April 2003, Volume 14, Issue 2
Slovakia’s Second Transition
Slovakia’s 2002 elections indicate the waning of nationalist authoritarianism and augur well for the consolidation of democracy.
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January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
China’s Changing of the Guard: The Problem of State Weakness
The Chinese state is much weaker than most people realize, which bodes ill for the country’s democratic prospects.
January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
China’s Changing of the Guard: A Volcanic Stability
The outward appearance of a powerful and confident Communist party-state masks a deep crisis.
October 2024, Volume 35, Issue 4
Freedom of Expression’s Crisis of Interpretation
When an epidemic of Koran burnings swept Denmark and Sweden, the Danish government criminalized the practice. It is a misguided response that misses the opportunity to protect both minorities and the right to free speech.
How We Can Fix Our Polarized Politics
The following essays from the Journal of Democracy examine the roots of the dangerous trend of polarization and offer ways to repair our politics and bring citizens back together.
April 1997, Volume 8, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the acceptance speech of José Ramos-Horta, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize; Guatemalan president Alvaro Arzú’s speech on the occasion of the signing of a comprehensive peace accord.
July 1999, Volume 10, Issue 3
Democracy as a Universal Value
The recognition of democracy as a universally relevant system is a major revolution in thinking, and one of the main contributions of the twentieth century. While not yet universally practiced, democracy is now being taken as generally right.
October 2010, Volume 21, Issue 4
Liberation vs. Control: The Future of Cyberspace
Are technologies giving greater voice to democratic activists in authoritarian societies, or more powerful tools to their oppressors?
July 1998, Volume 9, Issue 3
Second Elections in Africa
The early 1990s saw a wave of competitive multiparty elections in Africa. These contests can be described as "founding" elections in the sense that they marked for various countries a transition from an extended period of authoritarian rule to fledgling democratic government. By the middle of the 1990s, this wave had crested. Although founding elections…
January 2000, Volume 11, Issue 1
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: a statement by Cuban dissidents entitled “All United”; a letter by former dissidents of the Soviet bloc to the so-called “Group of Four” critics of the Castro regime in Cuba; an address delivered by the Commonwealth’s outgoing secretary-general Chief Emeka Anayaoku; the “Seoul Statement” on human rights in North Korea; Abdurrahman Wahid’s speech…
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Algeria, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indonesia, Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Panama, Philippines, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan.
October 1997, Volume 8, Issue 4
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León’s state of the Union and the lower chamber president Porfirio Muñoz Ledo’s response; a communique of the June 1997 Summit of Eight; “The Homeland Belongs to Us All” by four Cuban human rights activists.
July 1998, Volume 9, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: imprisoned Chinese dissident Wang Dan’s first press conference; the Declaration of Santiago; “Strategic Initiatives of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Fundamentals for a New Beginning”; speeches on “Human Rights and Asian Values” given at the 54th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights; a postelection statement by Martin Lee, leader of the…
July 2004, Volume 15, Issue 3
Documents on Democracy
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…
April 1992, Volume 3, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: speeches delivered at the signing of the El Salvador peace agreement; an Agreement on a Comprehensive Political Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict; Russian president Boris Yeltsin’s address to the UN Security Council.
April 2014, Volume 25, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: the statement of Xu Zhiyong, a founding member of New Citizens Movement, at his trial; a joint statement by the former presidents of Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru on the situation in Venezuela; the preamble of Tunisia’s first constitution since Ben Ali’s fall; statement by Ukrainian NGO Civic Sector.
April 1999, Volume 10, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: a founding document from the inaugural assembly of the “World Movement for Democracy”; South Korean President Kim Dae Jung’s opening address at a conference entitled “Demcoracy, Market Economy and Development”; the interim report of Nigeria’s Transition Monitoring Group.
January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Afghanistan, Armenia, Bahrain, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Fiji, Gabon, Georgia, Latvia, Madagascar, Maldives, São Tomé and Príncipe, Swaziland, and Togo.
January 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1
The Quest for Good Governance: Learning from Virtuous Circles
Are the “virtuous circles” crucial to good governance always the product of long-term developments under unique historical circumstances, or can they be started or accelerated by wise policies?
April 2016, Volume 27, Issue 2
Latin America’s New Turbulence: Crisis and Integrity in Brazil
Public anger at revelations of widespread corruption, along with the rising cost of coalition politics, has brought Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff to the brink of impeachment. Yet the crisis has also revealed the strength of the country’s law-enforcement and judicial institutions.