Why Election Observers Are Human-Rights Defenders
Election observers are the first line of defense for democratic rights and freedoms, and they work in some of the most challenging places. They deserve the same protections as human-rights defenders.
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Electoral Reform Society charter 2025 'good governance charter'
Fall 1990, Volume 1, Issue 4
Documents on Democracy
The complete text of the “Freedom Charter,” the basic statement of principles of the anti-apartheid African National Congress party of South Africa.
Why Kenya’s Gen Z Has Taken to the Streets
The country’s young people are no longer willing to accept politics without accountability, and the government’s repressive crackdown is only fueling their movement. Gen Z is reshaping the future of Kenyan democracy.
July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
Can Capitalism Save Democracy?
Capitalism is often blamed for democracy’s ills. But much of the blame is misplaced. It is not business capture of the state but rather state capture of business that poses the greatest danger to democracy.
October 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4
Documents on Democracy
A Togolese activist and writer on oppression; a Chinese human-rights lawyer’s long detention; a reflection on Serbia’s anticorruption protests; Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya commemorates five years since Belarus’s uprising; a Salvadoran university rejects the constitutional amendment; and Bolivia’s election anthem.
October 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4
What Democracy Does . . . And Does Not Do
People are losing faith in democracy’s ability to deliver social progress. But are democracies better than autocracies at promoting economic growth, alleviating poverty, and creating healthier, more educated, and more peaceful societies? On all counts, the answer is yes.
October 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4
Why Bolivia’s MAS Collapsed
Evo Morales’s Movement Toward Socialism transformed Bolivian politics. But after almost two decades in power, the party is unraveling. No longer the country’s anchor, the MAS has become a major driver of instability and political decay.
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
How Maduro Stole Venezuela’s Vote
Nicolás Maduro brazenly stole Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, despite a free, fair, and transparent ballot count that showed a clear opposition victory. Why would an autocrat want to maintain one of the world’s best voting systems?
October 2018, Volume 29, Issue 4
Documents on Democracy
Report on Nicaragua by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); inaugural address of Ethiopia's new prime minister Abiy Ahmed; remarks by Peruvian president Martín Vizcarra at the Eighth Summit of the Americas; inaugural address of Colombian president Iván Duque
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
How Covid Changed Latin America
Covid-19 swept across Latin America with devastating effects. But it had unexpected positive consequences too, as citizens ousted inept politicians and pushed back against the inequities laid bare by the pandemic.
October 1996, Volume 7, Issue 4
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: testimony delivered at South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission; remarks by National Endowment for Democracy president Carl Gershman; remarks delivered at a reception marking the opening of Mongolia’s new parliament.
July 1993, Volume 4, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: speeches from the three recipients of the National Endowment for Democracy’s biennial Democracy Award; the inaugural address of the New Civic Forum, an Egyptian NGO; “Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Principle of Periodic and Genuine Elections”, a UN resolution; the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Moscow communiqué.
October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4
Liu Xiaobo (1955–2017)
A tribute in remembrance of Liu Xiaobo (1955–2017).
April 2014, Volume 25, Issue 2
How Indonesia Won a Constitution
A review of Constitutional Change and Democracy in Indonesia by Donald L. Horowitz.
October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4
Russia’s Road to Autocracy
Thirty years after the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia is firmly in the grip of an autocrat. Where did Russia’s path go wrong?
October 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4
Is Costa Rica’s Democracy Failing?
Although an island of stability and democracy in a region often short of both, Costa Ricans’ faith in government is declining as the challenge of financing its costly welfare state grows. This democratic stalwart is no longer immune to the appeal of populism.
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
The Source of Georgia’s Democratic Resilience
Even as Georgia lurches toward autocracy, the country’s pluralism and democratic culture are deepening. What can Georgia’s contradictory trends reveal about democratic resilience?
The Life of the Party
Online Exclusive by Patrick Quirk and Jan Surotchak | Establishment parties are flagging. They should learn from political disruptors.