Inside Pakistan’s Deeply Flawed Election
The country’s polls were marred by delayed results and charges of rigging. Worse, they might plunge Pakistan into an even deeper political crisis.
3165 Results
The Miami Times Black Wall Street March 11 2025 article
Ashutosh Varshney’s Greatest Hits
With India’s next general election just a year away, here are five of his Journal of Democracy essays that offer critical analysis of the world’s largest democracy at a crucial time.
What’s to Blame for Democratic Backsliding?
A democratic recession has been sweeping the globe for more than two decades, and it’s picking up steam. What explains this alarming decline? In the April issue, leading scholars debate the root causes of democratic backsliding, and what can be done to stop it.
Save la République!
Why Emmanuel Macron’s reelection hangs on him winning support from the very people he has ignored most.
How Autocrats Use Sharp Power to Wage War on Democracy
Most of the world’s democracies remain extremely vulnerable to sharp-power threats. The following Journal of Democracy essays explore how authoritarians weaponize universities, technologies, media, entertainment, and culture to attempt to crack democracy’s foundations.
What Comes Now?
The biggest election in this “year of elections” is finally over. In contests across the world, voters have spoken. But what do their choices tell us about the state of democracy globally?
Is Zelensky the Right Leader at the Right Time?
President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Washington to rally support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s unprovoked invasion. As the war’s second year grinds on, the Ukrainian people are looking for Zelensky to help their country succeed, not just survive. Will Zelensky be able to shepherd Ukraine to victory?
How Autocrats Peddle Their Influence and Launder Their Reputations
Determined to project their influence abroad, authoritarian regimes are subverting international rules and norms while disguising their misdeeds. The easiest way to do this? Convince the world they are benign, upstanding members of the international community.
The Man Who Would Oust a Dynasty
A few years ago Anura Kumara Dissanayake led a struggling political party with bleak prospects. Now he is Sri Lanka’s newly elected president. The hardest work may still lie ahead.
Is Democracy a Crime in Hong Kong?
On November 19, a Hong Kong court sentenced 45 prominent prodemocracy activists to years in prison in the biggest crackdown yet under the city’s draconian, Beijing-imposed National Security Law. The Journal of Democracy essays below, free for a limited time, detail Hong Kong’s decades-long fight for freedom, and the CCP’s unrelenting repression.
Election Observers Are Human-Rights Defenders
Election observers are the first line of defense for democratic rights and freedoms. The essays below highlight the importance of election monitoring, especially in highly polarized, autocratic settings, the dangers that observers face, and the repercussions of rigged contests.
The Far Right Almost Killed Romania’s Democracy. Will They Succeed Next Time?
Romania is the latest example of rising far-right populism across Europe. The essays below examine the forces driving these illiberal political movements.
Who Is South Korea’s New President?
South Koreans just elected a new president. Will he be good for South Korean democracy?
How Democracy Can Win Out in Sudan
The country just got a new chance to restore its democratic transition. Here’s how they can ensure that Sudan stays on the right path.
Getting Over the Third Wave
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?
Monkey Cage Features JoD article on Social Media and Democracy
At the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog, JoD authors Joshua Tucker, Yannis Theocharis, Margaret E. Roberts, and Pablo Barberá draw on their findings from our October issue to assess "how social media can both weaken—and strengthen—democracy."
December 7, 2017
Who Decides What Is Democratic?
The United States, like other polarized democracies, is in turmoil. Increasing radicalism, intolerance, and violence continue to rock the country in the run-up to the November election. These essays reflect on this polarization and how to protect ourselves from the damage it is inflicting.
7 Lessons from Turkey’s Effort to Beat a Populist Autocrat
What the opposition did and how Erdoğan managed to escape outright defeat.
The War in Ukraine One Year On
Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began one year ago. The war has inflicted a heavy toll on Russia in addition to the mass carnage in Ukraine. But Ukrainians are fighting valiantly and finding creative means of resistance.