January 2008, Volume 19, Issue 1
Turkey Divided
Events surrounding Turkey's 2007 elections reveal a country with a vibrantly democratic political sphere and a society badly split over the role of Islam in national life.
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April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
The Limits of Liberalism
The liberal emphasis on unhindered mobility comes with costs, particularly for those unable to leave.
April 2024, Volume 35, Issue 2
Liberalism as Fortress and Prison
The power of liberalism—though limited and never revered—enables it to serve as refuge while taming the demons of liberal society.
October 2023, Volume 34, Issue 4
Democracy’s Surprising Resilience
Despite worry of an authoritarian resurgence, the vast majority of “third wave” democracies are enduring. Democracy, buoyed by economic growth and urbanization, is outperforming most people’s expectations or fears.
October 2023, Volume 34, Issue 4
The Constitutionalization of Democracy
Is politics an arena without rules? No, and, increasingly, many are enshrined in constitutions. But countries that hardwire their political process into their founding charters face other risks.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
The Iraq War and Democratic Backsliding
The global democratic decline of the last two decades is rarely discussed in the same breath with the 2003 decision by the United States and Britain to invade Iraq. But the roots of our present disorder can be traced to that disastrous and foolhardy war of choice.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
Chile’s Constitutional Chaos
After two votes and a yearlong drafting process, Chileans rejected the progressive charter they had claimed to want. Right-wing attacks and voter anxiety are to blame. But can Chileans get it right?
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 2022, Volume 33, Issue 1
How Zambia’s Opposition Won
Halting a decade of democratic backsliding, Haikainde Hichilema defeated an increasingly iron-fisted incumbent president. How did he do it and can others learn from his example?
April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2
Tanzania: The Authoritarian Landslide
With brutal resolve, the ruling party sought not merely to win an election, but to annihilate the opposition. Now, with President John Magufuli gone, that strategic rationale will likely only grow stronger.
January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1
Mainstream Parties in Crisis: The Antiestablishment Challenge
Faced with the rise of extreme and illiberal political players, mainstream parties have employed strategies of banning, marginalization, and cooptation. Yet to truly heal the underlying democratic ailment, establishment parties will need to look inward.
January 2021, Volume 32, Issue 1
The End of the Backsliding Paradigm
Like the “transition paradigm” before it, the concept of democratic backsliding threatens to flatten our perceptions of complex political realities. Examples from East-Central Europe illustrate the ambiguous dynamics at play in many troubled democracies.
October 2020, Volume 31, Issue 4
Policing the Police: U.S. and European Models
Hyperlocalized U.S. policing both upholds and corrodes democratic principles. Although some aspects of Europe’s model are nonstarters in the United States, Americans crave centralized enforcement of rules against abusive policing.
April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
The Pushback Against Populism: Why Ecuador’s Referendums Backfired
Populists have often turned to referendums to dismantle a democracy. Democrats should be wary of turning to the same tool to rebuild what was lost. It may only pave the way for populism’s return.
April 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2
Algeria: When Elections Hurt Democracy
Algeria’s massive wave of protesters wanted to put an end to sham elections. While the leaderless movement succeeded for a time, its failure showcased the lengths to which a country’s ruling elite will go to maintain its hold on power.
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.
January 2020, Volume 31, Issue 1
An Illiberal India?
The country’s hold on electoral democracy is firm, but its claim still to be a liberal democracy is increasingly dubious.
October 2019, Volume 30, Issue 4
Southeast Asia’s Troubling Elections: Democratic Demolition in Thailand
The military junta that seized power in 2014 finally organized an election in 2019, but with the goal of preventing rather than facilitating a return to civilian rule.
April 2019, Volume 30, Issue 2
30 Years After Tiananmen: Hong Kong Remembers
It was the impact of Tiananmen that made the democracy movement in Hong Kong a mass phenomenon. Today, the democratic cause in Hong Kong remains linked to the democratic cause in China as a whole.
April 2019, Volume 30, Issue 2
Populists in Power
The historical record since 1945 gives us a picture of how populists operate once they hold political power. The record shows that populism is inimical to liberal democracy, and not a corrective to some of its failings.