How Dictators Use Financial Repression Against Their Opponents
Economic freedom is one of a tyrant’s first targets. My family and I have experienced this firsthand. But tools like Bitcoin offer a lifeline for activists fighting repressive states.
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Economic freedom is one of a tyrant’s first targets. My family and I have experienced this firsthand. But tools like Bitcoin offer a lifeline for activists fighting repressive states.
Even in an era haunted by democratic decline, Jason Brownlee and Kenny Miao find that wealthy democracies are unlikely to collapse in their contribution to the October 2022 Journal of Democracy. Six top experts in the field debate their conclusions.
Moscow and China pose a great danger to the democratic world. But they pose threats that need to be managed, not won. Every great foreign-policy battle doesn’t end with a decisive victory.
The Journal of Democracy strives to keep you up to date on the latest developments in global democracy and autocracy. Here are our ten most-read essays over the past month.
Elections in nearly eighty countries around the world captured headlines throughout 2024. Meanwhile, NATO turned 75, Viktor Orbán ramped up his repression, and Bitcoin became the currency of choice for democracy activists under threat. These ten essays were the JoD’s most-read online exclusives of 2024.
Rachel Kleinfeld and Nicole Bibbins Sedaca detail the dangers of deep polarization and lay out steps that leaders and citizens can take to stop the violence.
The newly aggressive U.S. policy toward Nicolás Maduro and his autocratic regime, including the recent sinking of alleged Venezuelan drug boats, did not come out of nowhere.
At the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage, read Alence and Pitcher’s take on South Africa’s 8 May 2019 national elections, and stay tuned for an expanded analysis in the October 2019 JoD. Plus, read Alence’s 2004 Journal article (free through May 31) for a deeper look into the history of South Africa’s democracy.
Immigration to the West has been soaring for a decade, as rising numbers of people flee conflict, hunger, and poverty. In the new issue of the Journal of Democracy, four leading thinkers explore the future of multiracial democracy and show how democracies must adapt if they are to succeed.
Jeff Guo in the Washington Post’s Wonkblog and Erik Voeten in the Post’s Monkey Cage grapple with Yascha Mounk and Roberto Stefan Foa's findings on support for democracy among young people. Also in the Monkey Cage, Foa and Mounk respond, and Voeten continues the discussion.
December 13, 2016
As political polarization deepens in the world’s democracies, political violence is on the rise. And in the wake of these acts, conspiracy theories often bloom. We offer three essays that look at these forces that threaten to upend democracy, and what must be done to overcome them.
Vladimir Putin may have imprisoned, tortured, and killed the brilliant opposition leader, but even now Navalny is a threat to the corrupt autocracy he has built.
Vladimir Putin has become a one-stop shop for authoritarians around the world, providing them whatever they need to advance their cause. Democracy’s defenders don’t get the same support — but it’s time for that to change.
Authoritarians are evolving — becoming more unconstrained and repressive at home, and more destructive on the global stage. The following essays unpack the authoritarians’ toolkit, revealing their strategies for taking power and upending the liberal world order.
Voters across the world see democracy as unresponsive, out of touch, inept, and even corrupt. Something needs to change, but no one can agree on what. What democracy needs, Joel Day argues in a new Journal of Democracy online exclusive, is a single bold and effective reform plan.
Don’t miss your chance to read the Journal of Democracy’s July issue for free through the 31.
Steadfast, nonviolent movements are often the most effective way to counter an authoritarian. These essays explain how to start, sharpen, and sustain a movement.
“Every opportunity must be used to speak out . . . I love Russia. My intellect tells me that it is better to live in a free and prosperous country than in a corrupt and impoverished one.”
Our most-read essays of 2023 covered the state of India’s democracy, Russia’s war on Ukraine, the protests in Iran, and more.
The list of democratic countries suffering from polarized politics is long and growing. The Czech Republic — one of postcommunist Europe’s strongest democracies — is the latest to join.