January 1995, Volume 6, Issue 1
Italy’s Civic Divide
A review of Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy, by Robert D. Putnam, with Robert Leonardi and Raffaella Y. Nanetti.
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April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
Liberalism as Fortress and Prison
The power of liberalism—though limited and never revered—enables it to serve as refuge while taming the demons of liberal society.
January 2015, Volume 26, Issue 1
China’s Challenge
As China’s power grows, will it seek to remake the world in its authoritarian image? For now, China shows no such missionary impulse, but the ways in which it pursues its interests can still threaten the fate of democracy.
April 2014, Volume 25, Issue 2
Shifting Tides in South Asia: Reform and Resistance in Nepal
After a decade of upheavals, Nepal elected in November 2013 its Second Constituent Assembly, but it is still unclear whether elites will accept reforms that empower wider sections of society.
July 2010, Volume 21, Issue 3
The Rise of “State-Nations”
Must every state be a nation and every nation a state? Or should we look instead to the example of countries such as India, where one state holds together a congeries of “national” groups and cultures in a single and wisely conceived federal republic?
July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
Tanzania’s Autocratic Reform-Washing
President Samia Suluhu Hassan came into office promising democratic reforms. Four years later, it is clear she is more of a performer than a reformer. Far from delivering on her promises to unwind Tanzania’s authoritarian machinery, she is relying on the repressive tools we know so well.
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Argentina, Botswana, Central African Republic, Georgia, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, India, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Malaysia, Namibia, Niger, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Yemen.
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup: Disillusionment in the Caucasus and Central Asia
In the southern reaches of what was once the USSR, democracy seems far off. Can that change?
April 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: a statement by Liu Xiaobo, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charches of “inciting subversion of state power”; the inaugural address of Honduran president Porfirio Lobo; a statement issued by the Sri Lankan Lawyers for Democracy; the inaugural address of Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
Documents on Democracy
Text of “A Call to Defend Democracy,” initiated by International IDEA and the National Endowment for Democracy; televised statement by Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya; open letter on the imprisonment of Turkish civil society leader Osman Kavala.
July 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3
The Future of Platform Power: Reining in Big Tech
Comprehensive regulation can strengthen user rights in the face of tech firms’ exploitative practices.
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?
January 2006, Volume 17, Issue 1
The 2005 Freedom House Survey: Progress in the Middle East
The gains for freedom in the Middle East were the most significant seen since the Freedom House survey began in 1972.
January 2004, Volume 15, Issue 1
The 2003 Freedom House Survey: National Income and Liberty
Despite the threats posed by terrorism, 2003 saw a second consecutive year of significant momentum of freedom, and showed encouraging evidence that political rights and civil liberties can endure despite economic privation.
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
The Truth About Africa’s Coups
Praetorian politics are not making a comeback. Africa’s recent putsches have more to do with democracy’s failure to deliver than any fondness for military rule.
April 2004, Volume 15, Issue 2
Christianity and Democracy: The Pioneering Protestants
Historical and other evidence from around the world suggests that Protestantism has helped to create a web of mediating factors—from higher literacy to lower corruption to active civic groups—that encourage self-government.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
The Freedom House Survey for 2022: A Turning Point for Global Freedom?
The past year offered the brightest picture in almost two decades, as global improvements in freedom nearly equaled global declines. Is democracy poised for a comeback?
January 2017, Volume 28, Issue 1
Britain After Brexit: The Risk to Northern Ireland
The British decision to leave the EU raises difficult challenges for the still-delicate settlement upon which peace and stability in Northern Ireland depend.
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
The Authoritarian Threat: The Hijacking of “Soft Power”
Although the leading authoritarian regimes are today integrated in many ways into the global system, they have not become more like the democracies; instead, they have been devising policies and practices aimed at blocking democracy’s advance.
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?