April 2019, Volume 30, Issue 2
The Freedom House Survey for 2018: Democracy in Retreat
Key democratic norms remained under threat in 2018, but there were also unexpected breakthroughs in Armenia, Malaysia, and Ethiopia.
2487 Results
QUE LE PASO A Z GAS
April 2018, Volume 29, Issue 2
China in Xi’s “New Era”: Overstepping Down Under
Australia has been an early target of China’s efforts to buy influence and suppress critical voices, but it has begun mounting a serious defense.
October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4
The Kremlin Emboldened: Why Putinism Arose
Read the full essay here. This essay argues that the sources of the current revival of Russian authoritarianism lie in the country’s economic and political history. Among the major factors behind President Putin’s rise and consolidation of power, it cites an ideological overemphasis on the state that fosters hostility toward human rights and liberties; deeply…
April 2017, Volume 28, Issue 2
Ghana: The Ebbing Power of Incumbency
Despite pre-election fears, the victory of the opposition NPP over the ruling NDC in Ghana’s December 2016 elections became the prologue to a peaceful transfer of power. This outcome suggests that the advantage of incumbency in African elections may be on the wane.
October 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4
The Specter Haunting Europe: Surging Illiberalism in the East
The crisis of liberal democracy is Europe-wide, but it has assumed an especially intense form in Central and Eastern Europe.
October 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4
The Vote in the Philippines: Elite Democracy Disrupted?
Duterte promised voters that he would swiftly reduce crime and poverty and enact constitutional change. But will he violate democratic norms and rule of law in the process?
April 2016, Volume 27, Issue 2
Burma Votes for Change: The New Configuration of Power
Even though Burma’s military seems to have accepted the NLD’s stunning election victory, it can still use an array of constitutional provisions to hamstring the incoming NLD government.
October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4
India’s Watershed Vote: What It Means for the Economy
Modi promised “good days” to aspiring young Indians, and they voted for him in droves. But he is off to a slow start in carrying out the economic reforms necessary to ensure that better days lie ahead.
October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4
Euroskepticism Arrives: Marginal No More
The European Parliament elections of May 2014 were not an “earthquake,” but they did signal that Euroskeptic parties are drawing closer to the European political mainstream.
October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4
Euroskepticism Arrives: The Missing Debate
Disagreements over how much power should reside in Brussels must be allowed to become a normal aspect of debates about European affairs.
October 2014, Volume 25, Issue 4
Manipulating Term Limits in Latin America
More and more Latin American countries have sought to relax or even eliminate presidential term limits. What are the consequences for democracy?
July 2013, Volume 24, Issue 3
Jordan: The Ruse of Reform
The Hashemite monarchy still fails to understand the challenges that threaten Jordan’s political order. The old playbook of limited, manipulated reform is no longer enough, but key players fail to realize it.
January 2013, Volume 24, Issue 1
China at the Tipping Point? Top-Level Reform or Bottom-Up Revolution?
There are two sharply contrasting and controversial perspectives on China’s near- to medium-term future: top-level reform and bottom-up revolution.
January 2013, Volume 24, Issue 1
China at the Tipping Point? The Turn Against Legal Reform
Over the past decade, Chinese authorities have turned against many of the legal reforms they themselves had enacted in the late 20th century. Lawyers have come under increased pressure. Political campaigns warning against rule-of-law norms have rippled through the courts. And central authorities have massively increased funding for extralegal institutions aimed at curtailing and suppressing…
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Hungary’s Illiberal Turn: Can Outsiders Help?
Can outside actors help Hungarians to loosen Fidesz’s centralized grip on all of their country’s governing institutions?
April 2012, Volume 23, Issue 2
Southeast Asia: Minding the Gap Between Democracy and Governance
Do democracy and good governance necessarily go hand-in-hand? In most Southeast Asian countries, a gap exists between the two. How should we understand good governance in an authoritarian context? And what does poor governance mean for the legitimacy of democracy?
January 2012, Volume 23, Issue 1
Turkey Under the AKP: The Kurdish Question
Read the full essay here. Turkish state policy toward the Kurds, the Republic of Turkey’s largest ethnic minority, has evolved from denial and mandatory assimilation to cultural recognition to acknowledgment of the Kurds’ contested status as a political problem demanding political solutions. The election of 36 Kurdish-nationalist lawmakers, most of whom now sit in parliament…
April 2011, Volume 22, Issue 2
Liberation Technology: The Battle for the Chinese Internet
In China, the Internet is not merely contested space between citizen and government. It is also a catalyst for social and political transformation, offering the possibility of better governance with greater citizen participation.
July 2010, Volume 21, Issue 3
Afghanistan & Iraq: Iraq—A Vote Against Sectarianism
Although many Iraqi parties continue to be organized along religious or ethnic lines, both the tone and the results of the 2010 parliamentary election campaign show that most Iraqi voters prefer a broader national agenda over narrow sectarian appeals.
April 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2
Trouble in Central America: Honduras Unravels
A Central American military once again returned to the political center stage in 2009, but this had less to do with power-hungry generals than with warring civilian elites whose respect for liberal-democratic principles proved to be questionable at best.