2376 Results

democracy vs authoritarian

April 2025, Volume 36, Issue 2

How Autocrats Use Proxies to Control the Media

Propaganda is autocrats’ weapon of first resort, allowing them to rely on persuasion rather than violence to achieve their ends. But citizens have grown savvy, so autocrats are taking a new tack: spreading their messages via private news outlets indirectly controlled by regime proxies.

October 2021, Volume 32, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: Sergei Adamovich’s remarks on the death of Andrei Sakharov; Marjan Farsad’s “Moonlight”; joint letter for a global moratorium on surveillance-technology sales; Zambian president Haikande Hichilema’s inaugural address.

What the Freedom Agenda Can Still Teach Us

Many derided it as naïve idealism, but the vision undergirding the Freedom Agenda offers lessons for the biggest global tests of our time. | Peter Feaver and William Inboden

Free

April 2005, Volume 16, Issue 2

The Rise of “Muslim Democracy”

The incentives created by competitive elections in a number of Muslim-majority countries are fueling a political trend that roughly resembles the rise of Christian Democracy in twentieth-century Europe

January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1

The Fates Of Third-Wave Democracies

Since their transitions, the democracies of the “third wave” have followed a range of trajectories beyond simple survival or breakdown. Many have stagnated at low levels of democracy and some have suffered democratic erosion, but there also have been cases of democratic deepening against the odds.

Free

July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3

The Future of Nonviolent Resistance

In the decade leading up to the covid-19 pandemic, nonviolent civil resistance grew more popular than ever—but its effectiveness had already started to plummet. The future of nonviolent resistance may depend on movements’ ability to move beyond mass protests toward exploring alternative tactics and developing smarter, longer-term strategies.

July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3

Documents on Democracy

Remarks on China from Deputy U.S. National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger; joint statement by David Kaye, Harlem Désir, and Edison Lanza on protecting the free flow of information during the covid-19 pandemic; open letter by Indian academic and Dalit-rights activist Anand Teltumbde; reflections from Joshua Wong on the future of Hong Kong’s prodemocracy movement

October 2011, Volume 22, Issue 4

Documents on Democracy

Excerpts from: a statement condemning the Egyptian Supreme Council of the Armed Forces' campaign against the country's civil society organizations and human-rights groups; a statement by two top EU officials on the arrest of former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko; an address given by Mongolian president Tsakhia Elbegdorj; the OAS resolution "Promotion of the Rights…

January 2007, Volume 18, Issue 1

The Perpetual Crises of Democracy

Democracy is and always will be in some kind of crisis, for it is constantly redirecting its citizens’ gaze from a more or less unsatisfactory present toward a future of still unfulfilled possibilities.

January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1

Why the World Is Down on Democracy

Citizens across the globe still value democracy, but they have become dissatisfied with the way it is working. A new era of representation is in order — one featuring more diverse leaders, responsive politicians, and empowered publics.