January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
China’s Changing of the Guard: State Capacity on the Rebound
The Chinese state has become more efficient, constrained, and responsive—improvements that could lay a base for a successful transition.
2779 Results
game of thrones friendly 1377x
April 2000, Volume 11, Issue 2
Democracy, Dictatorship, and Infant Mortality
A country's political regime, regardless of its level of development, affects its social performance. Fewer children die in democracies than in dictatorships.
July 2020, Volume 31, Issue 3
South Korea’s Democratic Decay
Although South Korea is praised for its success at fighting covid-19, the triumph came at a cost to rights and privacy, and is drawing attention away from a larger drift toward illiberalism and bitterly factionalized politics.
October 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4
AI’s Real Dangers for Democracy
Artificial intelligence and its effects on democracy are a matter of choice, not fate. The concerns are longer term than the recent spate of worry about “generative” AI would suggest. The democratic conversation about AI has hardly begun.
July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
Tanzania’s Autocratic Reform-Washing
President Samia Suluhu Hassan came into office promising democratic reforms. Four years later, it is clear she is more of a performer than a reformer. Far from delivering on her promises to unwind Tanzania’s authoritarian machinery, she is relying on the repressive tools we know so well.
January 2023, Volume 34, Issue 1
In Europe, Democracy Erodes from the Right
When ordinary voters are given a choice between democracy and partisan loyalty, who will put democracy first? Frighteningly, Europe harbors a deep reservoir of authoritarian potential.
October 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4
The Golden Age of Transnational Repression
Authoritarian regimes are targeting exiles and diaspora communities in more places than ever before. Activists, journalists, and regular people living abroad must watch their backs, because these governments now have the power to suppress dissent even outside their borders.
April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2
Is Iran on the Verge of Another Revolution?
There have been numerous waves of protest against the country’s corrupt theocracy. This time is different. It is a movement to reclaim life. Whatever happens, there is no going back.
October 2019, Volume 30, Issue 4
Resisting State Capture in South Africa
Despite the lack of electoral turnover in ANC-ruled South Africa, the country’s successful resistance to efforts at “state capture” under former president Jacob Zuma testifies to the vitality of its democracy.
Fall 1991, Volume 2, Issue 4
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Hong Kong, India, Kiribati, Mauritius, Mexico, and Singapore.
April 1997, Volume 8, Issue 2
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Chad, Gabon, Gambia, Madagascar, Pakistan, Russia (Chechen Republic), Singapore.
April 2008, Volume 19, Issue 2
Documents on Democracy
Excerpts from: Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence from Serbia; U.K. foreign secretary David Miliband’s speech, “The Democratic Imperative”; the power-sharing agreement between the Kenyan president and opposition leader; “Pakistan’s Tipping Point” by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
April 2016, Volume 27, Issue 2
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Benin, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Haiti, Iran, Jamaica, Niger, Samoa, Seychelles, Slovakia, Taiwan, Uganda, Vanuatu.
January 2019, Volume 30, Issue 1
How to Un-Rig an Election
A review of How to Rig an Election by Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas.
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 2019, Volume 30, Issue 2
30 Years After Tiananmen: Memory in the Era of Xi Jinping
Xi reads Tiananmen as a cautionary tale, and he has sought to centralize power and reverse years of ideological atrophy. By controlling the past, he is trying to determine how the Chinese will view their present and future.
October 2017, Volume 28, Issue 4
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Albania, Angola, Congo (Brazzaville), Kenya, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Senegal, and Singapore.
October 1993, Volume 4, Issue 4
Election Watch
Reports on elections in Belize, Bolivia, Burundi, Central African Republic, Iran, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Singapore, Togo.
January 2003, Volume 14, Issue 1
Montenegro: The Dilemmas of a Small Republic
October 2002 brought the latest in a series of “critical” elections that have helped to point the way to an independent, more democratic future.
October 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4
How Oppositions Turn Authoritarian
Conventional wisdom says that, once in power, opposition parties will return backsliding countries to the democratic path. In reality, not only is this not true, but it is not uncommon for the opposition to adopt the autocratic habits of the regime they replaced.