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!
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democracy vs authoritarian
January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
Fighting Terrorism: The Democracy Advantage
Despite worries that terror groups can turn open societies’ very openness against them, the numbers reveal that liberal democracies enjoy significant advantages in resisting the threat of terrorism.
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: remarks given by Iranian historian Ladan Boroumand at the opening of the Eighth Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy; a speech given by Venezuelan opposition leader Jesús Torrealba; remarks given by Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza as as he accepted on behalf of slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov a posthumous freedom award.
January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
Alfred C. Stepan (1936–2017)
A tribute in remembrance of Alfred C. Stepan (1936–2017).
January 2008, Volume 19, Issue 1
Senegal: The Return of Personalism
Senegal's 2000 presidential election marked the end of forty years of one-party rule. But the reign of President Wade has been a severe disappointment, dashing hopes for democratic consolidation. *This is a corrected text of the print and original online version of this essay, portions of which drew heavily on Tarik Dahou and Vincent Foucher's…
April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2
The Americas: When Do Voters Support Power Grabs?
Recent survey research suggests that most voters disapprove of antidemocratic acts by elected leaders. Yet there are critical exceptions when a significant minority of voters are sympathetic to or even supportive of violations of democratic laws and norms.
April 2016, Volume 27, Issue 2
Latin America’s New Turbulence: Can Democracy Win in Venezuela?
Venezuela’s competitive authoritarian regime now confronts a highly mobilized opposition with a large majority in the legislature. What are the prospects for successful democratic change amidst a deteriorating security situation and an economy in freefall?
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
What’s Wrong with East-Central Europe? The Fading Mirage of the “Liberal Consensus”
Across East-Central Europe, the political center ground has long been characterized by the uneasy cohabitation of liberal and illiberal norms, but the latter have been gradually overpowering the former.
January 2010, Volume 21, Issue 1
Why Democracy Needs a Level Playing Field
In some countries, democratic competition is undermined less by electoral fraud or repression than by a skewed playing field—unequal access to state institutions, resources, and the media.
April 2009, Volume 20, Issue 2
The 2008 Freedom House Survey: A Third Year of Decline
Although 2008 was marked by democratic setbacks as well as authoritarian “pushback” against reformers, democracy remains the only system of government that commands global respect.
July 2008, Volume 19, Issue 3
Islamist Parties and Democracy: Institutions Make the Difference
Read the full essay here. Political Islam is often cited as the key challenge to democratization in Muslim nations, but deep currents of authoritarianism may prove more of an obstacle. Traditions of monarchy, military rule, and weak civic institutions block the path of democratic transition throughout the Muslim world. Political Islam does of course present…
October 2004, Volume 15, Issue 4
Debate: The Persistence of Arab Authoritarianism
The lack of democracy in the Arab world is a problem that goes far beyond the absence of competitive elections. This lack must be traced not to religion or culture, but to adverse historical and geostrategic circumstances.
April 2003, Volume 14, Issue 2
Latin America’s Lost Illusions: Dispirited Politics
The strains of economic reform have not increased support for antidemocratic populism in Latin America, but they have led to acute dissatisfaction with democratic governments.
Can Democracy Solve the Climate Crisis?
Climate change poses a grave and urgent threat to the entire planet. The consequences — natural disasters like the Los Angeles wildfires, rising food insecurity, violent conflict, increased migration — are intensifying before our eyes. How can we confront these challenges? Are “eco-authoritarian” responses the best way forward, or is more democracy the answer?
January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
International Forum for Democratic Studies report on "Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence"; Emmerson Mnangagwa's inaugural address as interim president of Zimbabwe; letter from Zimbabwean civil society organizations; address by U.K. prime minister Theresa May; statement by former Soviet political prisoners and dissidents.
January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
The Case for Democratic Persistence
A review of Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom by Condoleezza Rice.
July 2002, Volume 13, Issue 3
Middle East Studies After 9/11
The Editors’ introduction to “Middle East Studies After 9/11.”
October 2001, Volume 12, Issue 4
Ten Years After the Soviet Breakup: Russia’s Hybrid Regime
In Russia, formally democratic institutions coexist uneasily with the reality of tightly consolidated bureaucratic and executive power.
July 1999, Volume 10, Issue 3
Latin America’s Imperiled Progress: Fujimori and Post-Party Politics in Peru
Read the full essay here.