2135 Results

Electoral Reform Society charter 2025 'good governance charter'

April 2012, Volume 23, Issue 2

Václav Havel (1936–2011)

A tribute to Václav Havel—one of the most revered democratic leaders and thinkers of our time—who passed away on 18 December 2011. Included are a document issued by the signers of China's Charter '08 and some reflections, originally published in the Mainichi Daily News, by Aung San Suu Kyi.

July 2009, Volume 20, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: remarks by Xu Youyu made while accepting the Homo Homini Award on behalf of imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo; the African Union’s decision on the forced resignation of Madagascar’s president; the inaugural address of Salvadoran president Mauricio Funes; ASEAN’s statement condemning Burma’s treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi. 

July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3

Tanzania’s Autocratic Reform-Washing

President Samia Suluhu Hassan came into office promising democratic reforms. Four years later, it is clear she is more of a performer than a reformer. Far from delivering on her promises to unwind Tanzania’s authoritarian machinery, she is relying on the repressive tools we know so well.

April 2009, Volume 20, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Charter 08, an open letter calling for a political system in China based on human rights and democracy; an ECOWAS statement condemning the military coup in Guinea; the inauguration speech of new Ghanaian president John Evans; statements issued commending the conduct of Iraq’s January 31 provincial elections.

July 1992, Volume 3, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the Transitional Period Charter of Ethiopia; a pamphlet of the Free Trade Union of China; Russian president Boris Yeltsin’s declaration on Poland and Russia. 

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July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3

The Islamic Republic’s War on Iranians

Iran’s theocracy has waged a brutal campaign against its own citizens for years. Now that the Woman, Life, Freedom movement has stripped the regime of any legitimacy, the mullahs have had no response but to sharpen their instruments of repression.

January 1992, Volume 3, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a UN Third Committee Resolution on the human rights situation in Burma; Organization of American States (OAS) Resolution 1080; an OAS resolution Haiti; the inaugural speech of Zambian president Chiluba ; Russian president Boris Yeltsin’s; the “Agreement on the Creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States; “Fundamental Principles for the Establishment of Peace in…

January 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: British prime minister Tony Blair’s speech on the events of September 11 and their aftermath; the “Inter-American Democratic Charter” adopted by the Organization of American States; UN secretary-general Kofi Annan’s speech accepting the National Democratic Institute’s Averell Harriman Award; Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s “Speech for the Nation.”

October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: writings by Human rights activist Elena Bonner on the situation in Chechnya; the first state address of Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri; the African Union’s New Africa Initiative; Organization of American States General Assembly Resolution 1753.

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April 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2

Democracy and Deep Divides

How do democracies deal with the deep divisions created by race, ethnicity, religion, and language? The cases of Canada, India, and the United States show that democratic institutions—notably, competitive elections and independent judiciaries—can bridge divides and build stability, but they must find a way to manage the tension between individual and group equality.

April 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a statement by Liu Xiaobo, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charches of “inciting subversion of state power”; the inaugural address of Honduran president Porfirio Lobo; a statement issued by the Sri Lankan Lawyers for Democracy; the inaugural address of Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

October 1999, Volume 10, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the “Sana’a Declaration” and remarks by Yemeni prime minister Abdul Karim Al-Eryani from the Emerging Democracies Forum; Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri’s remarks; remarks from South African president Thabo Mbeki; the “Rio de Janiero Declaration.”

July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the Alexandria Declaration, a document emanating from a March 2004 conference on Arab reform convened under the auspices of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak; an initiative on political reform issued by the first Arab Civil Forum on March 22; the Tunis Declaration, issued at the end of the Arab Summit; a response from 34…

October 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4

Why Senegal’s Democracy Survived

After a turbulent election cycle, with an incumbent leader postponing the vote and putting his thumb on the scale, voters elected a new president and, for the third time in Senegalese history, a new ruling party. How did the country keep its democracy from crumbling?

January 2014, Volume 25, Issue 1

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a speech delivered in North Korea by Mongolian president Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorj; Aung San Suu Kyi’s speech honoring Václav Havel; the joint statement of governments participating in a meeting on the growth of restrictions on civil society globally; the charter of the newly formed Asia Democracy Network.

April 2014, Volume 25, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: the statement of Xu Zhiyong, a founding member of New Citizens Movement, at his trial; a joint statement by the former presidents of Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru on the situation in Venezuela; the preamble of Tunisia’s first constitution since Ben Ali’s fall; statement by Ukrainian NGO Civic Sector.

April 2001, Volume 12, Issue 2

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: South Korean president Kim Dae Jung’s speech accepting the 2000 Nobel Prize for Peace; the inaugural address of Ghanian president John Kufor; Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s inaugural address; the “National Action Charter for the State of Bahrain”; the “Appeal for Democracy” issued on behalf of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam.

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.”