2135 Results
What explains democracy’s declining fortunes — governments’ failure to deliver or institutions’ failure to stop power-hungry leaders? Why Ukraine’s defeat would jeopardize the entire liberal-democratic order. And how Syria must navigate the complexities of transitional justice and sectarian violence now that the hard work of rebuilding has begun.
In the April issue of the Journal of Democracy, leading scholars reassess the third wave, its underlying assumptions, and the lessons we should take from democracy’s advance and retreat over the last half-century.
This year of elections, just over halfway through, has been nothing short of dramatic, with shocks, upsets, protests, and political violence — most notably, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump last weekend. Democracy is being tested as increasingly polarized voters head to the polls. Will it succumb to division and distrust, or will it withstand its present trials?
With democracy in trouble across the globe, it’s easy to forget how and why a steady succession of dictatorships fell in the last half of the twentieth century. Democracy’s strengths, and its record, should give cause for hope at a moment when autocracy appears ascendent.
"The Authoritarian Resurgence: China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela" panel discussion featuring JoD authors Javier Corrales, Andrew J. Nathan, Lilia Shevtsova, and Frederic Wehrey. (4/23, 12-2 pm, at NED)
April 14, 2015
The French president made a big bet, and the far right lost.
Commentary on Leslie Anderson and Larry Dodd's July 2009 essay on Nicaragua's 2008 municipal elections.
January 1, 2010
For 75 years, NATO has played a crucial role in defending democracy across the West. The following Journal of Democracy essays track NATO’s role in supporting democracy’s fight against autocracy.
Billions in much-needed American military aid are now headed for Ukraine. The following Journal of Democracy essays demonstrate what it will take to reverse the course of this war of attrition, and why this struggle is a “contest between democracy and dictatorship.”
Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, died in a helicopter crash on Sunday. The mullahs may become more repressive in the lead up to the next presidential election. Read about Iran’s most recent wave of unrest, and explore why it may “only [be] a matter of time before a new wave erupts.”
Venezuela’s opposition defeated Nicolás Maduro in the country’s July presidential election, but the Venezuelan strongman refuses to relinquish power. The Journal of Democracy essays below, free for a limited time, chronicle Venezuela’s struggle against Maduro’s authoritarianism — and what makes this election different.
Authoritarians weaponize LGBT+ rights to undermine pluralism and cement their rule. Can democracy still protect and advance these rights? Read about how LGBT+ rights have been both expanded and resisted around the world, and offer ideas for how democracies can defend them.
On November 19, a Hong Kong court sentenced 45 prominent prodemocracy activists to years in prison in the biggest crackdown yet under the city’s draconian, Beijing-imposed National Security Law. The Journal of Democracy essays below, free for a limited time, detail Hong Kong’s decades-long fight for freedom, and the CCP’s unrelenting repression.
Steadfast, nonviolent movements are often the most effective way to counter an authoritarian. These essays explain how to start, sharpen, and sustain a movement.
Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Narendra Modi, along with the presidents of Turkey, Iran, and other states are working together to amass power at home and project it abroad. These essays explain how they’re doing this, and what democracies can do to prevent it.
In celebration of the Journal of Democracy‘s 30th anniversary issue, editors and contributors will gather on January 23 for reflections and discussion on authoritarianism and the global state of democracy.
January 23, 2020
The Russian autocrat forgot an age-old truth about working with common criminals and soldiers for hire.
The Russian autocrat’s system of control has rested on pillars that are beginning to crumble.
Reports on elections in Croatia, Kuwait, the Maldives, Senegal, Slovakia, the Solomon Islands, and South Korea.
