April 2022, Volume 33, Issue 2
The Rebirth of the Liberal World Order?
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has done something for the world’s democrats they could seemingly not do for themselves—given them renewed unity, purpose, and resolve.
2485 Results
democracy vs authoritarian
July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
Can Capitalism Save Democracy?
Capitalism is often blamed for democracy’s ills. But much of the blame is misplaced. It is not business capture of the state but rather state capture of business that poses the greatest danger to democracy.
July 2013, Volume 24, Issue 3
Latin America’s Authoritarian Drift: Technocratic Populism in Ecuador
President Rafael Correa, now entering his third term, has built a curious form of populist-authoritarian regime. He champions redistributionism and a kind of technocratic leftism while assaulting the traditional left along with such mainstays of a liberal society as the freedom of the press.
January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1
The Road to Digital Unfreedom: How Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping Repression
Democracies must grapple not only with the proliferation of AI to authoritarian and illiberal regimes, but also with the temptation that AI poses for democratic governments themselves.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
Disinformation Disorientation
A review of This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality by Peter Pomerantsev.
April 2019, Volume 30, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: a speech by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian; a letter by Bernard-Henri Lévy, Milan Kundera, Salman Rushdie, Elfriede Jelinek, and Orhan Pamuk; tributes to Lyudmila Alexeyeva; and the Parliamentary Call for Global Democratic Renewal.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
Under the Influence
A review of Beijing’s Global Media Offensive: China’s Uneven Campaign to Influence Asia and the World by Joshua Kurlantzick.
October 2023, Volume 34, Issue 4
How Financial Secrecy Undermines Democracy
An expansive underworld of hidden wealth lies beneath the everyday economy. This stealth network of tax havens, secret trusts, and offshore accounts is weakening democratic institutions and fueling our worst enemies.
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
How Authoritarians Weaponize the Law
Authoritarians can manipulate the law to rationalize their rule, but the law can equally serve to check authoritarian power. The Journal of Democracy essays below explore the dynamics between leaders and the law. Read for free now.
Polishing Off Populism in Authoritarian Thailand
Thailand’s current crisis may finally end the cycle of populism and polarization that has crippled its democratic aspirations. But it is also revealing that there are far worse forces undermining Thai democracy.
January 2010, Volume 21, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: Ayman Nour’s video message to the National Endowment for Democracy’s conference, “Middle Eastern Democrats and Their Vision of the Future”; Wang Lixiong’s speech accepting the Light of Truth Award; Ladan Boroumand’s speech accepting the Lech Wałęsa Prize; the “EU Agenda for Action”—the annex to the “Conclusions on Democracy Support in the EU’s External Relations”
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
Transition Leaders Speak
A review of Democratic Transitions: Conversations with World Leaders, edited by Sergio Bitar and Abraham F. Lowenthal.
January 2013, Volume 24, Issue 1
China at the Tipping Point? Foreseeing the Unforeseeable
The resilience of the Chinese authoritarian regime is approaching its limits. A breakthrough moment could be triggered by several kinds of events.
July 2013, Volume 24, Issue 3
The Durability of Revolutionary Regimes
Authoritarian regimes that have their origins in revolutionary struggle have a much higher survival rate than other brands of authoritarianism. What accounts for their durability?
April 2011, Volume 22, Issue 2
Liberation Technology: China’s “Networked Authoritarianism”
Chinese authoritarianism has deftly adapted to the Internet Age, employing various forms of technological controls. China’s brand of networked authoritarianism serves as a model for other regimes, such as those of Iran and Russia.
January 2011, Volume 22, Issue 1
Latin America: A Setback for Chávez
Hugo Chávez has been running a bounded competitive-authoritarian regime for some time, but its ability to compete is now slipping. Will this tend to make it less authoritarian—or even more so?
July 2006, Volume 17, Issue 3
Election Rigging and How to Fight It
Authoritarian regimes around the world hold elections and manipulate them every step of the way. How do we understand and work around the challenges these regimes pose to what should be a clean and democratic electoral process?
October 1998, Volume 9, Issue 4
Is Ethiopia Democratic? A Bureaucratic Authoritarian Regime
Read the full essay here.