Is Democracy Surviving the “Year of Elections”?
Millions of voters are casting ballots in a string of elections across the globe this year. At the midyear point, how well is democracy holding up?
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Fighting a Gangster-Style Autocracy
The newly aggressive U.S. policy toward Nicolás Maduro and his autocratic regime, including the recent sinking of alleged Venezuelan drug boats, did not come out of nowhere.
Do Referendums Really Empower the People?
When voters are asked to cast ballots for or against important national policies — whether to draft or adopt a new constitution, to abolish or reinstate term limits, or, perhaps most famously, to leave or remain in the European Union — they take that job seriously. Yet national referendums are not always put forward in…
A Dictator’s Day in Court
Tunisia’s president is looking to strengthen his chokehold on the country.
How to Flip the Script on the Authoritarian Playbook
Aspiring authoritarians share some common tactics for trying to dismantle a democracy. But recent cases also reveal lessons on how to defend against these attacks and slow the threat of democratic backsliding.
Why Democracy Survives Populism, the Dangers of AI, Sharp Power in the Gulf, and More
Why are would-be strongmen so unlikely to succeed in undoing democracy? What steps can we take to protect democracies from advanced AI? Should we be worried about the Gulf states’ growing influence?
Competitive Authoritarianism: A Conversation with Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way
On 23 January 2020, Journal of Democracy editorial board co-chairs Lucan Way and Steven Levitsky sat down with the Journal’s Brent Kallmer to discuss the new competitive authoritarianism that has emerged in some countries with relatively strong democratic traditions and institutions.
February 11, 2020
What Are Foreign-Agent Laws? And Why Georgia Has Erupted in Protest.
On Tuesday, Georgia’s Parliament passed a controversial new law that would brand NGOs and media organizations receiving foreign funding as “foreign agents.” Countries across the globe are following the Russian model and painting liberal-democratic values as malign foreign interference. Read about the strategies autocrats are devising to repress civil society and stifle dissent.
Autocrats’ Favorite Trick? Stolen Elections
Autocrats around the world have been innovating new ways to steal elections, manipulating rules and revising laws to keep themselves in power for as long as possible.
The Man Who Dared to Change the World
Mikhail Gorbachev risked everything. Neither Russia nor the West could live up to his vision.
New Podcasts with JoD Authors!
The Journal of Democracy has partnered with the Review of Democracy and People, Power, Politics podcasts to share in-depth conversations with JoD authors on their latest essays. Listen, read, and learn!
El desastre democrático de México
El presidente saliente del país está determinado a arrasar con el sistema judicial mexicano. Su ataque al Estado de Derecho es aún más preocupante de lo que se piensa.
Iran Erupts
Iranians are once again flooding the streets in protest. How is this wave of demonstrations different?
New JoD Podcasts!
The Journal of Democracy has partnered with the Review of Democracy podcast and the Democratic Dialogues podcast to share in-depth conversations with JoD authors on their latest essays. Listen, read, and learn!
Three Must Reads from the October Issue!
How can liberal democrats take advantage of nationalism’s enduring appeal? How can Western democracies reduce rising political violence? And how can they protect freedom of expression while also preventing the harms such freedom might cause? The following essays from our new issue provide key answers to these important questions.
Four Must-Reads from the July Issue!
The new issue of the Journal of Democracy grapples with the biggest challenges facing democracies of the past, present, and future. Don’t miss these four essays, free to read through July 31.
Is TikTok a Threat to Democracy?
The popular social media app, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance and used by 170 million Americans, is raising national security questions about data privacy and malign foreign influence.
La destrucción silenciosa de Bolivia
Los bosques amazónicos de Bolivia se están convirtiendo en tierra arrasada, con millones de acres perdidos cada año a causa de incendios descontrolados. Peor aún, este desastre está siendo provocado por un gobierno más interesado en obtener ganancias corruptas que en proteger a su pueblo y su fauna.
Three Things We Need to Renew Democracy in the World
Yesterday, Journal of Democracy founding coeditor Larry Diamond delivered the twentieth annual Seymour Martin Lipset Lecture on Democracy in the World, named for one of the great scholars of the twentieth century. In his remarks, Diamond outlined the grave threats that global democracy faces—and the three things we need to survive this moment.