July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
When Will the Chinese People Be Free?
Rising levels of wealth and schooling make it highly likely that China will be a "Partly Free" country by 2015 and a "Free" one ten years after that.
2032 Results
Miami Times Black Wall Street March 11 2025 article opening quote
January 2020 issue featured in the Wall Street Journal
“To understand why liberal democracy is on the defensive,” writes William A. Galston, “there is no better place to start than the 30th-anniversary edition of the Journal of Democracy.” Read more in Galston’s full article on “Liberal Democracy’s Threats From Within.”
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
The End of History Revisited
Is liberal democracy the endpoint of history? The ongoing democratic recession, growing disaffection among citizens, and rising populism pose new challenges to this view. Yet testing Francis Fukuyama’s much-criticized thesis requires us to consider not only liberal democracy’s internal contradictions, but also those of its authoritarian rivals.
July 1998, Volume 9, Issue 3
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Armenia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Moldova, Paraguay, Philippines, Senegal, Seychelles, Ukraine, Yugoslavia (Montenegro).
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
The Putin Myth
Vladimir Putin’s reputation as a skillful leader was buoyed by years of economic good fortune. But when his regime faltered, his rule quickly descended into the fearful, repressive, and paranoid state we see today.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
Belarus Uprising: The Making of a Revolution
Well-organized demonstrations are rocking the 26-year-old dictatorship of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Inside the movement and why it rose when it did.
January 2015, Volume 26, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: an open letter by the Hong Kong Federation of Students to Chinese premier Li Keqiang; the campaign manifesto of former finance minister Ashraf Ghani, who was proclaimed Afghanistan’s president; the third annual Carlos Cardoso Memorial Lecture; an open letter calling for the release of human-rights activist Liu Xiaobo.
January 2014, Volume 25, Issue 1
Power Failure?
A review of The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being In Charge Isn’t What It Used to Be by Moisés Naím.
July 1999, Volume 10, Issue 3
Democracy as a Universal Value
The recognition of democracy as a universally relevant system is a major revolution in thinking, and one of the main contributions of the twentieth century. While not yet universally practiced, democracy is now being taken as generally right.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
Iraq’s Mafia State
Although Saddam fell twenty years ago, the politicians who have come after him still think like Baathists. But a new generation has begun making itself heard. It believes in Iraq as a nation and it understands democracy as more than a source of spoils to be divided among groups.
The End of the Duterte Dynasty?
The ICC arrest of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte is a shocking blow for the Duterte clan, and the Marcos family isn’t letting up. Is this the political last stand for the Dutertes?
April 2018, Volume 29, Issue 2
The Undemocratic Dilemma
The ability of liberal democracies around the world to translate popular views into public policy has been declining. Yet there is no easy way to overcome this trend without weakening the capacity of governments to solve some of the most pressing challenges of the coming decades.
October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4
China’s Age of Counterreform
The People’s Republic of China has entered a new age, abandoning the ideological openness of the reform era and the socialist legacy of the revolutionary period. Under Xi Jinping, regime stability trumps all — and the PRC is weaker and less stable as a result.
January 1993, Volume 4, Issue 1
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Ghana, Guyana, Kuwait, Lithuania, Peru, Romania, Slovenia, Thailand.
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
America’s Crisis of Civic Virtue
The problem for democracy today is not capitalism; it is a decline in public honesty and civility. But there is an opportunity to revive our sense of national community, if we seize it.
January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1
The Road to Digital Unfreedom: Three Painful Truths About Social Media
Not so long ago, the internet was being lauded as a force for greater freedom and democracy. With the rise of intrusive and addictive social media, however, a discomfiting reality has set in.
April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
Viral Alarm: When Fury Overcomes Fear
The coronavirus outbreak has exposed the corrupt and rotten core of the Chinese Communist Party’s dictatorial rule over China. It is a moment of revelation. Can it also become one that leads to change?
October 2018, Volume 29, Issue 4
Democracy’s “Near Misses”
What factors help a democracy to survive a crisis? A study of cases in which democracy suffered a steep decline, yet ultimately recovered and endured, offers new insights. In moments of crisis, unelected and nonmajoritarian actors can play a pivotal role.