July 2009, Volume 20, Issue 3
Democratization by Elections? Opposition Weakness in Africa
Due to weak opposition parties and presidential dominance, many African countries have not reaped the full benefits of regularly held elections.
1930 Results
Nayib Bukele self-deprecating slogan July 2019 article
July 2009, Volume 20, Issue 3
Moldova’s “Twitter Revolution”
In April 2008, disputed election results in the tiny state of Moldova sparked violent protests and a harsh response from state authorities.
July 2009, Volume 20, Issue 3
The Turnover in El Salvador
In March 2009, El Salvador saw its first peaceful alternation of power since independence, as the FMLN, a former guerilla movement that laid down its arms in 1992, finally won the presidency.
July 2009, Volume 20, Issue 3
Nicaragua: Progress amid Regress?
Despite increasing authoritarian tendencies at the national level, there are signs that Nicaragua has been making democratic advances at the local level.
July 2024, Volume 35, Issue 3
Hereditary Democracy
Voters in democratic countries often favor political candidates whose relatives were in office before them. When citizens can choose anyone, why in so many of the world’s democracies do they opt for political dynasties?
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
ASEAN’s “Black Swans”
Can regionalism help to redress the uneven spread and internal weaknesses of democracy in Southeast Asia? Unforeseen events in the region and positive political entrepreneurship may yet transform ASEAN into a force for democracy.
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
South Korea’s Miraculous Democracy
Despite South Korea’s messy democratic trajectory, it has miraculously achieved consolidation. Though far from perfect, South Korea’s democracy has turned obstacles into opportunities for reform and development.
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
The Remarkable Story of Somaliland
Emerging from one of the world’s most notorious failed states, Somaliland has become an oasis of relative democratic stability in the troubled Horn of Africa. What does its story teach us about democratic state-building?
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
The Orange Revolution and Beyond
Ukraine gained independence in 1991, but its people gained their freedom only in 2004 with the Orange Revolution—an uprising of the human spirit in which Ukrainians joined together to gain a voice in their future.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
Exchange: The Sequencing “Fallacy”
Countries taking the initial steps from dictatorship toward electoral politics are especially prone to civil and international war. Yet states endowed with coherent institutions—such as a functioning bureaucracy and the elements needed to construct a sound legal system—have often been able to democratize peacefully and successfully. Consequently, whenever possible, efforts to promote democracy should try…
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
Exchange: Liberalism versus State-Building
In certain circumstances, both liberalism and popular rule can obstruct rather than promote state-building.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
Exchange: The Vain Hope for “Correct” Timing
The history of many of today’s established democracies shows that “out-of-sequence” democratization can lead to eventual success.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
Personalizing Power in Uganda
For more than two decades, President Yoweri Museveni has been building an authoritarian regime that answers closely to his personal will.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
The Democracy Barometers (Part I): Authoritarian Nostalgia in Asia
East Asia’s “third-wave” democracies are in distress, and the economic success of nondemocratic regimes in the region creates a tough standard for comparison.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
The Democracy Barometers (Part I): The Rise of Populism and the Left in Latin America
By world standards, Latin Americans ideologically are slightly to the right. But their attitudes are moving leftward, a trend with potential implications for democratic stability in the region.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
The Decline of the African Military Coup
Since the early 1990s, many African countries have undergone political liberalization, and so far this trend has been accompanied by a significant drop in the incidence of military coups.
July 2007, Volume 18, Issue 3
Communism’s Many Legacies in East-Central Europe
Democracy is facing hard times in the region, but the shape of the problems varies according to the differing informal legacies of communism in individual countries.
July 2006, Volume 17, Issue 3
The Crisis of Representation in the Andes
Despite a significant expansion of citizenship over the last few decades, the Andean nations face a severe crisis of democratic representation. The root of the problem lies not in the mechanisms of representation but in poor state performance.
July 2006, Volume 17, Issue 3
Reforming Intelligence: Democracy and Effectiveness
Reforming national intelligence communities is a critical, if often overlooked, task facing democratizing countries. Happily, intelligence agencies brought under civilian, democratic control may also becomes better at their core job of protecting free nations from deadly threats.
July 2006, Volume 17, Issue 3
Reforming Intelligence: South Africa After Apartheid
On the surface, intelligence-sector reform since the fall of apartheid has been a model of success, but the growing politicization of security-sector forces by the ruling ANC may pose a threat to the consolidation of South Africa's young democracy.