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
Peru: The Danger of Powerless Democracy
Complaining about parties and politicians is common everywhere, but troubled Peru has devolved into a cautionary tale for what a democracy without established parties and professional politicians can look like.
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
The Age of Political Fragmentation
Just as public frustration with democracy is mounting across the West, social turmoil and new technologies are splintering the very political authority governments need to act.
October 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4
The Specter Haunting Europe: The Lost Left
Post-1945 Western Europe benefited greatly from center-left parties offering real solutions to real problems. Where has that left gone?
July 2015, Volume 26, Issue 3
Authoritarian Successor Parties
Why do significant numbers of people, after gaining the right to choose their leaders via free and fair elections, vote for political parties with deep roots in dictatorship, and how do such parties affect the consolidation of democracy?