April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
The Freedom House Survey for 2012: Breakthroughs in the Balance
Although declines in freedom outnumbered gains yet again in 2012, the year was not without some significant progress, most notably in the case of Libya.
2485 Results
democracy vs authoritarian
April 2013, Volume 24, Issue 2
Armies and Revolutions
A key factor in determining the success or failure of revolutions is how the national armed forces react. What are the keys to making accurate predictions about what the soldiers will do when the fate of a regime hangs in the balance?
July 2012, Volume 23, Issue 3
Hungary’s Illiberal Turn: Can Outsiders Help?
Can outside actors help Hungarians to loosen Fidesz’s centralized grip on all of their country’s governing institutions?
July 2013, Volume 24, Issue 3
Putin versus Civil Society: Outlawing the Opposition
The Putin regime, having faced its first real challenge in the form of mass protests after the 2011 Duma elections, is responding with a series of laws intended to intimidate its civil society opposition, if not stamp it out altogether.
July 2009, Volume 20, Issue 3
Democratization by Elections? Competitive Clientelism in the Middle East
Legislative elections in the Middle East often become contests over patronage and wind up reinforcing authoritarian regimes.
January 2009, Volume 20, Issue 1
Debating the Color Revolutions: An Interrelated Wave
Authoritarian weakness alone cannot explain why the mobilization process during the color revolutions assumed similar forms across varied contexts.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
The Bangladesh Paradox
Despite impressive achievements in socioeconomic development, Bangladesh has struggled with establishing democracy and is now effectively under one-party rule.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
The CCP After the Zero-Covid Fail
The regime’s ill-fated policy to eliminate covid from China spurred the largest protests in a generation. It also made Xi Jinping’s challenge of maintaining authoritarian control over Chinese society even harder.
January 2025, Volume 36, Issue 1
How Maduro Stole Venezuela’s Vote
Nicolás Maduro brazenly stole Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, despite a free, fair, and transparent ballot count that showed a clear opposition victory. Why would an autocrat want to maintain one of the world’s best voting systems?
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
The Rise of Sportswashing
The staggering global popularity of soccer makes it a prime target for regimes that worry about the negative press they get for their undemocratic practices. The Gulf monarchies have led the way in getting into the wide world of sports as a means of cleaning their image.
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.
January 2018, Volume 29, Issue 1
The Rise of Kleptocracy: Autocrats versus Activists in Africa
Central African autocrats are using their stolen money to outmaneuver opponents and deflect international criticism.
July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
Turkey’s Hard Road to Democratic Renewal
Turkey’s democratic future hinges on its opposition parties doing something few expected: winning elections in unfair conditions. Yet the opposition’s strong performance in local elections suggests that they may be putting together a winning formula for Turkey and beyond.
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.
April 2011, Volume 22, Issue 2
Books in Review: Opening North Korea
A review of Witness to Transformation: Refugee Insights into North Korea by Marcus Noland and Stephan Haggard.
July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
Democracy After Illiberalism: A Warning from Poland
Restoring liberalism after illiberalism is no easy task: Leaders face hard choices between acting quickly and effectively while maintaining a commitment to democratic procedure. Worse, their illiberal opponents stand to benefit either way.
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 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4
Documents on Democracy
A Togolese activist and writer on oppression; a Chinese human-rights lawyer’s long detention; a reflection on Serbia’s anticorruption protests; Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya commemorates five years since Belarus’s uprising; a Salvadoran university rejects the constitutional amendment; and Bolivia’s election anthem.
October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4
How Much Democratic Backsliding?
Democracy’s retreat is real, yet alarmist reports of a global demise or crisis of democracy are not warranted.
October 2015, Volume 26, Issue 4
After the Arab Spring: People Still Want Democracy
Data from the Arab Barometer suggest that Arabs have not rejected democracy. In fact, they still by and large believe in it and want it.