January 2008, Volume 19, Issue 1
Turkey Divided
Events surrounding Turkey's 2007 elections reveal a country with a vibrantly democratic political sphere and a society badly split over the role of Islam in national life.
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Democracy in Retrograde pdf download
July 2023, Volume 34, Issue 3
How Erdoğan’s Populism Won Again
The opposition thought they had Turkey’s autocratic president on the ropes. But Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s brand of authoritarian populism triumphed. A more divisive and repressive chapter will almost surely follow.
October 2022, Volume 33, Issue 4
The Myth of the Coup Contagion
Many fear that coups are making a comeback. While this is not true, one thing is alarming: Anti-coup norms are starting to erode.
July 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3
How Authoritarians Inflate Their Image
Authoritarian propaganda and manipulation are leading democratic publics to see foreign autocracies as more powerful than they actually are.
April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2
Why Freedom Defeats Terrorism
Far from being a vulnerability in the struggle against terrorism, democratic freedoms are key to empowering moderate voices and depriving terrorists of popular support.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
China’s Message Machine
The People’s Republic of China uses massive amounts of propaganda to influence how it is perceived beyond its borders. “Big data” reveal how that image is carefully and deliberately shaped for different audiences in different places.
April 2018, Volume 29, Issue 2
Brazil: The Costs of Multiparty Presidentialism
The massive corruption revealed by Brazil’s “Operation Car Wash” points to fundamental flaws in multiparty presidential systems, where presidents must find ways to build coalitions in fragmented legislatures.
January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
The Rise of Kleptocracy: The Dark Side of Globalization
The grand corruption enabled by the rise of offshore finance has come to follow a recurring pattern: steal, obscure, and spend.
October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4
The Kremlin Emboldened: How Putin Wins Support
Read the full essay here. The Kremlin’s ability to maintain power and popularity despite an aging leader, an ailing economy, a rallying opposition, and many other domestic and international challenges is puzzling given current theories of authoritarianism. These theories focus on some combination of material interests, institutional engineering, and the charisma and skill of the…
April 2017, Volume 28, Issue 2
The 2016 U.S. Election: How Trump Lost and Won
Three factors help to explain the historically wide split between the electoral and popular vote counts: economic and political fundamentals, polarization among voters over identity issues, and the sharply divergent ways in which the candidates chose to address these issues.
January 2017, Volume 28, Issue 1
The Fading of the Anti-Coup Norm
Following the end of the Cold War, an international norm against coups began gaining strength, but it seems to have lost momentum in recent years. What has happened?
October 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4
Transition in China? More Likely Than You Think
Evidence from social science and history suggests that China is entering a “transition zone” that will threaten its capacity to maintain both authoritarian rule and high levels of economic growth.
October 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4
Tunisia: Ennahda’s New Course
Tunisia is a small country, but its influential Islamist party has taken a big step by separating its political wing from its religious activities.
July 2016, Volume 27, Issue 3
The Struggle Over Term Limits in Africa: How International Pressure Can Help
The interplay between elections, popular protests, and international pressures has a profound effect on the behavior of African autocrats and their ability to stay in power even after their time is up.
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
The Quest for Good Governance: Georgia’s Break with the Past
Much can be done to uproot graft when a major event such as the Rose Revolution sweeps in a determined new team on a wave of massive public support.
January 2015, Volume 26, Issue 1
Russia’s Political System: Imperialism and Decay
The system of personalized power that has long ruled Russia now faces a new crisis, and it is trying to avert decay through the reassertion of empire.
October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4
India’s Watershed Vote: The Risks Ahead
Will the Modi government focus on the economy, or will it seek to implement a transformational Hindu-nationalist agenda?
July 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3
The Maidan and Beyond: The House That Yanukovych Built
The events surrounding the EuroMaidan cannot be understood apart from the preceding five years of increasingly corrupt and authoritarian rule.
July 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3
The Maidan and Beyond: Who Were the Protesters?
Survey data reveal the makeup of the crowds in the Maidan and the factors that motivated them to take part in the protests.
July 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3
The Maidan and Beyond: Finding Ukraine
Ukrainians flocked to the Maidan to express a “choice for Europe,” but they may also have forged the beginnings of a new Ukrainian identity.