January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
The Rise of Kleptocracy: A Challenge for Democracy
As explained in the essays that follow, kleptocracy has become a potent threat to the integrity of democracy around the globe.
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July 2018, Volume 29, Issue 3
Explaining Eastern Europe: Orbán’s Laboratory of Illiberalism
Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party has used its two-thirds majority in parliament to change the constitution, erase checks and balances, and make the electoral system even more majoritarian.
April 2005, Volume 16, Issue 2
Challenge and Change in East Asia: Facing the Perils of Presidentialism
Juan Linz’s 1990 critique of presidentialism in these pages was based largely on the Latin American experience. In the last few years, however, four new Asian democracies have encountered presidential crises. Does Linz’s work hold the secret to what has been ailing these regimes?
The Life of the Party
Online Exclusive by Patrick Quirk and Jan Surotchak | Establishment parties are flagging. They should learn from political disruptors.
January 2024, Volume 35, Issue 1
The Real Dangers of Generative AI
Advanced AI faces twin perils: the collapse of democratic control over key state functions or the concentration of political and economic power in the hands of the few. Avoiding these risks will require new ways of governing.
July 2024, Volume 35, Issue 3
Is Democracy Bad for LGBT+ Rights?
LGBT+ rights are under threat across the globe. Populist leaders stirring fear and animosity for political gain understand how democratic institutions can be harnessed and manipulated to curtail these rights, not enshrine them.
April 2025, Volume 36, Issue 2
Delivering for Democracy: Why Results Matter
Voters around the world are losing faith in democracy’s ability to deliver and increasingly turning toward more authoritarian alternatives. To restore citizens’ confidence, democracies must show they can make progress without sacrificing accountability.
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
Why Ukraine Shouldn’t Negotiate with Putin
Many pundits cry for a negotiated settlement to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. But they misunderstand Vladimir Putin’s motives. The only just end to the war will be in the trenches, not at the bargaining table.
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
A Reply to Our Critics
The authors identify and respond to four broad themes in the Climate Crisis debate.
October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4
The Power of Liberal Nationalism
Democracy’s defenders have failed to appreciate the power of nationalism. They must arm themselves with emotionally compelling narratives to counter illiberal foes of free government. When they do, they are championing a winning message.
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
The Perils of Propaganda
A review of How to Win an Information War: The Propagandist Who Outwitted Hitler, by Peter Pomerantsev.
January 2013, Volume 24, Issue 1
Papua New Guinea: From Coup to Reconciliation
A 2011 power struggle spawned a crisis that marred Papua New Guinea’s unbroken record of democratic rule. Has the country found its way back?
July 2013, Volume 24, Issue 3
Kishore’s World
The widely hailed writings of Singapore’s Kishore Mahbubani, including his latest book, The Great Convergence: Asia, the West, and the Logic of One World, reveal a remarkably narrow and Manichean worldview.
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
Why Malawi’s Democracy Endures
Malawi is a “hard place” for democracy—its economy struggles and state capacity is weak. So how has it avoided the pitfalls that have doomed so many others?
April 2016, Volume 27, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the inaugural address of Argentine president Mauricio Macri; victory speech by Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-Wen
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
Why Autocracies Fear LGBTQ+ Rights
The battle over rights for sexual minorities has divided countries into opposing camps. But autocrats are lashing out with one aim: countering the liberal international order.
October 2018, Volume 29, Issue 4
Latin America’s Shifting Politics: Mexico’s Party System Under Stress
AMLO’s sweeping victory in Mexico’s 2018 elections could point to a long-term dealignment of the country’s party system, but it is more likely that a less radical process of partisan recomposition will take place.
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
Resisting the Authoritarian Temptation
Democracy’s unique, flexible, and substantial resources make it better than authoritarianism at confronting climate change.
October 2013, Volume 24, Issue 4
Exchange: Confusing Categories, Shifting Targets
Staffan Lindberg replies to Matthijs Bogaards’s critique, finding the latter’s methodology problematic and arguing that the evidence for association between repeated elections and democratization remains strong.