January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
Ethiopia: The 100% Election
The ruling EPRDF and its allies won every single seat in parliament in Ethiopia’s May 2015 elections, signaling a hardening of the regime’s authoritarian rule.
2375 Results
democracy vs authoritarian
July 2022, Volume 33, Issue 3
How Resilient Is the CCP?
Xi Jinping undercut China’s political norms to cement his own power and brand of rule. But in so doing the “Chairman of Everything” has introduced new vulnerabilities for the regime.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
China: From Tiananmen to Neo-Stalinism
To grasp why post-Mao China’s remarkable economic development has not aided democracy, we must look first at the policies of top Chinese leaders.
October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4
The Kremlin Emboldened: How Putin Wins Support
Read the full essay here. The Kremlin’s ability to maintain power and popularity despite an aging leader, an ailing economy, a rallying opposition, and many other domestic and international challenges is puzzling given current theories of authoritarianism. These theories focus on some combination of material interests, institutional engineering, and the charisma and skill of the…
July 2017, Volume 28, Issue 3
Tanzania: Shrinking Space and Opposition Protest
Since Tanzania’s 2015 elections, rising repression and opposition protest have displaced an older dynamic of comparatively restrained and unchallenged dominance by the ruling party.
July 2017, Volume 28, Issue 3
Turkmenistan: Grasping for Legitimacy
Turkmenistan’s authoritarian president Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov attempted to use sham democratic elections in February 2017 to bolster his legitimacy both at home and abroad.
April 2017, Volume 28, Issue 2
The Freedom House Survey for 2016: The Dual Threat of Populists and Autocrats
In 2016, established democracies figured prominently on the list of countries experiencing declines in freedom, while emboldened autocracies stepped up their repression at home and interference abroad.
October 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4
Transition in China? More Likely Than You Think
Evidence from social science and history suggests that China is entering a “transition zone” that will threaten its capacity to maintain both authoritarian rule and high levels of economic growth.
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Senegal: What Will Turnover Bring?
Although Senegal has often been regarded as a democracy, its regime should more properly have been classified as competitive authoritarian. Will the 2012 election of a new president prove to be a turning point?
July 2011, Volume 22, Issue 3
Belarus: A Tale of Two Elections
Strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s suspiciously lopsided 2010 electoral victory—and subsequent crackdown on dissent—may seem like a repeat of the events of 2006, but much has changed in the interval, and his regime is much more precarious today.
October 2009, Volume 20, Issue 4
Jordan: Ten More Years of Autocracy
Jordan gets much good press for having one of the more open and liberal regimes in the Arab world, but that reputation masks a considerably grimmer reality.
January 2009, Volume 20, Issue 1
Debating the Color Revolutions: Popular Autocrats
Levels of regime strength and links to the West help to explain authoritarian breakdown, but the ruler’s popularity also matters.
January 2009, Volume 20, Issue 1
Debating the Color Revolutions: Necessary Distinctions
Western pressure can be decisive, but it is not always easy to forecast when and how it will be applied.
January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
China’s Changing of the Guard: Authoritarian Resilience
Successful institutionalization will help the regime survive the pressures of advanced modernization and integration with the global economy.
What Did the Third Wave Teach Us?
In the April issue of the Journal of Democracy, leading scholars reassess the third wave, its underlying assumptions, and the lessons we should take from democracy’s advance and retreat over the last half-century.
October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4
Liu Xiaobo (1955–2017)
A tribute in remembrance of Liu Xiaobo (1955–2017).
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 2018, Volume 29, Issue 2
China in Xi’s “New Era”: The Return to Personalistic Rule
After Mao, Deng Xiaoping tried to institutionalize collective leadership, but this did not stop Xi Jinping from grasping all the levers of power.
July 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3
How the Putin Regime Really Works
Is Russia formidable? The answer, two new books argue, lies in the highly centralized inner workings of Putin’s autocracy.
July 2021, Volume 32, Issue 3
China at the UN: Choking Civil Society
Beijing is using red tape, procedural rules, and a little help from its authoritarian allies to strangle NGOs seeking to participate in the world body.