October 2003, Volume 14, Issue 4
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Cambodia, Jordan, Kuwait, Mexico, and Rwanda.
2033 Results
Miami Times Black Wall Street March 11 2025 article opening quote
Why Does the Kremlin Bother Holding Sham Elections?
Everyone knows that Russia’s election is a fraud. The problem is no dictator ever feels safe enough, and Putin thinks even a fake election will signal to his cronies that he’s still in charge.
Is Erdoğan on His Way Out?
The Turkish president came to power as an antiestablishment everyman. Twenty years later he is an authoritarian leader clinging to power. Will the forces that catapulted him to power be his demise? | Philip Balboni
April 2008, Volume 19, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence from Serbia; U.K. foreign secretary David Miliband’s speech, “The Democratic Imperative”; the power-sharing agreement between the Kenyan president and opposition leader; “Pakistan’s Tipping Point” by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
October 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4
Particularism’s Empire
A review of The Quest for Good Governance: How Societies Develop Control of Corruption by Alina Mungiu-Pippidi.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
How to Sharpen a Nonviolent Movement
The record shows that movements using “dilemma actions”—creative protests that make a regime look foolish—are often more effective at undermining authoritarians. Activists should add such tactics to their toolkit.
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
World Religions and Democracy: Hinduism and Self-Rule
Creative Hindu responses to modern challenges are a crucial part of the democratic story in India, yet Hindus must guard against those who would politicize Hindu identity.
April 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2
What Makes Legislatures Strong?
A review of The Handbook of National Legislatures: A Global Survey by M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig, and Legislative Power in Emerging African Democracies edited by Joel D. Barkan.
July 2022, Volume 33, Issue 3
Cancel Toqueville?
Does the author of the nineteenth-century classic, Democracy in America, still matter?
April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: The Declaration of Free Citizens by Vietnamese bloggers; Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; a letter issued by the Anglican bishop of the Diocese of Colombo; the inaugural address of South Korean president Park Geun-hye; a speech given by Shin Dong-hyuk who fled North Korea.
Kenya’s Shaky Handshake Deals
The country has a long history of power-sharing deals that are sealed with a handshake. The truth is that this type of political bargaining typically does more harm than good.
July 2002, Volume 13, Issue 3
Globalization and Self-Government
Until now, globalization and democratization have been mutually reinforcing, but in the future globalization may pose serious challenges for democracy.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
Exchange: Misunderstanding Gradualism
Unlike pessimistic scholars and recalcitrant autocrats, most ordinary citizens are inclined to take the risks of choosing democracy when they can.
July 2006, Volume 17, Issue 3
The Dark Side of Globalization
A review of Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers, and Copycats are Hijacking the Global Economy, by Moisés Naím.
October 2005, Volume 16, Issue 4
The Emperor Has No Clothes
What can be done with regimes that proclaim their devotion to democratic principles but violate them in practice?
January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
China’s Changing of the Guard: The Rise of the Technocrats
With both reformists and leftists pushed aside, political center-stage now belongs to new pragmatists both inside and outside the Communist Party.
January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
The Deadlock in Iran: Pressures from Below
Despite today’s gridlock, there are grounds for hope in the widespread embrace of democratic ideals by young people.
October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4
Financing Politics: A Global View
Though it is a burning issue in many countries, the question of money and politics is seldom studied on a worldwide scale.
October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4
Zimbabwe’s Hijacked Election
Realizing that power would slip from his grasp if he allowed an honest presidential election in 2002, longtime strongman Robert Mugabe resorted to antidemocratic tactics that set a new low in cruelty and dishonesty.
October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4
Dark Days in Belarus
Why did Belarusians return dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka to power in September 2001? Could a better-managed opposition campaign have made a difference?