Why NATO Is More Than Democracy’s Best Defense
On its 75th anniversary, the Atlantic Alliance should be celebrated for being more than the world’s greatest military compact. It’s an engine of democracy’s advance.
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Electoral Reform Society charter 2025 'good governance charter'
January 1996, Volume 7, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the statement of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a critic of the Nigerian government, shortly before his execution; interview with Cambodian prince Norodom Sihanouk; petition by 15 dissidents to China’s legislature demanding freedom for political prisoners; Pope John Paul II’s address for the UN’s fiftieth anniversary.
How the Far Right Almost Destroyed Romanian Democracy
Romania’s democracy just survived a near-death experience, but it may be more vulnerable going forward. How far can leaders go in defending democracy without compromising their claim to represent the people?
October 2008, Volume 19, Issue 4
Georgia’s Year of Turmoil
A domestic political crisis began brewing in Georgia long before the current conflict with Russia. Since the Rose Revolution, the country has been troubled by flawed elections, a “superpresidency,” and a malleable constitution.
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: remarks given by Iranian historian Ladan Boroumand at the opening of the Eighth Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy; a speech given by Venezuelan opposition leader Jesús Torrealba; remarks given by Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza as as he accepted on behalf of slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov a posthumous freedom award.
July 2001, Volume 12, Issue 3
Two Models of Democracy
A review of Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries by Arend Lijphart and Elections as Instruments of Democracy: Majoritarian and Proportional Views, by G. Bingham Powell, Jr.
January 2002, Volume 13, Issue 1
Slovenia’s Smooth Transition
The story of this small former Yugoslav republic offers an example of how—if circumstances are right—it may be possible for a country to reform its way out of communism and into parliamentary democracy and a market economy.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Is Iran Democratizing? Observations on Election Day
In hotly contested parliamentary elections, candidates supportive of President Khatami’s reforms won an overwhelming victory.
April 2001, Volume 12, Issue 2
A Peaceful Turnover in Ghana
With longtime ruler Jerry Rawlings obeying constitutional term limits, the opposition won a narrow electoral victory, bringing Ghana its first peaceful transfer of power since independence.
Why History Is Repeating Itself in Thailand
Thai politics appears to be in a loop, with the military keeping people’s democratic hopes under wraps. But there is reason to believe the streets won’t be quiet for long.
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
Islamist Parties and Democracy: Why They Can’t be Democratic
Read the full essay here. This article makes a case of the basic distinction between Islam and Islamism and presents three central arguments: 1. through religious reforms and a rethinking of the Islamic doctrine, the cultural system of Islam can be put in harmony with democracy, 2. this (first) argument does not apply to Islamism…
Spring 1990, Volume 1, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the victory speech of Nicaraguan presidential candidate Violeta Barrios de Chamorro; South African president F.W. de Klerk’s speech opening Parliament; the platform of Lithuania’s pro-independence Sajudis movement.
April 2018, Volume 29, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Inaugural address by Liberian president George Weah; open letter by Iranian activists and intellectuals; testimony by China analyst Clive Hamilton before the Australian Parliament's Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.
October 2019, Volume 30, Issue 4
Southeast Asia’s Troubling Elections: Nondemocratic Pluralism in Indonesia
For the second straight time, voters rejected a presidential candidate with ties to undemocratic Islamist forces, but victorious incumbent Joko Widodo felt compelled to tone down his support for liberalism.
October 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4
Leonardo Morlino (1947–2025)
A tribute in remembrance of Leonardo Morlino (1947–2025).
January 2007, Volume 18, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: remarks delivered at a memorial for Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist and human rights advocate murdered in Moscow on October 7; a statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the coup in Thailand; a speech by Felipe Calderón, his first address as Mexico’s president.
January 2008, Volume 19, Issue 1
Morocco’s Elections: A Dynamic Civil Society
Since the 1990s, Moroccan civil society groups have been proliferating, and they are increasingly influential in addressing society-wide matters including the rights of women, ethnic minorities, and the poor.
July 2016, Volume 27, Issue 3
The Internet of Things
A review of Pax Technica: How the Internet of Things May Set Us Free or Lock Us Up by Philip N. Howard
Polishing Off Populism in Authoritarian Thailand
Thailand’s current crisis may finally end the cycle of populism and polarization that has crippled its democratic aspirations. But it is also revealing that there are far worse forces undermining Thai democracy.