October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
Is East-Central Europe Backsliding? Economic Woes and Political Disaffection
Under the pressure of compliance with the Maastricht convergence criteria governments implement painful welfare state reforms.
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Democracy in Retrograde pdf download
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
The Democracy Barometers (Part I): Learning to Support New Regimes in Europe
After a decade and a half, how do citizens of postcommunist Europe now feel toward their new governing regimes?
April 2006, Volume 17, Issue 2
Electoral Systems Today: A Global Snapshot
A wide variety of electoral systems is used around the world, but in recent years the trend has been toward systems based upon greater proportionality.
July 2005, Volume 16, Issue 3
Lula’s Brazil at Midterm
Many saw the election of Workers' Party leader Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva to the Brazilian presidency in October 2002 as the beginning of an era. Two years into his first term, Lula has yet to live up to that expectation.
April 2005, Volume 16, Issue 2
Challenge and Change in East Asia: Facing the Perils of Presidentialism
Juan Linz’s 1990 critique of presidentialism in these pages was based largely on the Latin American experience. In the last few years, however, four new Asian democracies have encountered presidential crises. Does Linz’s work hold the secret to what has been ailing these regimes?
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
The Perils of Climate Alarmism
Democracies — facing gridlock and polarization — often fall short. But it should be remembered that dictatorships do even more harm.
October 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4
The Threat to Latin American Term Limits
Latin America remains haunted by the specter of “strongman” rule. Term limits have been a way of guarding against this threat, but aspiring autocrats have now found a new avenue to bypass this barrier to power: courts of law.
October 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the inauguration speech by Peruvian president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski; Ennahda party president Rachid Ghannouchi’s remarks on religion and state in Tunisia; inaugural award ceremony of the Darnal Award for Social Justice; Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's inaugural address; Philippine senator Leila de Lima’s speech on extrajudicial killings.
July 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the inaugural address of Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko; “My Ideals and the Career Path I Have Chosen,” an autobiographical essay by by Ilham Tohti; a speech given by Chinese lawyer and civil-rights activist Chen Guangcheng to mark the impending twenty-fifth anniversary of the massacre at Tiananmen Square.
April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
What Putin Fears Most
Forget his excuses. Russia’s autocrat doesn’t worry about NATO. What terrifies him is the prospect of a flourishing Ukrainian democracy.
October 1994, Volume 5, Issue 4
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Barbados, Belarus, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Mexico, Panama, Sri Lanka, Ukraine.
January 2022, Volume 33, Issue 1
Coup in Tunisia: Is Democracy Lost?
President Kais Saied’s power grab has crushed Tunisian democracy, returning the country to the old playbook of Arab dictators past and present.
July 2003, Volume 14, Issue 3
Political Freedom, Economic Liberty, and Prosperity
Liberty and self-government are not only good in themselves, but also have powerful and beneficial effects on a nation’s level of economic development and prosperity.
April 2003, Volume 14, Issue 2
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Armenia, Djibouti, Estonia, Kenya, Kiribati, Lithuania, Madagascar, Micronesia, Montenegro, Seychelles, and South Korea.
January 1994, Volume 5, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: a peace accord between Israel and the PLO; “There is Nothing Love Cannot Face,” a message from the Conference of Cuban Catholic Bishops; a “Peace Charter” from Chinese prodemocracy activists.
October 2015, Volume 26, Issue 4
Decentralizing for a Deeper, More Supple Democracy
Can decentralization deepen democracy or is it doomed to weaken the state? If well designed, decentralization can have a positive impact on national unity, conflict mitigation, policy autonomy, service delivery, and social learning.
October 1993, Volume 4, Issue 4
Leopold Labedz (1920-1993)
A memorial service was held on June 15 in Washington, D.C., to pay tribute to Leopold Labedz, who died on March 22 in London. A founding member of the editorial board of the Journal of Democracy, Labedz served as editor of the British journal Survey from 1962 to 1989. Speakers at the service, who extolled Labedz’s lifelong…
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
The Freedom House Survey for 2022: A Turning Point for Global Freedom?
The past year offered the brightest picture in almost two decades, as global improvements in freedom nearly equaled global declines. Is democracy poised for a comeback?
October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4
Manipulating Term Limits in Latin America
More and more Latin American countries have sought to relax or even eliminate presidential term limits. What are the consequences for democracy?