2492 Results
On this International Day of Democracy, we reflect on democracy’s inherent value, try to understand why faith in self-rule is waning, and consider what we can do to strengthen the cause, sharing a selection of milestone essays to aid in this effort.
January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
On the evening of 20 November 1998, Galina Vasilievna Starovoitova was shot to death outside her St. Petersburg apartment. She was the sixth member of the Russian Duma to have been murdered since that body’s creation in 1993. Most observers agree that this was a political assassination. Starovoitova was a tireless, persistent voice for freedom,…
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 1993, Volume 4, Issue 4
Excerpts from: documents issued by Guatemala’s Court of Constitutionality and leaders of civil society; “The Vienna Declaration and Program of Action”; statement of Nigeria’s Civil Liberties Organisation; address of Dr. Sein Winn, leader of the exiled National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma; speeches by the South African recipients of the 1993 Liberty Medal.
October 2002, Volume 13, Issue 4
Saudi Arabia would seem to exemplify full-blown authoritarianism. Yet there are trends pushing the country toward more open politics.
October 2000, Volume 11, Issue 4
Although Fox’s National Action Party (PAN) is frequently portrayed as a reactionary party, it is better understood as a liberal-democratic alternative to the former ruling party’s authoritarianism.
October 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4
Today, governments can see who buys what, who pays whom, and who donates to which cause. But they cannot easily trace or confiscate Bitcoin. The digital currency offers a lifeline to democratic movements operating in the most repressive places.
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
Excerpts from: the Alexandria Declaration, a document emanating from a March 2004 conference on Arab reform convened under the auspices of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak; an initiative on political reform issued by the first Arab Civil Forum on March 22; the Tunis Declaration, issued at the end of the Arab Summit; a response from 34…
From Putin’s invasion to Kim’s nuclear saber rattling, the West has punished the world’s worst regimes. But have sanctions missed their targets? | Agathe Demarais
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
China’s government looks to Singapore, the only country in the region to modernize without liberalizing, in hopes of finding the key to combining authoritarian rule with economic progress and “good governance.”
October 2023, Volume 34, Issue 4
Turkey’s economic and political crises have only worsened, but the autocratic president remains in power. His secret? He uses the levers of the state to shield his supporters from harm, while punishing the rest.
January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1
Zimbabwe’s first elections since the November 2017 coup that ousted nonagenarian dictator Robert Mugabe were marred by the abuse of state resources, electoral irregularities, and a tragic bout of postelection violence that saw soldiers use deadly force against civilians.
April 2018, Volume 29, Issue 2
China has emerged as a key player in development assistance, challenging the mainstream development community’s emphasis on good governance.
October 2016, Volume 27, Issue 4
Once the poster child for successful postcommunist transitions to democracy, Poland is now governed by populist nationalists. What happened?
July 2013, Volume 24, Issue 3
The Hashemite monarchy still fails to understand the challenges that threaten Jordan’s political order. The old playbook of limited, manipulated reform is no longer enough, but key players fail to realize it.
January 2013, Volume 24, Issue 1
There are two sharply contrasting and controversial perspectives on China’s near- to medium-term future: top-level reform and bottom-up revolution.
January 2013, Volume 24, Issue 1
Over the past decade, Chinese authorities have turned against many of the legal reforms they themselves had enacted in the late 20th century. Lawyers have come under increased pressure. Political campaigns warning against rule-of-law norms have rippled through the courts. And central authorities have massively increased funding for extralegal institutions aimed at curtailing and suppressing…
Is global democracy really in freefall? Here’s what they think.
Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Narendra Modi, along with the presidents of Turkey, Iran, and other states are working together to amass power at home and project it abroad. These essays explain how they’re doing this, and what democracies can do to prevent it.
October 2011, Volume 22, Issue 4
Though justly vaunted as the world’s largest democracy, India will in all likelihood remain reluctant to take on the mantle of “democracy promoter” for a mix of historical, ideological, and strategic reasons.
