April 2007, Volume 18, Issue 2
India’s Unlikely Democracy: Six Decades of Independence
By most theoretical accounts, Indian democracy should not even exist. Yet, despite serious challenges, it shows signs of enduring and even deepening.
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April 2009, Volume 20, Issue 2
Reading Russia: Forms Without Substance
Read the full essay here. Twenty years ago, there was a more thoroughgoing political pluralism in Russia than there is today. In some respects, the forms of democracy-including party consolidation-have been enhanced, but they have been so manipulated as to deprive them of substance. Either “electoral authoritarianism” of “multiparty authoritarianism” (Juan Linz’s terms) may reasonably…
April 2014, Volume 25, Issue 2
A New Twilight in Zimbabwe? The Military vs. Democracy
By militarizing key state institutions and using violence against the opposition, Zimbabwe’s military elites have hindered the country’s transition to democracy. In return, they have been richly rewarded. Can the military’s tentacles be untangled from Zimbabwean politics?
October 2011, Volume 22, Issue 4
Comparing the Arab Revolts: The Global Context
Although the Arab revolts have a long way to go before they can be counted as gains for democracy, they do underline what is perhaps democracy’s greatest source of strength worldwide—its superior legitimacy.
April 2008, Volume 19, Issue 2
Argentina: From Kirchner to Kirchner
Despite key improvements during Néstor Kirchner's presidency, Argentine democracy remains vulnerable to crisis. The near collapse of the party system and weakness of political and economic institutions continue to threaten stability.
January 2007, Volume 18, Issue 1
The Mexican Standoff: Taught to Protest, Learning to Lose
A crucial requirement of government by consent is the willingness of defeated candidates and parties to concede when the voters' verdict goes against them. Events in Mexico following its July 2006 presidential election have sorely tested that country's young democracy in this regard.
January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
China’s Changing of the Guard: Threats to Party Supremacy
The Communist Party’s adaptation to China’s new social elites will lead to a democratic transition only, if at all, at the expense of regime continuity.
October 2022, Volume 33, Issue 4
Latin America’s Abortion Rights Breakthrough
A recent wave of wins for abortion rights—the “green tide” in Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia—owes its success to framing the issue as a matter of human rights.
October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4
Iran’s 2017 Election: The Opposition Inches Forward
Despite all its flaws, Iran’s May 2017 presidential balloting amounted to another small but genuine advance for the cause of democracy.
October 2007, Volume 18, Issue 4
Nigeria’s Muddled Elections
The failure of the elections has been partly mitigated by the hope of judicial review of electoral malfeasance, the stabilizing ingenuity of ethno-regional power-sharing, and renewed national discussions of electoral reforms.
April 2006, Volume 17, Issue 2
Electoral Systems Today: Iraq’s Year of Voting Dangerously
Iraq’s three elections in 2005 highlighted the role—but also the limits—of electoral-system design in managing potentially polarizing divisions.
October 2004, Volume 15, Issue 4
The Quality of Democracy: Addressing Inequality
Democracy requires robust political equality, but the persistence of social, economic and cultural inequality complicates its realization.
January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
China’s Changing of the Guard: A Volcanic Stability
The outward appearance of a powerful and confident Communist party-state masks a deep crisis.
January 1997, Volume 8, Issue 1
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Gambia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mauritania, Moldova, Romania, Slovenia, Thailand, Yugoslavia, Zambia.
July 2003, Volume 14, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: Kenyan president-elect Emilio Mwai Kibaki’s inaugural speech; statement by the International Movement of Parliamentarians for Democracy condemning the crackdown on Cuban dissidents; Organization of American States (OAS) secretary-general César Gaviria’s speech at a conference entitled “Financing Democracy: Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections.”
April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
Lessons from Latin America: The Rise of Rentier Populism
Latin America’s much-discussed political “left turn” has taken two very different forms. Why has the region’s commodities boom led some left-turn states to move toward “plebiscitarian superpresidentialism,” while others have resisted this temptation?
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: former Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade’s concession speech; newly elected Senegalese president Macky Sall’s first national address; the Ottawa Declaration on Tibet issued on April 29 at the conclusion of the Sixth World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet.
July 2002, Volume 13, Issue 3
Nicaragua Votes: The Elections of 2001
The November elections were peaceful and competitive. For the third straight time, voters chose a conservative who embraced democratic liberties.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Mexico’s Victory: The Democratic Revelation
Vicente Fox’s victory in Mexico’s July 2000 presidential election revealed the fundamental changes that had been taking place under the veil of governmental continuity.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Mexico’s Victory: Vicente Fox and the Rise of the PAN
Although Fox’s National Action Party (PAN) is frequently portrayed as a reactionary party, it is better understood as a liberal-democratic alternative to the former ruling party’s authoritarianism.