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10 Days Left to Read the October Issue for Free

Authoritarian aggression, democratic recession, political violence, nationalism, and far-right resurgence. The latest issue of the Journal of Democracy offers incisive analysis and cogent solutions to these troubling trends across the globe.

After a Wave of Protests, China’s Silent Crackdown

• Sheena Chestnut Greitens

Nationwide protests against Xi Jinping’s zero-covid policy caught the Chinese Communist Party off-guard. Expect the Party’s security apparatus to strike back with quiet precision.

Can Mexico’s Next President Control the Military?

• Will Freeman

The country’s military brass has a larger role governing Mexico than at any time in the past eighty years. It’s creating a dangerous dependency that won’t be easy to break. Can the generals be reined in? 

A Dangerous Façade

• Agneska Bloch

Marine Le Pen has remade her image to obscure her far-right populism. There is a real risk French voters won’t see through it.

The World Has Become Flatter for Authoritarian Regimes

• Christopher Walker

They are benefiting from a world that has grown more hostile for democracy and human rights. But it doesn’t need to be the case. Democracies need to double down on their own competitive advantage.

Why Did Argentina Just Elect a Radical Right-Wing Political Outsider?

• Virginia Oliveros
• Emilia Simison

By choosing Javier Milei, Argentinian voters didn’t just reject the status quo. They have sent their country hurtling in an unknown direction.

How to Dismantle an Illiberal Democracy

• Jarosław Kuisz
• Karolina Wigura

There is no clear roadmap. But Poland may be setting out on its first steps in stamping out populism and holding accountable those responsible for the worst violations of the rule of law. 

Election Results—October 2024

Reports on elections in Austria, the Czech Republic, and Tunisia.

Arab Democracy or Islamist Revolution?

How Maduro Survived

• Will Freeman

The Venezuelan dictator defied sanctions, international isolation, and massive protests. He appears to have a firmer footing than he’s had in years. Now what?

The Times of India interviews Will Dobson

The Times of India‘s Neelam Raja interviewed JoD coeditor Will Dobson about the 5-essay package on the state of Indian democracy in the July issue of the Journal of Democracy.

Why Putin’s Days Are Numbered

• Vladimir Milov

The system that Russia’s autocrat built wasn’t designed to survive the pressures it is now facing.

Why Macron’s Big Gamble Worked

• Jean-Yves Camus

The French president risked it all to hand the far right a stinging loss. But the celebration can’t last long. If the country is to avoid greater political chaos, voters must be encouraged to think about broader coalitions that go beyond a narrow left-right divide.

How the World’s Most Popular Dictator Wins

• Manuel Meléndez-Sánchez

El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele may be overwhelmingly popular, but he wasn’t going to let his electoral ambitions hinge on being well-liked. Instead, he rigged the playing field before the first vote was cast.

Is Democracy Surviving the “Year of Elections”?

• John K. Glenn

Millions of voters are casting ballots in a string of elections across the globe. At the midyear point, how well is democracy holding up?

This Is Not the End of Putin’s Troubles

• Kathryn Stoner

Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion has exposed the fundamental instability of Putinism.

An Interview with Ivan Krastev on After Europe

In a thirty-minute interview, frequent Journal contributor and Editorial Board member Ivan Krastev discusses with the Open Society Foundation’s Leonard Benardo his new book After Europe.   

March 28, 2018

Ukraine Can’t Hold Elections During the War. Does It Matter?

• Anna Romandash

Russia’s brutal ongoing invasion is preventing Ukrainians from holding a presidential election and the campaigning that comes with it. What does that mean for Ukraine’s democracy?

Getting Over the Third Wave

• Marc F. Plattner

Samuel Huntington’s classic theory offered a new way of understanding democracy’s global trajectory. But amid rising populism and increasingly aggressive authoritarian leaders, has Huntington’s thesis outlived its usefulness?

The Fight for Democracy in Europe

Fed up with corrupt and increasingly autocratic rule, citizens in Georgia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia have been rising up in protest.